[Flummoxed]

OffRoad, amazing news about your walk!! 💗 Additionally, thank you for sharing your “how about that” story. No matter how many threads I read, research I dive into, conversations I have with others-  this will never cease to amaze me. But I’m so glad there’s hope in time that someday one can just laugh it off and shake one’s head. It is what it is and we move forward.

[OffRoad]

Thank you, MadLuv and Flummoxed. I don't write here much, but sometimes like to let people know that the single life isn't so bad. I suppose I might be able to find someone if I wanted, though it is tough when one isn't very mobile, I'm just not sure I want anyone. I'll just let my life continue to unfold.

I went to Yosemite in June. My friend had never been and that was supposed to be part of the October adventure that she had to cancel, so now that her life had evened out, I invited her along. Last time I went it was winter and incredible. 4 foot icicles hanging from overhangs, crystalline ice covering the ground where the snow had melted and reformed, ice covered streams. It was like being to an entirely different park in June. Once again, I was faced with ADA does not mean a disabled person can actually use anything, but I'm all about making do. Suggestion: Don't stay at Cedar Lodge, even if you aren't disabled. Stay at the south end if you don't stay in the park.

Nonetheless, the scenery was beautiful. There were still full waterfalls and wildlife galore. At one point I was getting ready to get the wheelchair out of the car and a couple of very nice young men gave us a hand. Warms my heart that there are still people like that out there. (I can actually do it without the lift if I have one other person and myself, but I'll take the help). There were a few trails that were chairable and I really enjoyed that.

I remembered one time when I went with XH and his parents and I had booked the rooms at a certain price. When we got there, they tried to charge me more and I pulled out my reservation sheet and said that this is the cost I was quoted. The desk person tried this song and dance, XH's mother wanted to just pay the extra, but I would have none of it and they finally honored the reservation cost. At the time I was made to feel like I was in the wrong by both the desk person and Xh's mother, but I knew I was not. And I realized now that who I am is not someone who rolls over and plays dead, yet at the end when XH was behaving so badly and I was so confused, I came very close to becoming someone who rolls over and plays dead. It is mind boggling to me now. I now sometimes think that the universe did me a favor and saved me.

It was a great trip and when I came home I started putting up new blinds, It takes about an hour per blind because it's remove the old blinds, rest, remove a bracket, rest,  remove a bracket, rest. Put up the new brackets, rest, put up the new blind, rest. But hey, I'm still putting up my own blinds. Another person would be handy, though.   None of this is how I thought my life would end up, but adventures abound.

I hope everyone has wonderful adventures! Someone recommend a National Park for my next trip.

[JohnnyBravo]

I hope everyone has wonderful adventures! Someone recommend a National Park for my next trip.

I thought Glacier NP in Montana was pretty amazing; It's been a while, so I don't recall how ADA-friendly they were. Someday I'm hoping to take a long ride back there and continue up into Banff.

I was hoping to ride through Rocky Mountain NP a couple of years ago, but didn't realize they had timed entry on the only through-road in the entire area. I had to backtrack and it really screwed up the day.

Kudos on the blinds!

JB

[FaithWalker]

My relatives just got back from Glacier National Park and loved it.

I say Glacier or maybe Olympic.  Not sure what the ADA options are though.

Wow, hanging blinds!  Go you!  I need new blinds and don't think I could do any of them myself lol.  The damage that was done by being married to a builder.  He didn't take the time to teach me any of that and I got too comfortable allowing him to do all that for me.

[OffRoad]

Hi JB and Faithwalker.  Glacier sounds good to add to my bucket list. I have been to Olympic and it was wonderful, so that might be a go again kind of thing. I may end up back east for long enough to find a good NP, but it's not likely to be until November. D is getting married and I'm trying to figure out the best way to get there. I've never actually traveled by air alone since my body betrayed me. I have a lot of thinking to do.

I did manage an interesting trip with S in October. I had offered a trip several times, but he would never let me come by to pick him up. Recall, he is still living with his father and his girlfriend, wife, I dunno. S turned 26 this past year, which is a time when your children finally realize they don't know everything and come back if they separated from you, even a little. At least that is what I have seen. In any case,  Now, I have been worried that at some point I'm just going to pass away alone in this house (that part doesn't worry me, I have never been afraid of dying and the neighbors will find me) and S is going to realize that he would never get a chance to make things "right" with me. My younger sister still regrets not spending more time with our Grandmother, but I don't have that regret because I was always going to visit or calling or something. I didn't want that for my son, because he is still not in a great place.

I offered once again and this time S said Yes to a trip to Las Vegas. I even told him I would park down the street and he could come meet me, but he actually allowed me to pick him up at the house. That alone was fascinating, as it was a row of houses built on the edge of wash area (back half of the houses were hanging over the wash) and you had to drive through an area with nothing but (large) mobile homes to get there. It's like someone just purchased a strip of land next to the wash and built 30 houses. So I was surprised to start with, but said nothing. We had a nice drive and ate at Road Kill Cafe on the way. I was smart and got a Residence Inn with 2 rooms so we wouldn't be tripping over each other. We went to Omega Mart, and Tournament of Kings, visited Valley of Fire and Red Rock, but oddly the highlight of the trip was to Mt Charleston. The foliage colors were changing and it was beyond beautiful.  We did have a bit of an issue when we somehow got onto politics type things and we had some differing views. I politely asked questions to understand where he was coming from, he seemed to do the same. We got to agree to disagree on some things, and I told him I could see his point on others, though my experience was different than his (about 40 years more of things that have moved my beliefs marker more times than I can count) , so we just had to understand that. It ended well as far as I could tell. He doesn't have to think the same way anyone else does and he did a good job of explaining his position. And quite honestly I was happy to see he had some opinions on things he felt strongly about, yet could still have a decent conversation. 

We drove back and stopped in Kingman, AZ at a place he said "someone" recommended (that would be his father, but I didn't let on that I knew that). They had their own version of a Philly Cheesesteak ( I am a Philly Cheesesteak snob. It must be made with provolone or it's not a real Philly Cheese Steak. I will accept Cooper Sharp. Don't even MENTION  Cheez Whiz to me....). But this was made with a very nice sharp cheddar sauce, delicious (Garibaldi's if anyone is ever in the area, and the rest of their food looked and smelled incredible)

When we got back, he took me on a tour of his "town". I could see the allure, it reminded me of Monterey and Carmel Downtown back in 1977.  The next "town" over was only 10 minutes away and it had all the staples in life:  a Costco, Walmart, Target, etc.

And yet, just as I drove up to drop him off, the girlfriend/wife/ whatever was walking out to the trash can in front of the house to deposit a pizza box. Short, gray hair, every bit as pudgy as I am, and obviously not dressed for going outside. S could not get out of the car fast enough. I mean, what did he think I was going to do, roll down the window and shout "Hi!"? So it ended on a weird note, though he did ask me to text him when I got to my hotel (I couldn't make it all the way back home since I was dropping him off around 3:30)

And then, lucky me, my car decided to have a problem, but I least I ended up in a larger city when it happened. At least one spark plug went out and while those of us who have been around a while know we USED to be be able to run on 5 cylinders, somehow a car is going to blow itself apart if you were to try it today. Just ask, they will tell you. But the guys in the service department stayed late to change my spark plugs, which was very kinds and I finally rolled back in home about 4 hours later than I planned.

All of that to say, for me, it was a really good trip. We talked about a million things. It disturbs him to see me as I am, and I get that. I was indestructible Mom for most of his life. I did it all, painted walls, repaired things, built things, fixed cars, showed him and his sister how to fix cars, drove off road, showed him how to drive off road, ran the family on a shoestring so I could be home with the kids when they weren't in school, took contract jobs for extra money when we needed a car or other big ticket item, got them to and from school and everywhere else and fought for them when the dyslexia reared it's head. And now I'm still capable, but obviously not indestructible anymore. But we had a chance to catch up, to see each other as real people. He knows I am here if he needs me. I know I cannot fix him, he has to figure it all out himself. He knows he needs to do something different than he is doing, which is a step in the right direction.

I often wonder how everything would have played out if not for MLC. Again, this isn't the life I would have chosen, but it's not bad at all. That trip with S was the last thing I felt needed to happen and now it's all about me. I've connected back up with some old friends and off I go. Oddly, more "things" can go now. Something has reset. It's about time.

[FaithWalker]

OR, I'm so glad you had that time with S!  Wonderful!!!!  Thank you for sharing your travels, I love reading about them and I am so impressed that you do it all in spite of your physical limitations!  You are seizing life by the horns post MLC!

[OffRoad]

Thank you, Faithwalker

I hope anyone new who comes along will understand that it doesn't matter if your MLCer comes back, or your life isn't quite what it was. It won't mean it can't be pretty darned fine. The road may be bumpy, but one step at a time.