Air Travel

So I am going to Alaska in a couple of weeks for some work training.  They are sending my husband with me to assist, which is super nice and so greatly appreciated!  However, I have not been on a plane since I was two.  I am so paranoid that they are going to damage or lose my wheelchair!

We always hear stories about people losing their luggage.  We had one friend who went to San Diego for a week and didn't get his suitcase until it was time to go home.  What if the airlines lose my chair?!  What will I do? 

Also, I understand that they have an aisle sized chair to get on and off the plane.  What if I need to use the restroom while I'm there?  Will my husband have to pick me up and take me?  The restrooms are tiny on a plane....  Do they have handicapped restrooms and does that aisle chair come with the plane just in case?

These are all the questions running through my mind.  If anyone has answers, let me know!  I will update after the trip:)

Less expensive car repairs

Let me start by saying that our van is 10 years old and has seen many better days.  With that being said, we have had a chronic problem with the automatic sliding door since day one.  Had I known what I do now, I would have turned it in for Lemon Laws, if that were an option.

For the second time in as many years, the plastic chain that runs along the bottom of the door track has broken into about 5 different pieces.  I have made many a phone call and I found that the local conversion place wanted to charge me $130 for the part plus labor totaling about FIVE HUNDRED dollars!  What?!  I asked why so much for the labor?  I was told that it would be roughly three hours worth because they would have to remove the door panel in order to install the piece.

OK, so the panel has to be removed.  Never mind the fact that this part looks like it just plugs in on both ends and "voila" it should be finished.  That means that I am now being charged $123 per hour for labor!  Again - What?!  

My personal mechanic (for non conversion repairs) naturally tells me that this is ridiculous.  Even the local Mercedes dealership only charges about $90, according to him.  So I took the car in to my local body shop.  Guess what?  He only charges $40 per hour for labor.  Guess what else?  The part is a Chrysler part - not a conversion part: and for the record, it is $130.  

So to make a long story short, I have now just saved myself $250 (if it really does take three hours of labor).  Thankfully, my part is on order and I am hoping to get the repair next week.

The moral of the story is: Check with your local mechanic (or body shop) before going to your conversion shop. You may save yourself a ton!

Handicapped Parking

Growing up in California, I rarely had a problem finding a parking space.  There were usually plenty of spaces, and they all had a nice sized loading zone (some larger than others).  On occasion, that loading zone may be on the opposite side of what I needed, but that was easily fixed by parking backwards in the spot.

Since moving to Utah, I have noticed that this is something the state is definitely lacking.  Sometimes, there are not enough spaces.  Most often the spaces are narrow and the loading zone is no more than 3 feet across.  This may seem like a decent amount of space to exit your car, but if have a van with a lift or ramp, as I do, there is barely enough room to get that ramp out - let alone manuever the wheelchair off of it.  On the rare occasion that there are an abundance of spots to park, there are many spaces without loading zones at all!

Hmmmm....I think I may start looking into the laws here to see what I can do.  Anyone from other states have similar experiences?

Accessible Cars

Why, oh why must accessible cars cost so much?  We have a 2001 Dodge Grand Caravan IMS conversion that we purchased new.  Needless to say, this has been our primary family car for nearly 10 years now, and it is in desperate need of replacement.  The door has never quite worked properly; and in this cold Utah weather, it certainly hasnn't gotten any better.  Our goal is to try and make this one last as long as possible, praying that the engine won't give out on us after 146,000 miles.  Then, we would like to try and pay CASH for the next one.  Now, we are not a rich family, so this feat of saving around $50,000 is going to take a lot of time, energy and discipline.  Anyone have any ideas on how to cut the costs?  Buying used is not an option - they usually have high mileage and are not very cost effective...  I have thought about purchasing from a company that converts used cars after market, but I honestly don't think that the quality of the conversion is as good as the vehicles that are converted as new.  Is there any assistance out there for purchase that I don't know about?

Oh Frustrations!

So, as we know there are LOTS of businesses that are still not caught up to comply with ADA.  Well, a couple of weeks ago our family attended a community festival here in Ogden, Ut called the Winterfest.  Having two kids, naturally, one of them had to make a potty trip.  We happened to be in front of a large historic hotel, so I thought that it would be no big deal to bring my four year old daughter into the hotel to use the restroom.  Boy, was I wrong!

We entered into the main lobby, and the first thing that I noticed was that there was a set of steps to go to the main desk.  The restrooms were located across the lobby.  No big deal, there should be a ramp or elevator here close by - right?  WRONG!

An employee walked up to us and apologized profusely and explained that they were currently working with a person to get them into compliance, but they did not have any access to the main lobby yet.  What?!  How can this be possible?  Instead, she had to lead us around the block to the back of the hotel, where there was a "less dignified" motel.  We had to go through the motel office and she had to tell the counterperson to buzz us into another door.  Then, we had to go through a maze of narrow hallways to an elevator, and then down an elevator and back to the main lobby.

By now, we had spent an extra 10 minutes to get to that bathroom - and thank goodness I didn't have to go.  It wasn't accessible either!  Thank goodness for having a smaller wheelchair, or there would have been no way for me even to get into that room.  The doorway was narrow and there was little space for people to even stand to wait.

That's my rant for the day.  Anyone else have a frustrating story?