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Last summer Shelley and I went on vacation. We took an Alaskan cruise and spent several days in Vancouver. After our return, I sent, by email, a diary of our trip to friends and family. The diary was to be split into three parts: 1) the trip from our house to Alaska, 2) the cruise, and, 3) the stay in Vancouver and the trip home. Unfortunately, I never did get around to sending out the last part, Chapter Three. Here it is, at last. For those of you who might want to reread the first two chapters, you can find them below.


CHAPTER THREE



This has been a hell of a year, and I’m talking about the past 12 months.

Do you remember going through puberty? The body going through all kinds of changes, some easy, some hard, some good, some apparently not so good, at least, very inconvenient. Also, the brain going through changes that make the mind reel. Eventually, we adjusted. We did so because we had to; we had no choice.

They say getting old(er?) is not for sissies. The mind and body go through changes that are almost completely unpleasant. Like puberty, we have to adjust because we have no choice. Fortunately, there are doctors and drugs and appliances that ease the way, but fun it isn’t. Just remember that there’s only one alternative to getting older….

This is just to explain why it has taken me so long to send you Chapter 3 of the story of our vacation in Alaska and Vancouver: I had other things on my mind.

So, to briefly recap: Fifteen minutes before the cab came to take us to the airport for our flight to Anchorage, I fell down two steps in my house, and broke a bone in my right foot. We decided to go ahead on our vacation; we’re still not sure it was a good decision, but we did enjoy ourselves at least part of the time. I was in a wheelchair most of the time. It was a learning experience that I am thankful for, although I wish it had happened at another time. Even places that say they are wheelchair accessible present problems. If you don’t have a constant companion willing to do whatever needs to be done to move you from one place to another, there are places you can’t go because ramps can be too steep, doorways can be narrow, furniture placement can be inconvenient. Cabs can be too small to put a wheelchair in the trunk, buses may need two people to operate the wheelchair lift and get the wheelchair on the lift and then onto the bus. Bus drivers don’t always know how to secure the wheelchair or person in the wheelchair once on the bus. Tourist sites don’t always have easy access to the only elevator available; windows may be too high for a seated person to look out of to see the sights. Sidewalks, even those not on hills, if not smoothly paved, can be tough to traverse. These are just the basics. But, anyway, to get back to our trip.



Day 1 in Vancouver

We had allowed ourselves only three days in Vancouver, so we knew that we had to start right away if we wanted to see everything we had hoped to see before we knew I’d be in a wheelchair. After unpacking, we went down to the desk and made arrangements for a tour of Stanley Park and whale watching the next day. Then we took a cab to the Vancouver Art Gallery to see an exhibit of Vermeers and Rembrandts on loan from the Rijk Museum in Amsterdam. Enjoyed the exhibit. BTW, Shelley got into the museum at a reduced rate because he was assisting a person in a wheelchair. We were hungry, so we decided to go to the cafeteria. Unfortunately, it was on the second floor. To get to the elevator was so complicated, an employee had to lead us through a few doors, at least one of which required museum ID to go through. We did get to the cafeteria; it was small and crowded. We had to move chairs to get me to a table, and I wasn’t really able to look at the food selection because people were standing in front of the glass case. Shelley had to do reconnaissance and report back to me with the menu. We had lunch and finally went to the gift shop. It was on a slightly lower level than the ground floor, and travel down a very steep ramp was required. Even with Shelley acting as a human brake, I felt like I was on a speedway. Once in the shop I had a grand time, and found some interesting things to bring home.

On the ship, I had been going around in the hospital sandal on my broken foot and a purple leather moccasin (which I had brought as slipper/casual footwear for the ship) on the other. In the city, I wanted a more formal and firm shoe; I decided to look for canvas shoes: easy to get into, useful even after I was back to using both feet. After the museum we simply crossed the street to Victoria’s Bay Centre, a huge shopping center with stores we knew, and many we didn’t. Hudson Bay Company is the largest in the mall, and we finally found a pair of shoes for me and some 2010 Vancouver Olympics stuff. (Getting into the store from the mall was a problem: on the lower level there is a short flight of stairs into the store. There is a chair lift, but it is locked, and required finding a store employee who then had to find someone who could unlock it.) We were then ready to get back to the hotel. Outside the mall was a busy street with plenty of cabs, but we had to find one which could fit the two of us and a wheelchair. It took a little while. For dinner we chose a Chinese restaurant right across from the hotel, however, being on a busy street on a hill, we couldn’t just cross from our hotel to the restaurant, especially since we couldn’t run. That meant that we had to go uphill to the traffic light to cross the street, and downhill to the restaurant. The hill was steep and the pavement was not smooth. [Did I tell you Shelley got great upper arm and shoulder muscles from this trip? :) ] The restaurant was informal, with rows of tables and chairs. There were three kitchens: one regular, one veggies only, and DNK what they did in the third. We had soup, vegetable won ton and sweet and sour chicken. Sauces were good, but slightly different from what we’re used to. After eating we made the return trip to the hotel, where we made arrangements for a boxed lunch for our excursion the next day, and retired after a long day.

Day 2 in Vancouver

We were finally going whale watching! We got up early and had a delicious breakfast in the restaurant connected to the hotel: fresh pink grapefruit juice, croissants, cheese and sweet breads and muffins. After collecting our boxed lunch, we went to the hotel lobby to wait for our tour bus. The wait went on far too long, so the hotel staff called to find out why there was a delay. We were extremely disappointed and frustrated to learn that there had been a misunderstanding, and that the tour bus could not accommodate a wheelchair. We were not going to see whales after all. Our reaction was to go back to our room, close the drapes and go to bed. We were exhausted physically and emotionally. We got some needed rest. When we got up we were hungry, so, on advice from the hotel staff, we found a nice little place for brunch. Although it was only a couple of blocks from the hotel, we were on a hilly street, and again we had the wheelchair annoyance. We decided not to waste the rest of the day, so we got a cab and went to the Vancouver Lookout, which is at the top of the tallest building in the city, Harbour Centre Complex (581 feet high), and which has 360 degree windows in the Observation Deck. It has a great view of the harbor, port, train tracks and the city. Part of it is wheelchair accessible. We took some fantastic photos. The young gift shop guy and the guy at the Information Desk were very friendly and helpful. From them we got a referral to a good restaurant nearby. “Nearby” is a relative term. If we were both walking, it wouldn’t have seemed far away, but the uphill direction and bad pavement in the dark, in an area we didn’t know, made it seem like a long way off. We did find the Cactus Club Café, a busy restaurant and bar with tables also on the sidewalk. We chose to eat outdoors because it was very crowded and noisy inside, and the weather was pleasant. We had a delicious hamburger and fries, and dessert to top it off. It was a high class restaurant with good food, good service and nice ambience. We took a cab back to the hotel.



Day 3 in Vancouver

Today we were scheduled to go sightseeing on Victoria Island, which involved taking a bus and a ferry. We got up early and had some items from our boxed lunch for breakfast. Then we went down to the lobby to wait for the bus. Even though the hotel staff reassured us that the bus was definitely wheelchair accessible, we were definitely apprehensive. However, the bus soon came, and it had a rear door with a wheelchair lift. The bus driver and his wife and Shelley got me on the lift, onto the bus and the driver and his wife secured the wheelchair to the bus floor and locked it in. We learned that we would make several stops to pick up people at various locations. Shelley sat in the last row, right in front of me, so I wasn’t totally isolated. We took a while, driving through suburban areas and passing the airport, stopping along the way to pick up a good number of people. Finally we got to the ferry. I had never been on a ferry which carried buses, trucks and cars along with the people who drove them. There were various areas on the ferry: a large cafeteria, comfortable seating areas, lots of windows with seats and an outdoor area. Because the outdoor area was like a terrace and required going up stairs to get there, and it was chilly out on the water, I sat inside looking out the windows at the beautiful scenery. We took some photos. After 90 minutes, we got back on the bus to leave the ferry on Victoria Island.

We went to Butchart Gardens, which makes Longwood Gardens look like a townhouse backyard by comparison. It was large, with a variety of beautiful gardens and some nice shops. The day was warm and very sunny, so I needed to stay either indoors or in the shade. Shelley and I walked around a bit enjoying it all, but when we came to the Sunken Gardens, I insisted that he go alone. From the walkway on top you could see how beautiful it was, but it required a long, very steep walk to get to it. Instead, I went to a lovely shaded area under a type of gazebo. There were flowering plants all around, and people walking past me on their way through the gardens. I enjoyed myself thoroughly, as did Shelley in his trek. After a while it was time to get back on the bus. It was time for us to go to the center of the town so we could walk around for a while. There is a beautiful old hotel called the Empress which served tea. Naturally, we were looking forward to a formal tea. The hotel is right by the inner harbor: very nice to look at. The driver drove around a bit so we could get an idea of what there is to see. Leaving the harbor area, we had to drive up a very steep hill to get to where we would be dropped off and later picked up. In order to get up this hill, the driver had to accelerate. Just as we were getting to the top of the hill, where we would make a right turn, a bicyclist rode right in front of the bus. In order to avoid hitting him, the driver had to step hard on the brakes. Everyone on the bus was stunned, but, fortunately was, for the most part, holding on to the seat frames in front of them, and, so were not hurt. One older gentleman, sitting up front, bumped his head against the pole used to help people getting on the bus. He was not seriously injured, but was very upset. Shelley was fine. I was not. While my wheelchair had been securely attached to the bus, I was not belted in the chair. That process was not and had not been performed at any time while I was on the bus. I relied on the bus driver to know what to do, so I just had not even thought about it. I definitely thought about it after the bus stopped, and I found myself on the floor. I had been holding on to the chair, but the force with which the bus stopped, had pushed me forward out of the chair, and then made me fall backwards. I was very lucky: there was a large, heavy tool chest just inches from where my head hit the rubber flooring. My leg twisted a bit, but not seriously. My back hurt. My wrists and hands hurt from trying to protect myself. However, the part that hurt the most was my coccyx. It was, at the very least, very badly bruised. I was hoping that it was not broken. I was also feeling the effects of shock. I had no signs of a concussion, and didn’t think I needed to go to a hospital, but I wasn’t up to walking around, either. Everyone else got off the bus to go sightseeing. Shelley and I remained with the driver, his wife and her mother on the bus. It had been his plan to drive to an area where he could legally park the bus and find a place to get some food. We parked by the water; it was peaceful. A small corner food shop was nearby and sold sandwiches. I needed some fluid and carbs, but didn’t want anything which could cause stomach complications. All I wanted was a bottle of water and a plain turkey sandwich. They didn’t sell plain turkey sandwiches, only turkey, cheese, pickles, mustard, mayonnaise, lettuce and tomato sandwiches. They would not remove the extras, even for the same price. Shelley bought it, but one look at it told me it would be a disaster if I ate it. He ate it, and I had some water.

The driver and his wife were still very upset about the accident, and concerned about me. They were also worried about his boss and being blamed for the accident, even though we all said it wasn’t his fault. His only fault was in not buckling me in. He and his wife and her mother took a walk along the water. Shelley and I stayed on the bus. I needed the rest, and getting the wheelchair off the bus was too much trouble. I sat next to Shelley on one of the relatively soft, upholstered seats. I was pretty upset, and to add to my problems, the bracelet that I wear all the time, which had been my mother’s, had been broken. Physically and emotionally I was not well.

After a while, it was time to return to the pickup site. And, I needed a bathroom. It wasn’t easy to find a wheelchair accessible bathroom where we could also park the bus. The driver finally found a small waterside restaurant which allowed us to use the restrooms. We had to walk on a long path made of wood and stone up to the second level. We all relieved ourselves in more ways than one, and then had to find our way back to the bus. We then picked everyone up: they were all tired. Back we went on to the ferry and back to the hotel. We exchanged information with others on the bus and with the bus driver for insurance purposes.

Back in the room I ordered a PLAIN turkey sandwich and fries with hot tea from room service. It was perfect. My coccyx hurt like hell. We packed and got ready to go home the next day.

The next morning we had a room service breakfast. When we got in the cab to go to the airport, the hotel staff took the wheelchair to return it back from where it had been rented for me. When we got to the airport, a friendly airport employee immediately got me a wheelchair, and wheeled me to the security checkpoint. There, I wasn’t required to get out of the wheelchair, but I was thoroughly checked. Some lotion in my bag and Shelley’s Swiss Army knife on a key chain were confiscated. His knife had been passed through at all the other airports. The lotion I had mistakenly not put in the check-in luggage. No biggie.

We got on the plane; got on a second plane, and finally arrived in Philly very late. I got into a wheelchair as soon as I left the plane, and an old lady airport worker came to wheel me to the baggage pick-up. We had to wait a long time for the plane’s luggage to arrive, and then wait even longer for the limo. My wheelchair pusher was anxious to leave us, and she did, while we were waiting outside, and I was standing with my crutches, surrounded by our luggage. The limo came fifteen minutes later.

It was good to see our cats again and get into our own bed. We were exhausted.

I had made an appointment with my orthopedist for the next day. She checked me out. My foot was obviously still broken, but healing well. My coccyx was very colorful and badly bruised, but, fortunately, not broken.

Shelley and I were very happy to be home, and did not want to leave it for some time.

P.S. Between my health insurance and travel insurance, and the people who worked for those companies, as well as the airport, airline, ship and hotel staffs I was able to have a wheelchair for the entire trip, from the time we got to the Philly airport through to the Anchorage hotel until we were ready to leave the airport in Philly, when we arrived home. Without the help of a good number of decent people doing more than what was required of them, I would not have been able to travel as well as I did. Even more than them, I owe a huge thank you to Shelley for putting up with me and helping me, even when it meant that he couldn’t do something he would have preferred to do. And, he did it with a smile, at least most of the time.

www.kodakgallery.com/sheldonliss is the link which will take you to Shelley’s Web Page, containing the photo album of “Our Alaska Vacation.” Once you’ve clicked on the photo of the map of Alaska, you’ll be able to view the album whenever you want. There are 199 pictures of our trip to Alaska.

If you cannot see the link above after clicking on it, copy and paste the following web address directly into your browser: www.kodakgallery.com/sheldonliss

BTW, while on board the ship last year we made tentative plans for a cruise in the Baltic Sea next year. We’ll also spend some time in Britain before we board the ship in Dover. So, even though this last trip was not perfect, we are looking forward to a great time in Britain where we’ve previously enjoyed ourselves, and in places which we’ve wanted to visit for a long time.

We’ll be happy to receive any questions or comments from you. Send them to lynn at 1787lll@gmail.com or to Shelley at sheldonliss@comcast.net . We’ll enjoy reading your reactions.

Lynn : 6/12/10

Labels: Alaska, Holland American Line, vacation, Veendam