How We Travel: Simple, Accessible, and Open to What Life Presents

If Why We Adventure spoke to the heart, this post speaks to the hands, feet, and wheels 🧑🏽‍🦽‍➡️. This one isn’t about why travel matters to us, but how we actually make it work in real life, with real limits, real planning, and a lot of flexibility.

In my last post, I shared why adventure matters to us. This time, I want to share how we travel, the practical rhythms, choices, and mindset that allow us to say yes when opportunities show up, as a mother and adult son navigating disability together.

This isn’t a model to copy or a path everyone can take. It’s simply what has worked for us in this season.

A gentle word before anything else

I know not everyone is in a season where opportunity shows up easily. Some chapters feel full of openings, and others feel painfully still. I’ve lived in both places.

So when I share our story, it’s not with the expectation that everyone should be able to travel this way. Many can’t. Many don’t want to. Many are navigating challenges far deeper than logistics.

This is simply the path that has opened for us right now, not a better path, just ours at this time. it hasn’t always been and probably won’t always be but if even a small part of our process or perspective is helpful or grounding for someone else, then sharing it matters.

Why We Travel

We don’t travel because our circumstances are ideal. The physical healing we long for hasn’t arrived. Life looks different than we once imagined.

Still opportunities to experience the world in new ways keep showing up. And I’ve learned to pay attention to what is, rather than waiting for what isn’t. That’s often where God and life gently lead, not through the outcomes we hope for, but through the invitations placed right in front of us.

Be where your feet or in our case wheels are.

Not every moment will be enjoyable, but many can be

and almost every place offers something worthy to notice or learn.

Hawaii: an unexpected invitation

We weren’t planning a trip to Hawaii. Then recently a HomeExchange message arrived:

“We need a place to stay. Your home is perfect. Want to come stay at our home in Hawaii?”

I smiled when I read it, because this is exactly how life seems to be unfolding for us right now, not through the healing we still hope for, but through unexpected doors opening at our feet and wheels.

So we said yes. And I’m learning to trust what presents itself, believing that God often works through what is, not just what I wish were different.

How We Travel Simply (and why simplicity matters)

Most people think you can’t be spontaneous when traveling with a disability. I’ve found the opposite.

The more organized and simple we keep things, the more freedom we actually have. Less stuff. Fewer decisions. More room to adapt.

Simplicity doesn’t limit us. It prepares us!

What we pack

One carry-on suitcase holds:

• Jonny’s folding shower chair

• a suction-cup grab bar

• 2 -4 mix-and-match outfits for each of us

• Includes long- and short-sleeve layers

• socks and underwear

  
  

Worn on the plane - a good pair of all around shoes

Our wheelchair setup

When traveling, most often we use the Discovery Ranger folding power chair from Porto Mobility. It folds easily, has long battery life, 50 lbs (a weight I and airport staff can lift), handles uneven paths well, and has been durable and reliable for travel. Their customer service has also been excellent, which matters more than people realize when you travel with equipment.

My carry-on backpack

This always stays with me:

• medications

• Toiletries

• travel documents

• emergency instructions

• iPad

• headphones

• wallet / passport (secured)

• wheelchair joystick

• Removable lithium batteries (required carry-on)

• a sweatshirt

I also place AirTags in our suitcase, backpack, my wallet and wheelchair. Being able to locate our equipment has saved a lot of unnecessary stress when systems don’t communicate well.

Bathrooms on planes

For long flights, Jonny uses a condom catheter. Commercial airplanes simply aren’t designed with realistic wheelchair bathroom access, and this allows for comfort and dignity while flying.

Where we stay

We rarely stay in hotels. Instead, we rely on:

• Most often - HomeExchange

• Occasionally - Airbnb

• occasional - house or pet sitting

Access to a kitchen and laundry makes a huge difference when caregiving is part of travel. It’s also more comfortable and allows us to settle into a place rather than rush through it.

I usually wash clothes before packing to return home. A small thing that makes travel and returning home more inviting. And if you don’t bring many clothes, this is easily done.

Flights, flexibility, and mindset

I rarely buy flights at full price. We travel off-season, watch for deals, set alerts, and stay flexible.

When delays happen and they do we try to treat them as part of the journey. Sometimes the best conversations and unexpected kindness show up there.

Broken elevators, weather changes, reroutes are real. But they don’t have to steal the experience.

Getting around

Depending on the place, we:

• use a home exchanger’s car (when offered)

• use Uber or Lyft

• use public transportation (often free for wheelchair users)

• Our favorite - simply walk / roll everywhere

Accessibility varies widely, so I always research transportation ahead of time.

Travel points and an accessibility tip

I use:

• Capital One Venture X

• Chase travel cards

I put regular expenses on the card, pay it off twice a month, and use the points for flights.

Accessibility tip:

You don’t need to pay for seat selection if you have medical seating needs. Buy the cheapest ticket, then call the airline’s accessibility line. They’re required to assign appropriate seating at no extra charge.

A word to anyone in a different season

If you’re reading this and your life feels nothing like travel right now. If it’s heavy, quiet, or painfully stuck. I want to acknowledge that that not all seasons come with open doors.

There were years when leaving home felt impossible, when survival and grief came first.

Your life has meaning exactly where it is. Opportunity doesn’t define worth. This is simply what has shown up for us right now.

What I hope people take away

My hope isn’t that people travel the way we do.

My hope is that people feel permission to:

• notice what’s already present

• stay open to small invitations

• meet life where they are

Presence is its own kind of journey.

Be where your feet and or wheels are

and let that place teach you something.

If you’re curious about any of the specific tools, travel setups, or platforms we use and would like more details, feel free to comment or message me. I didn’t include links here because this isn’t meant to be an add, guide or an endorsement only our current lived experience but I’m always happy to share what’s working for us.