What’s the good word, Soulsters?
Do you know what happens when you send your wishes into the universe and proclaim them? They usually come to fruition in some sort of way.
Timing is always key, no word of a lie. I cannot tell you how long I have been trying to get to this festival! Being able to cover the Soul Beach Music Festival has been a few years in the making. This year, it has come to fruition and I’m thrilled for the opportunity! You will find some of my event recaps here and my concert reviews over on Soultracks.com.
And there is also another facet to my trip. So here’s the gist of it from my girl Towa Beer:
When I sat down to plan a trip to celebrate my birthday, I thought it would go like any other trip I’d planned in the past. Now I have a mobility walker and an 11 year old daughter to add to the anxiety mix and we could not find something we could both enjoy.
Turns out I’m not alone in trying to plan a trip as a Traveller With Wheels and that there are ZERO travel resources that people with mobility challenges can access when planning a business trip or family vacation.
Had a fantastic discussion with Producer, Toni Anne Thomas and with her guidance and vision, I turned in the treatment like a nervous post-grad student.
Tomorrow we leave on a trip with Caribvibetv as part of a special accessibility episode where we look at the challenges faced during our journey.
We will share info about boarding the WestJet flight from Toronto Airport, the stunning villa we get to reside in, attend the S*** BEACH FESTIVAL event, and visit the special places and spaces of…
Soulsters, if you haven’t guessed by now, I’m heading to ARUBA tomorrow!
Now, you must be wondering where I fit in in all of this. Well, my girl Towa Beer has been talking about this idea of hers for the longest while and it looks like the timing has finally arrived and the opportunity has presented itself. And when opportunities come through, you take action and jump in!
Accessibility, on the whole, includes anyone who has to depend on the use of any form of personal transportation with wheels, including a stroller. As a mom who uses a stroller to tote my toddler around, it’s not the easiest thing even when I simply run around in the city where I live. Ever think of being in a subway where there is no access to an elevator? I hear fellow moms gripe about this constantly. I remember having heart palpitations last year while visiting family in Montreal when I had to take Sugar Plum down into the metro on an escalator (not recommended at all). Here in Toronto, I had a bus driver assist me to catch a shuttle bus (I have really bad dexterity and pushing is about all I can handle), carrying Sugar Plum all the way above ground because there was no elevator available. Now, this is day to day. Imagine being abroad trying to find your way around a city you’re not familiar with and coming up against roadblock after roadblock? Wouldn’t you want to know what is available to you as a person maneuvering with “wheels”?
Towa will give you the perspective of accessibility rolling through town with her mobility walker and as the lady with the toddler and set of stroller “wheels”, you get my perspective of how things roll (no pun intended, I swear) being Sugar Plum’s chauffeur in a visiting city.
Thankfully, Towa asked me to be her sidekick, therefore Sugar Plum and I are heading to Aruba with her and the Caribbean Vibrations crew to review just how accessible the process is to travel to, attend events and run around the island of Aruba.
I’ll be sharing a lot about the vibes in Aruba on these pages, but be sure to follow me on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook to get the behind-the-scenes and madness that we get into. It’s always a hollerin’ good time when Towa and I get together – and then to be accompanied by the CaribVibe crew? Oh boy. Beach, sand, good times, wicked company, great vibes – I can’t wait for this trip!!!
See y’all soon…
