explorABLE adventures

explorABLE adventures Sharing our family travel adventures after my husband's neurodegenerative disease diagnosis.

We made it to La Jolla! This is cause for celebration when you have a chronic illness. It takes so much extra energy to...
04/01/2026

We made it to La Jolla! This is cause for celebration when you have a chronic illness. It takes so much extra energy to travel now. Thankfully, we learned to build in a travel recovery day.

So tomorrow Tom has time to recover and recharge his batteries for the rest of the trip while the rest of us go to the beach.

What do you all do to make travel easier for yourself or your loved ones?

These poor girls get so upset when they see the suitcases. The cats try to stop us from putting stuff in the suitcases ...
03/31/2026

These poor girls get so upset when they see the suitcases. The cats try to stop us from putting stuff in the suitcases and my puppy just stares at me like like I have betrayed her, again. It breaks my heart. Friends, this is why I am a packing procrastinator. It is my story and I am sticking to it.

As of 4pm today, the night before our 9am flight, I had not begun packing yet. Oops! Now it is 10:30pm and I **think** I am done packing myself and Tom, with the exception of toiletries, chargers and meds. (See I just made the rest of my packing list here).

Meanwhile, Kevin has just put his clothes in the dryer. We still have 8.5 hours til we leave, so we should be fine, right?!!

Lol! Back to packing I go!

Today I was working on our shore excursions for our upcoming Alaska cruise. Before Tom was sick I just picked the activ...
03/27/2026

Today I was working on our shore excursions for our upcoming Alaska cruise. Before Tom was sick I just picked the activities that sounded fun, and signed us up with a click of the button and voila! Shore excursions booked!

Now I have to choose from the accessible activities, sign up on-line and then have to spend 45 minutes calling the cruise line to notify them that we chose these particular shore excursions because they are accessible.

The agent on the other line could not have been more pleasant or helpful, but she had to go through and verify that the excursions are in fact able to accommodate Tom. Then she had to put me on hold while she contacted another department to notify them that a non-ambulatory wheelchair user would be on the excursion.

My question is why are there always all these extra steps involved if you have accessibility needs? Why couldn't we just check a button about accommodations when we registered for the shore excursion.

Navigating the world with mobility challenges is already exhausting enough without all of the extra (and might I add, seemingly unnecessary) hurdles.

It is time for systems to change from mandated accessibility to true inclusion.

I believe that there are solutions, and often quite simple solutions to accessibility problems. It seemed to me a port...
03/26/2026

I believe that there are solutions, and often quite simple solutions to accessibility problems. It seemed to me a portable ramp would have sufficed in this particular situation making the tender accessible to all passengers.

And let's be honest, I think this would have been helpful for most of the passengers. The cruise line was paying crew members to stand there and lend a hand to people disembarking the tender to minimize fall risks.

What if accessible solutions actually improved the experience for everyone?! What a novel idea!!

Right now, I find cruising to be the easiest way for our family to travel. Since I fathom myself to be a foodie, one of...
03/26/2026

Right now, I find cruising to be the easiest way for our family to travel. Since I fathom myself to be a foodie, one of my least favorite things about cruising is that you miss the opportunity to sample the local cuisine.

So I always make sure to schedule lunch in a local restaurant during our shore excursions. Just have to make sure that the restaurant is accessible ahead of time!

I love a boat ride. Or really any excuse to be in proximity to the sea. The weather was super wonky on the way out to ...
03/22/2026

I love a boat ride. Or really any excuse to be in proximity to the sea. The weather was super wonky on the way out to the Hole in the Rock, but as soon as we got there the sun came out. And so did all of the people who were inside the boat. I still laugh when I think about all the pushing and shoving in front of other people that I witnessed on this boat tour when we got to the Hole in the Rock.

Now don't get me wrong, it was a cool site, but guys, it was a hole in a rock! You would have thought that Jesus himself was standing on the rock the way people were fighting to get photos.

Also note that the captain spent 20 minutes out there moving the boat around so we could all get a view. Didn't matter! People were still running from side to side to get another shot.

I will admit to getting momentarily caught up in the mayhem. And then thinking to myself: guys it is a hole in a rock!! If everyone would just calm down we could all take turns getting a shot of this interesting geological feature.

But really, why keep calm and carry on when you can create havoc over the Hole.in.the.rock!

Sadly, this was an accessible cruise to the Hole in the Rock, but since it was a tendered port Tom was not able to go with us. Thank you to for having wheelchair accessible boats, even though we weren't able to use it.

And Step 4 in my accessible cruise planning process: shore excusions!What else would you like to know? Or what else wou...
03/22/2026

And Step 4 in my accessible cruise planning process: shore excusions!

What else would you like to know?

Or what else would you add?

Here is step 3 in my accessible cruise planning process: Choosing a stateroom!
03/22/2026

Here is step 3 in my accessible cruise planning process: Choosing a stateroom!

Here is step 2 in my accessible cruise planning process!
03/22/2026

Here is step 2 in my accessible cruise planning process!

03/21/2026

On our last cruise, Tom used his walking sticks to get on and off the ship. So this trip we were a little worried about how we would get him off the ship in ports.

Luckily, the crew of The Celebrity Edge has a safety protocol for transporting passengers in wheelchairs on and off the ship. One crew member stood at the front of the chair and 3 behind on both the way up and down.

Thank goodness for this protocol because those gangways were steep and slippery when wet and I can only imagine the debacles that would have ensued if I was managing this situation alone.

So if you have been worried about being able to get on or off the ship - rest assured that the crew (at least on The Edge) are ready and willing to assist you!

Today was a LONG day, you know the kind, where you dream of moving to a remote beach shack where no one can find you?The...
03/20/2026

Today was a LONG day, you know the kind, where you dream of moving to a remote beach shack where no one can find you?

Then I remembered that in just 12 days I will be watching the sunset at the beach. On a long day, beach sunsets are my favorite reminders that today is done and tomorrow starts anew. The mantra one day at a time has carried me through some hard times, and the visual representation of this at the beach with the sound of the water lapping at my feet....I can hardly wait!

We do have sunsets in landlocked Indiana, and I would be lying if I said they aren't beautiful too, but sunsets at the beach hits different.

Could be because I am a water baby? Or perhaps it is because I am a night owl and there is little to no chance you will find me at a sunrise.

These pictures were from last year's spring break trip to Maui, a paradise that I hope to revisit.

Are you a sunset or sunrise person?

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