Meet Fauna
It is with great pleasure that I introduce you to Fauna my new Guide Dog. Thank you all that have been following the story so far on Twitter. I will be documenting the details of the story here that would never have fit on Twitter. Fauna is my first guide dog, and it feels a bit odd to be writing on a subject I am not well-versed in. The process of traveling and living with a guide dog is a work in progress for me, and I hope that future guide dog owners can benefit from this chronicle. I hope that the mistakes and experiences I will encounter along the way will provide a resource for those who are blind and visually impaired, just like the articles on this site.
As Fauna and I gain experience in traveling as a team, I will write articles and eventually create a new section on this site specifically for guide dog users. Thank you to those who have provided words of wisdom and encouragement along the way thus far, I appreciate you.
I’m always looking for collaboration opportunities, if you are a guide dog user and would like to submit an article for publication here, please contact me. I’m always looking for tips related to traveling with a visual impairment.
You can follow my adventures online at:
Photography Site:
http://www.tahquechi.com/
Blind Travels:
https://www.blindtravels.com/
Twitter ad Instagram:
@nedskee
Time for accommodations
Traveling is an adventure, and if you plan ahead, your stress level can be significantly reduced. When booking a trip, don’t forget to inquire about accessibility accommodations you might need along the way. I find it easy to get wrapped up in the timing of flights, and locations of hotels and other pertinent destinations and sometimes forget that a sighted guide to my hotel room is a huge help. If you like tours, consider asking if the tour company has someone who can provide verbal descriptions of the locations you will be touring. Museums also offer opportunities for blind and low vision guests to touch many of the usually off-limits sculptures. When you book your next museum visit, inquire about accessibility accommodations for those with low or no vision. I find that if you call and the person answering doesn’t know, and later find out, they are more helpful to the next visually impaired guest that calls, kind of like paying it forward low vision style.
You can follow my travels on twitter @nedskee and on Instagram @nedskee I love to hear from my readers, drop me a message and tell me about your latest travel adventure! If you have a travel tip that has made your lie easier let me know and I can share it here.
Amazing announcement coming this Sunday!
This Sunday morning, Mountain time, expect an amazing announcement. I will be detailing the full story for the next two weeks over at my Twitter page. Please follow me for updates! @nedskee
Paying it forward
As a visually impaired traveler, I fully understand that the airline staff is going to be spending more time with me than the average customer. In situations where volume throughput of guests is required, such as the Skycap, consider tipping a bit more than the average guest would, it doesn’t have to be a ton – just a few extra dollars. This will not only make them more enthusiastic about helping you, but will also grease the wheels so to speak for the next disabled passenger that comes along. Consider the extra couple bucks as paying it forward to the next disabled traveler.
Wouldn’t it be great if the visually impaired community started to gain the reputation of being good tippers, and always had a positive outlook when dealing with these service specialists? It would make it better for everyone who comes after us. I have been doing this for a while, and I hope you are willing to pick up the mantle of my example. Speaking of which, book yourself a solo travel adventure to someplace you haven’t been before. If I can do it, so you can you.
You can follow my travel adventures on twitter @nedskee and on Instagram @nedskee I love to hear from my readers, drop me a message and tell me about your latest travel adventure!
The most important thing to bring on your next trip
Getting ready for a trip can be an exhausting process – packing, organizing care for your animals and making sure someone will come over and bring in the mail along with the anxiety of forgetting your medications or swimsuit can put you in a bad mood before you even get to the terminal. Planes run late, bags can get lost and flights can be oversold and cramped. All through this it helps to realize that you aren’t the only one traveling, thousands of others are in the same boat as you are when you walk into the airport. Imagine being the person working at the check-in counter when all day you deal with people who are at their wits end and on their last nerve as they walk up to talk to you. All these points are why the most important thing you can bring with you on your travel adventure is a sense of humor and a smile. Being visually impaired (at least for me) increases the anxiety level of my travel experience ten-fold. Even if the airline has skilled assistants to get you to the right gate, it can still be a nerve-racking time getting to the right gate and even finding restroom accommodations before your flight takes off.
Next time you hit the airport, take a few deep breaths before you walk in the door to center yourself and just let the events unfold in front of you with a good outlook and the knowledge that you will get where you need to be, and things will get sorted out. People are more willing to lend a hand and be courteous about helping you if you have a positive outlook on whatever situation is presenting itself.
Get out there and book yourself a solo travel adventure to someplace you haven’t been before! If I can do it you can too, and above all have a good time and keep a smile on your face.
You can follow my travel adventures on twitter @nedskee and on Instagram @nedskee I love to hear from my readers, drop me a message and tell me about your latest travel adventure!
Home sweet Home
Jamaica was beautiful. The resort we stayed at, Couples Tower Isle has been around since the late 1940’s. So many cool celebrities have stayed there, and there is a ton of interesting history about the property. Temperatures were in the high 80’s most days, and the humidity was around 80%, making it perfect weather for sitting in the pool, or in the water at the beach. Being an all-inclusive resort, there was plenty of food and drink to keep us stuffed from one meal to the next.
You might be wondering how the resort fared in terms of accessibility for visually impaired guests? Well – I’m working on a comprehensive review and will let you all know when it is live.
You can follow my travel adventures on twitter @nedskee and on Instagram @nedskee I love to hear from my readers, drop me a message and tell me about your latest travel adventure!
Headed to Jamaica!
The Blind Travels crew is headed to Couples Tower Isle in Jamaica tonight. You can follow the fun and adventure on my twitter feed @nedskee When I return, expect a full accessibility accounting for American Airlines, and of course a Resort Review of Couples Tower Isle. If you would like to see my review of Couples Sans Souchi, you can click here.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nedskee/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/nedskee
Accessibility in Yellowstone National Park
Ever wonder how our oldest national park stands up in terms of accessibility for blind and visually impaired guests? Wonder no more – see my full review after spending two weeks wandering all over the park here
Finding your suitcase
I recently bought a new Samsonite hard-sided suitcase for an upcoming trip. The suitcase was for sale at a local big box store as a two piece set, but it broke my cardinal rule about never buying a black suitcase. Being visually impaired, I am adamantly opposed to black suitcases because there are so many of them, and they are incredibly difficult to tell apart as they come down the conveyor belt in the baggage claim area. I liked the weight, and the way the bag rolled, so I decided to purchase it and challenge myself to make the bag easily discernible from other similar bags without making it gaudy. If you have read my articles on suitcase identification, you know that my go-to is bright tape on the sides and ribbons or other adornments on the handle to really make my bag stand out in the crowd.
The local Michael’s craft store had plenty of options for colored tape, including fun ones with logos of comic book characters and such. Just look in the children’s craft department. I settled on this fluorescent green Duck tape – there were yellow and orange colors which would have been equally appropriate for my project, but I thought the green would stand out against (and compliment) the black suitcase. I didn’t have a coupon, but the very nice cashier offered hers which brought the total price to $3.65. The toughest part of the project was figuring out how to cut the tape in somewhat equal size strips so my suitcase didn’t turn out looking like it was decorated in a kindergarten class.
My wife loves to scrapbook, so I borrowed her rotary cutter. This was also a good option as it reduced the possibility of stabbing myself with scissors or a knife. After taking the tape off the roll I followed the guides when sticking it to the cutter, and easily slid the blade to make the tape pieces smooth and even. This method made cutting a breeze.
I alternated the lengths of tape strips in the grooves on the front and back of the suitcase, and even used the tape to put my initial on the top and bottom of the bag. I did this in case the bag comes out the luggage chute at an awkward angle. I wanted the bag to look cool, but not trashy – I’m interested to hear what you think about my final product, and if you would consider this idea for your suitcase. A photo of the final product is below, let me know via twitter if you have any ideas for making bags easier to spot.
I love to hear from my readers! you can follow me on Twitter @nedskee and on Instagram @nedskee Don’t let your vision hold you back, book a trip somewhere you haven’t been and make an adventure of it.
Research is the key to success
When traveling to a new location, be sure to take plenty of time to research your destination thoroughly. Familiarize yourself with the area, getting to not only know the streets in the area, but large and common landmarks in the vicinity. I can’t count the number of time I have asked for assistance but the person I was asking didn’t know the street names nearby, but were intimately familiar with larger landmarks and monuments around the area. Knowing the locations of the landmarks can save you a ton of frustration when you are turned around and looking to get back on track. Steer away from navigating my Starbucks, and fast food – there are a ton of them, and someone giving you directions can easily not be aware of the location of a specific food or coffee place. On the topic of asking people for directions, I always suggest asking a second person the same directions to make totally sure you are headed in the direction you think you are. This can be done politely well after you ask the first person so there are no “you don’t trust me” kind of situations.
Phone apps like BlindSquare (40 dollars in the app store) are incredibly useful tools, and make our lives easier, but always research so you have the knowledge of your area as a backup. My biggest fear in relying on a app for navigation is that there would be a signal interruption and I would be stuck. Go with the boy scout mantra and always be prepared. I personally enjoy researching my destination, not only for the locationally aware knowledge I gain, but I also love to learn about the history of the area. No amount of technology will replace good orientation and mobility skills.
Speaking of navigating around a place you haven’t been, schedule a trip – it doesn’t have to be across the country, it can be across town to an area you haven’t visited. Challenge yourself and don’t let your lack of vision hold you back – I don’t.
I love to hear from my readers! drop me an email and tell me about your adventures! You can follow my travels on Twitter @nedskee and on Instagram @nedskee