We recently took a family vacation to the mountains of Idaho. We haven’t travelled much over the years since Erik became disabled, because it can be a real pain for him (har har), but he turned 50 this year and really wanted to go somewhere new. Neither of us had been to Idaho, even as a layover on another flight, and we loved the look of the mountains and lakes there.

Travelling with a disability takes preparation and patience. We packed an extra suitcase with all the extra things he needs like pillows, hot packs, special silverware, etc. We reserved ADA rooms and upgraded the plane seating (and then upgraded again when the middle upgrade was still very uncomfortable). We reserved wheelchairs for the airports, closer long-term parking, and an extra-large rental car. Erik pre-dosed with pain meds and anti-inflammatories for the flights, and we planned ahead so that each travel day didn’t involve anything else. Even still, the hotel’s definition of accessible and ours were two different things, and Erik ended up having to deal with stairs daily with crutches, so we used the ice machine to deal with swollen knees and ankles.

Despite all of this, it was still an awesome time with some excellent views!