Barrier Free Reunion (almost)

The excitement was building for our 50th High School Reunion at Venice High in Southern California and I truly looked forward to seeing many of my old friends…some for the first time since our 1960 graduation. Several of us had been in touch for months via email and phone and a few old friends took it upon themselves to insure most of the members of our high school club, the Vikings of Venice, would attend. As an additional benefit my friends were organizing a reunion of our club members the day after the school reunion. Amazing that so many of our friends are still in touch and, with considerable research, we worked together to find some who hadn’t stayed in touch.

In my case, I had to do some additional planning since I’ve been confined to a wheelchair since 2004 due to a stroke. I selected Southwest Airlines for the short flight from Phoenix to LA because they handle folks with disabilities (in wheelchairs) effectively and wave the cost of shipping your personal chair.

October 2, 2010 arrived and I had a friend take me to the airport without incident. All went well when boarding since S/W gives priority boarding with assistance, including provision of special airline chairs that fit the aisle widths. Since I’m 6’4” they also gave me a seat with extra leg room. All went well at LAX and a friend picked me up and delivered me to the Radisson Hotel in Culver City (where the reunion took place). There were no barriers to access at the hotel and I had an “accessible room” booked. These rooms have easy wheelchair access and accessible bathrooms with “low threshold” showers. There were no problems with access in any part of the hotel and all hotel employees were always accommodating.

The Reunion started at 6pm with cocktails and appitizers and what a kick that was. Dozens of old friends from both the winter and summer classes of 1960 showed up. We had lots of catching up to do after we got past the challenge of recognizing those we hadn’t seen for many years…some aged well and some looked very old. With some exceptions, we were mostly a very energetic and talkative bunch of 68 and 69 year olds. The dinner started at 7pm with most of us Vikings and several mates sitting together. Lots of talk again and some visits to and from other tables. I rolled around and visited many old friends including some very attractive ladies. Nice, low level music, during dinner and good food and drink made for a pleasant time. Then the music picked up with many of the fifties and sixties tunes and we were off dancing. The wife of one of my friends rolled me out to the dance floor and we had a blast for hours rockin and rollin, laughin and scratchin! Whew! Those gals can sure dance and they had a ball spinning me around. I think they made up some new steps to match my spins.

Breakfast with friends the next day was great and then we all checked out in time to head for our Viking Reunion at the new Terranea Resort that another friend had recently built. It was located on the site of the old Marineland of the Pacific in Palos Verdes. I was driven by another friend who had rented a car with room for my chair.

We pulled into the garage of a villa, that our friend had selected to hold all of us, and it was an easy entry into the large house. My room was on the ground floor and very accessible. The only downside was the villa did not have “accessible” bathrooms. That would have to be dealt with later since the shower was in a regular tub with a high threshold to navigate over (note that there are several “accessible” rentals at the resort but this villa was more to accommodate a large group than to be fully accessible).

We started with lunch at Nelson’s (named after Lloyd Bridges’ character in the TV series “Sea Hunt”) at the resort and even more old Viking friends showed up. Besides breaking bread with old friends another highlight was all the great photos of Sea Hunt on the restaurant walls and the spectacular views of the coves and of Catalina Island in the distance. All areas of the restaurant were wheelchair accessible. What a great time! We were given rides back to the villa in large golf carts with room for my chair and passed many more beautiful views.

After a nice dinner with the Vikings that evening I was challenged with the effort to get in and out of the tub/shower. I summoned one of my friends and he helped me in and out plus assisted me in getting into a very high bed. He helped again the next morning. This was the only real challenge I faced on the trip so, with friends to help, all was good.

The next day I was given a ride to catch Southwest at LAX and we all departed with good memories and warm feelings. My conclusion was that, even though there are some challenges, barrier free travel is available and it is well worth it. I would have been terribly disappointed had I not been able to attend those wonderful reunions. So, I say if you’re thinking about travel…go for it but, as with all types of travel, be sure to do your planning in advance.