Cali here we come!

Harold’s Thoughtful person of the day: Rob the TSA guy at BDL!

Wow, Day 1 was full of excitement but was exhausting!

We got on the road by 4:15 AM heading to Bradley Intn’l. Remember not to forget your phone…UGH, thank god we realized shortly after pulling out.

As we walked into the ticketing area, there were literally 100’s of people already waiting in line to go through security. As I looked at Susan, she saw the concern in my eyes, but reassured me by saying, “Steve, no worries, when you travel with Harold, it’s like ‘The King has arrived, make way’…” and she explained we would be able to go to the front using the priority line. Ok then, “duly noted”, I thought, a definite perk.

We continued to the ticketing counter, baggage cart in tow, including the oversized racing chair bag. The ticketing counter service women at American Airlines was remarkably friendly and helpful. We got our bags checked, paper boarding passes, snapped a pic, and off we were to the front of the security line, literally jumping hundreds of people.

I’ve been through this process hundreds of times through the years of business travel, but never with a handicapped person. Susan and I learned a lot from a super helpful TSA gentleman named Bob. Bob explained that you can notify TSA in advance, and they will coordinate for someone to meet you at the door of the airport, and take you through the whole process from ticketing, to security, to boarding. They will make special accommodations for any disability, for example he shared that he once had an autistic child, who came in advance to actually practice a dry run when no one was around. Additionally, he explained how one child really needed to hold his electronic device, so if you bring a spare, they will screen one, while the child can still hold onto one, then swap it back to the other. The point is if you inform TSA in advance, they really will go out of their way to help you. He said TSA is all about safety, but will accommodate your needs. *Note that as we continue to document our travel experience, we will be adding a Helpful Travel Tips for the Disabled page on the site that will summarize the most helpful things we have learned, including more information on the TSA procedures mentioned above.

The gate attendants were all really helpful, from Karrine who explained to us when and how the boarding process would work, to the aisle chair helpers, to the flight attendants. They all were friendly and helpful getting us so our seats and comfortable.

Although this particular flight had plenty of entertainment options, like movies, TV, games, and the ever interesting In Flight Tracker, Harold’s favorite, it is never a bad idea to bring additional entertainment. We had downloaded Season 3 of “Departures”, a great travel documentary we all love, so Harold and I were able to catch 2 episodes on our iPad, while Susan choose to watch a movie. Having a head phone splitter is a useful tool so all can listen to the same show at the same time.

Takeoff and landing were definitely the highlights of the flight for Harold, as he could not contain his excitement as he looked out the window.

With the benefit of getting to board first with a disabled person before take off comes the “need for patience” after landing as you are now the last to deplane. The positive side of this, is by the time you get to Baggage Claim, your bags have taken a few extra carousel laps already and there is definitely less congestion around the area.

Planning in advance for your ground transportation needs is extremely important. In our case, we needed to rent a handicapped accessible vehicle, and after some light research, several weeks in advance we decided to use Wheelers Accessible Van Rentals (www.wheelersvanrentals.com). We will add their information to our helpful tips and links section in the future. Tammy, who works for Wheelers was extremely helpful in booking our reservation. She personally talked with Harold on the phone and encouraged us by saying that our blogging endeavor is much needed. She affirmed our mission by telling us that she talks to clients everyday that are filled with worry and fear about traveling. Lastly, make sure you are really clear when reserving your vehicle as to what your needs are. In particular, if you need a passenger seat in the front, let them know. The vans generally have a passenger seat in the front, a bench seat for 3 in the far back, and the middle is open for the wheelchair. We got an MV1 vehicle that had the front passenger area completely open with just a bench for 3 in the back. It is extremely roomy, but only has 4 seats for able bodied passengers including the driver. Although we were surprised not to have a passenger seat, it ended up working out as we needed the extra cargo space, and getting Harold on and off has been pretty easy so far.

 

LAX to Santa Barbara was one of the prettiest drives we have ever taken. The Pacific Coast Highway was amazing.

The best part of the day for Susan was seeing her daughter face to face for the first time in over 3 months. A close second was crashing into a clean bed at the hotel!