I’m home from Nebraska! It was such an amazing trip! I had a wonderful time with all my friends! There is more than just corn and soybeans, I assure you. The landscapes are lovely! I took roughly 800 pictures! I got to visit with my surgeon, which was awesome! I went to a water park! I went horseback riding! I went to the Zoo! And I saw one of my good friend’s get married! Overall, my experience was great. It was exhausting and painful at times, but I truly enjoyed it!
The first night I met up with a bunch of friends for a group dinner, which was kindly paid for by Angela. Everyone in attendance was a spoonie!Â
The next day I had brunch with another spoonie, Erin, and her family. Then Squeeker, her fiance, Kyle, and her mom took me to a lovely garden area. It was a historic location, AND full of Pokemon.Â
The next day we did some much needed resting, got our nails done, went out to dinner and colored.Â
The next day my friend Jama came and picked me up. She accompanied me to meet my surgeon! We then took various pictures around Lincoln, had Thai food and went back to her house.Â
The next day, Jama, Angela & I went to the zoo! It was so cool! I got some great pictures of the Tigers, Lions, Gorillas, Zebras & Sea Lions! I got to feed a Giraffe! I also some some ducklings!!! The aquarium was awesome too! I loved the turtles and bright fish!
The next day Angela & I went to a small indoor water park called CocoKeys! It was a blast. Except the stairs. So. Many. Stairs!! But we knew that before we went.Â
The following day was Squeeker & Kyle’s wedding! It was soooo amazing! Everything was beautiful and Squeeker looked perfect! I cried! I also took 234 pictures! Later that night, Angela & I had dinner with Jama. Then we went to a drag show. It was FANTASTIC!! Oh my gosh! It made me want to be a gay man, because they were so gorgeous!! I also got quite drunk and fell asleep in the car on the way home, and then on the floor when we got home!Â
The next morning was less fun as I was hungover and Angela had gotten zero sleep. However that evening was fabulous! We went horseback riding at Shady Lane Ranch in Iowa! The scenery was lovely, the horses were sweet, our guide was funny and kind. It was also very affordable and if I lived out there, I’d go every weekend!Â
Now let’s talk Ableism and Accessibility.Â
Newark International Airport:
Right from the start we ran into issues. But that’s not surprising. Newark Airport has some of the rudest people on the planet in it’s employ. When I first arrived, I needed a wheelchair. Luckily, we (my mom & I) found one in the parking lot. As we were checking me in, the woman behind the counter snaps “Where did you get that?!” I told her outside. She then directs herself to my mom, “you cannot push her, someone who works here must push her!” ....okay, that’s fine. But how was I supposed to get inside if my mom couldn’t push me?
This next part wasn’t something that happened to me, but something I witnessed. While we were waiting, an elderly man who could hardly stand up approached some chairs. As he goes to sit down, an employee goes “these are for people waiting for arriving passengers” ...Seriously, there were about 8 seats empty, let the old guy sit down!Â
Next comes security. And as per ALWAYS at Newark, the employees argue with me about going through the scanners. I don’t care if the manufacturer of the scanner says that people with pacemakers can go through, the manufacturer of the pacemaker says NO! Stop being lazy, do the pat down, and shut up!
Finally, once you arrive at the gate, the employee drops you off and disappears with the wheelchair. So I had no assistance getting on the plane. This happens every time at Newark.Â
The rental costs for electric scooters is a bit high, seeing as patrons already pay to get in. But that’s not the real problem. The real problem is that the batteries on the electric scooters die in certain areas of the zoo, due to hills. Now this should be an easy fix, simply have 2 rental stations in the zoo where disabled people can trade in their dead scooter for a functional one. Or have shaded battery charging stations. But the zoo has neither of these. Instead the zoo hands you a map with areas highlighted and says “don’t go there. your battery will die”. I get that the battery might die, but restricting people based on their disabilities, is NOT okay.Â
The other issue I ran into was the Skyfari. (like a ski lift, but you go over various animals) The issue with this is that the seats never stop moving. People with balance issues or chronic pain have a very hard time getting into the moving cart. I know because I almost fell when it came up behind me.
This place is absolutely wonderful! They brought a wheelchair to me when I arrived. Had no qualms about me needed a pat down, in fact the woman who did it was just learning and apologized multiple times for being slow. Which was not a problem, everyone has to learn. The man who escorted me helped me load my computer back into my bag. He then left me with the wheelchair so I could be helped to the plane. A different man brought me down to the plane and went above and beyond. The ramp was very steep so he held my shoulder to make sure I didn’t slide out of the chair, offered me his shoulder to help me stand up, then he refused my money when I tried to tip him...I should have offered him my number instead. lol
