Barrier Free Travels

Well, it looks as if the Department of Justice is positioning themselves to take
advantage of a PR opportunity, with the upcoming  20th anniversary of the
enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). According to a recent
memo filed by the Access Board, "On April 26, DOJ submitted final rules to the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for approval. If cleared within OMB's
standard 90-day review period, DOJ may publish the updated regulations in late
July or early August." Personally, knowing how the government works, my money
is on late July – July 26, 2010 to be precise.

There's no shortage of public art in downtown Boise.

Boise is an excellent destination for wheelers and slow walkers, as the downtown area is flat with wide level sidewalks and plenty of curb-cuts. Additionally, the streets are laid out in a grid, so it's pretty hard to get lost. Add in a super collection of public art, and you have all the ingredients for a great self guided wheelchair-accessible art walk. It's fun, easy and free.

Rick Greenwald demonstrating the ARE -- which makes a telescope wheelchair-accessible -- at the Centennial Observatory in Twin Falls, Idaho.

If you happen to be in Twin Falls, Idaho on the second Saturday of the month, then head on over to the Herrett Center for Arts and Science for a free Star Party in the Centennial Observatory. Located on the College of Southern Idaho campus, this state of the art observatory boasts one of the world's largest wheelchair-accessible telescopes, equipped with some cool technology that makes star gazing accessible to everyone.

Candy and Cherrie enjoying thier cruise on the Snake River Canyon.

Today we explored the Twin Falls, Idaho area, by land and by water -- with a little bit of short distance air travel thrown in, just to spice things up a tad.

Cherrie and Candy mapping out their summer Wetern States road trip.

Well Charles , Cherrie and I are on the road again - in search of more accessible destinations and activities for our readers.  This summer road trip will take a little over three weeks, and hit some of the highlights and offbeat attractions in the west.

I've been getting a lot of questions this week about the "new" Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations for cruise ships. This flurry of inquiries was preceded by a recent DOT press release touting the new regulations as something to celebrate on this upcoming 20th anniversary of the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Frankly though, people are a bit confused.

Readers are asking me questions like, "Does this mean cruise ships will now have to provide accessible shore excursions?" and "Will it require a specific number of accessible rooms on each ship?" and "Does this mean that expedition style cruises will finally be accessible?" 

Every now and then I read an article that just leaves me scratching my head. Such is the case with this piece by Reannon Muth, which recently appeared on the Matador Network. From a quick glance at the title it appears to be a positive take on emotional support animals flying on commercial air carriers; but once you get to the meat of it,  you quickly learn that's not the slant. In fact, this airline-employee-turned-travel-writer is pretty vocal about people passing off their pampered pooches as emotional support animals, while the airlines basically turn a blind eye to it all. It's not that I disagree with her stand about emotional support animals; it's just that her facts are a little off kilter.

Or perhaps it's just artistic license -- you know embellishing the facts a bit just to make your article more interesting. Either way, it does a great dis-service to the traveling public, so to prevent the dissemination of misinformation, here's the straight poop on what the law has to say about flying with emotional support animals.

Over the years the Duck Tape PR Folks have sent me press releases, samples, photos and videos about how to use their products when you travel. Some ideas were practical (keep it in the glove compartment in case a hose breaks); while others bordered on ludicrous (take a roll of tape and some bubble wrap to make a pillow on your next flight). And although the latter example provided me with ample fodder for a bevy of happy hour jokes; I'm pleased to announce that out-of-the-blue I actually stumbled upon a practical accessible travel use for the product.

If you've ever wanted to try your hand at fly fishing, then head over to Steamboat Springs this June and sign up for the first-ever Floatin' the 'Boat Adaptive Fishing Camp. A project of STeamboat Adaptive Recreational Sports (STARS), this two-day hands-on camp provides a great opportunity for people of all ages and abilities to enjoy the great outdoors. Best of all, thanks to some very supportive local sponsors, it's also quite affordable!