Travels

It has been over two years since I last posted on this blog, and even before that, I wasn’t writing as much as I would have liked to. There’s been a lot of procrastination involved, but mostly, I’ve been busy trying to live life as well as possible. It’s still a work in progress, but I’ve had some experiences in that time that I wouldn’t change for the world. One of which has now become a staple and frankly amazing part of my lifestyle – travel.

For a long while after getting injured in 2010, the idea of travelling anywhere outside a 100-mile radius of my house would give me mild anxiety. Apart from a couple of road trips and one fully accessible week-long stay in France, it was a fight to get me to see travel as anything other than a logistical nightmare. Even on the handful of occasions I did spend more than a night out of my own bed, each trip would take a lot of convincing, negotiating, and reassuring before I would even pack a suitcase. But all that changed in 2022 after my mother passed away at the start of the year. I found myself in the ironic position of not caring enough about “possible negative experiences” while simultaneously being surrounded by some of the best support I’ve ever had to deal with the so-called “possible negative experiences.” Of course, I was oblivious to any of this at the time, but it’s clear now, in hindsight, why I suddenly had no qualms about something that had bothered me so much for over a decade. So when the opportunity came to spend a few days in Spain, watching live basketball and soaking up some sun, I went for it. Now, don’t get me wrong, I still needed some convincing and reassuring and only agreed to 4 days of what should have been a 2-week vacation. But it was the best decision I could have made at the time and exactly what I needed. It went so well that I’ve been on multiple trips since. In the 3 years since, I’ve been on 10 different trips to and through 6 different countries on 2 continents, travelled across borders by air, land, and sea, on planes, ferries, trains, and cars, not to mention the multiple road trips and shorter vacations within the UK sprinkled here and there. The whole thing has been a series of adventures during which I learned so much more about the world, myself, and the people around me. In fact, I’m still learning because I intend to continue travelling as far as my wheelchair will roll and as much as my bank account will allow. Hopefully, I’ll eventually get comfortable enough with a camera to show you some of these incredible experiences in real time.

For now, the plan is to get back into writing and share “my life in a chair” with you. That will include some tales from the holidays and other things I’ve learned since the last time you heard from me. Fingers crossed, I don’t leave it this long again.

Until next time, stay blessed, and see you soon.