What Is This?!

I'm sitting in SFO at the early hours of Sunday. Thought I'd do a rerun of my trip, guess you can say this is a part two of my earlier blog: "Congrats, you're an 'adult'!"

The flight out to California went extremely well. I couldn't ask for more from the United Airline flight attendants who were so accommodating of my needs. Got to the airport couple hours before, talk to 'em about isle seats and before I knew it, they tagged my chair and I was off moving towards to the gate. If you're a disabled traveler you probably already know that you can't go through the security gate like most people. So I went through the side and get frisked by the airport security. (Nothing big, just a simple pat down, so all good! :D)

Airports these days are extremely suited for those with disabilities. There are ramps set up almost everywhere and it is a lot easier to get around than other places. (Though you still get crazy people looking at you like you're going to rob 'em or something...if you want to know the staring stories, ask, I'll tell you :P ) As I sit by the gate and wait for boarding call, I was amazed at the art display all over the terminal. They sure got some nice art around the place!

Art at SFO

I was the first to board (flights are usually like this, first on the flight and last off), the flight attendant escorted me to the flight and showed me to my seat. I was fortunate enough to get a seat close to the exit and also in the isle seat. So really transferring into the seat from my chair wasn't bad at all :)

The flight to SFO was just as any other flight I've been on. Again, with SCI it is important to adjust your weight to prevent pressure sores but hey I don't need to tell you that :P

After I landed in San Francisco, good friend of mine, Bobby drove out to the airport to pick me up. (Glad someone volunteered to be my taxi for the two days I was in California) We stopped by IHOP for a good breakfast before heading to my hotel room.

IHOP in Foster City

Like I have said before in my previous blog, the manager at the Courtyard Marriott gave me a personal guarantee that I will be able to check into the hotel room by myself and at the same time, the room will be fit to my every needs. Well this manager sure kept his problem because my room was perfect :)

If you're wondering about the service, you can read it here

As much as I don't want to leave California and stay awhile to chill out with my friends, I had to get home. Mom's birthday is today! (Loads planned, more on that later) So I packed up my stuff and ready for the flight home.

K was nice enough to give me a ride to the airport so early in the morning. We talked about a couple things and promise each other to stay in touch.

The people at SFO were also extremely nice (though the staring continues...) I got to the airport and well look, got time to kill before boarding the flight.

And speaking of flight, it's time to board, shall continue this blog later on.

I'm now on the connection flight home, short flight (just under an hour) so I thought I continue. (Though there is this kid crying in the back of the plane, don't know what's the deal but starting to drive me nuts!) Connection flight, people will tell you is one of the most crazy things you have to deal with when you travel. Adds onto the stress of trying to catch your next flight when you're disabled. Luckily I talked to the crew and they were nice enough to ask the entire flight to wait until I get off the plane before they start moving towards the gate. I manage to get to the gate of my next flight with enough time for a couple tweets :P

I have to say, overall this entire process was amazing. Can't thank the people over at United for making the flights less stressful and of course, to the manager at the Courtyard Marriott, you're awesome :D

Guess the place!

Next stop, home and slowly reveal my evil plan for Mom's birthday dinner :D (If you are following me on Twitter, Mom asked if she can invite her her friends to the birthday dinner. I thought, "What is this, a kid's birthday at Chuck E Cheese's?!" She's lucky I love her because I said yes...)

"Congrats, you're an 'adult'!"

Here I am sitting in United Airline's flight to San Francisco, and bored with doing homework/college applications, I thought I'd write something to post on my blog later on.

If you're wondering why I'm flying out to California, early yesterday morning, I discovered that good friend, K's Mom passed away due to medical complications. K was not a close friend to start with but after meeting her through a mutual friend, we quickly bounded and became close friends. As I move all over the country and the world, both K, her siblings, and her parents would constantly send emails, calls, and even send cards for both Mom and me while Dad's deployed. They really took care of us and watch out for us like we're a part of their family. Truly, I would consider K and her family one of our closest civilian friends.

Colorado Springs Airport

So, upon hearing this sad news, I decided to miss Thursday's match and this weekend's tennis tournaments to fly out to California and be with the family during their troubled times. (and, of course, to to attend the memorial service on Saturday) After all, they were there for us when we needed 'em, now it's time to be there for 'em.

Walking away from that topic, as much as I want to be there for the family, I now face a dilemma. Those who require last minute travel plans to make it to a business meeting/emergencies can tell you how crazy it is to find a flight, place to live, and not to mention cars to drive once you're at your destination. Now talk to a disabled traveler and tell 'em to make plans within 24 hours, they'd think you're nuts! Being a disabled traveler adds onto the challenge of planning last minute trips.

Now...put those two together and tell an adult that he needs to travel that within the next 24 hours. Sounds simple? Not really, the "adult" is 18 years old.

I know that this isn't the first time someone tells me I'm nuts. No matter what was going to happen, how much trouble I need to go through to get this planned, I HAD to be in California within 24 hours. I just wouldn't know what to do with myself if I wasn't. So, as soon as I got home from school yesterday, I went on a mad dash to find a flight, hotel, and car for when I get to California.

I know what you're thinking, "oh good luck, you're going to need it..." And sure enough, I needed the luck. See, I knew about the flights, I knew about the hotels, and I can say that I knew bits of how rental cars work. Read on:

Reserving a flight may sound easy to the A.B (able-bodied, that's right, we got names for you normal people. You better watch your back! :P) but it can be a bit nuts for a disabled traveler. Most airlines these days are accommodating to your needs, but you do need to call ahead just for sort of a heads-up into this "situation". People can spend hours on the phone just to get hold of the airline's customer's service. Thankfully, the people over at United Airlines were extremely friendly and helpful so I didn't spend hours on the phone (I didn't have hours to spare!)

Now, onto living accommodations.

To most A.Bs, hotels are nothing more than the ratings they were given, their price, and maybe what the hotel offers. Talk to any disabled travelers and they can tell you how crazy it is to find a place that's accessible. Yes it's true that there are a lot of good friends out there who would offer you a place to stay on such short notice but not all of 'em have accessible housing. (i.e wide doors, accessible showers, etc.) So the best way to ensure you have that is staying at hotels. It is against the law for hotels NOT to have accessible rooms. HOWEVER, not all of 'em will match an individual needs. What do you do? You get on the phone and tell the people working at the hotel EXACTLY what you need.

Courtyard® by Marriott®

Sounds crazy? Ya it can be but on top of that, I must find hotels that will allow 18 year olds to check in without anyone over the age of 21 present. After hours of searching, I was glad to talk to a manager at Courthouse Marriott who is more than welcome to have me check in by myself AND his personal guarantee that my room will be exactly the way I requested (or else he'd pay for my stay! Awesome management!!)

Lastly, there was the problem of transportation.

Any disabled traveler can tell you how awesome it is when you don't have to rely on others for transportation. After all, independence rules :) Now, rental cars, believe it or not, are actually fairly easy to rent. You just call the rental car place and notify 'em that you will be needing an adapted vehicle. And they, by law, have to provide you with an accessible car. (i.e hand controls) Simple right? Not if you're under 25!!! After searches after searches, I just could not find a place that will allow 18 year olds to rent a car. Even with your perfect record, due to insurance and other issues, companies most likely will not let anyone under 25 rent a car.

So, to solve the transportation situation, I had to ask around for taxi service from my friends within the two days I'm in California. Thank goodness for good friends! :D Two out of three major "issue" went my way, so I guess it can't be that bad.

After that crazy planning, I got thinking. A lot of people say when you turn 18, you're an adult. You're legally an adult and can do many things that kids just can't do. But really, you're still a kid and you can't do anything without a real adult present. So when are we really "adults"? In a bigger picture do our age really define our adulthood?

Few examples of what 18 year old "adult" can't do legally: rent car, check-into most hotels, buy alcohol and so on. So, are we really adults? Or are we just "adults" under the eye's of older people? (And at the same time it's making me wonder why we can enlist at 18 and can't do all those stuff until later on in our lives...quite strange...)

Anyways, the captain just told us we're about to land in SFO, so turning off laptop till I get to the hotel. Stay tuned for more blogs about this trip.