a weekend in San Antonio a baby step towards more travel

Hello again;

Back in November I was invited to attend the Texas State Convention or Conference for the National Federation of the Blind in San Antonio. They were considering me as a mentor for visually impaired people wanting to be entrepreneurs but who don’t want to go into food service. They offered to arrange my transportation and cover my expenses, so I said yes.

I am not usually the spontaneous type, but I saw the opportunity and decided to go after it. I packed my good clothes into the only suit case I own. My good clothes consist of two shirts given to me by the people at Robert Graham Designs and a couple pair of casual slacks. I realized that I didn’t own any dress shoes but decided that at a meeting of blind and visually impaired people most wouldn’t notice. πŸ™‚

They had someone pick me up at my house and drive me to the greyhound bus station in Houston. I then joined my group for the ride to San Antone. I was surprised to find out that they had wifi on the bus, and I even got a blog post written on the way.

I had also forgotten to bring snacks with me for the trip. Well heck, I didn’t really forget. I was low on funds and wasn’t really sure what kinds of snacks i should take. As a gastric surgery patient snacking is not something we are encouraged to do.

The plan was for me to share a room with the potential mentoring client. For some reason he decided not to go, so I ended up in a large room by myself. While this may sound like a good thing, it meant less opportunity to connect with someone and make a friend. And when you are in a place you don’t know like a huge hotel, knowing at least one person who you can recognize by sound is incredibly reassuring. I didn’t have this with one person there,, so quite a bit of the weekend was spent nervously wondering about getting lost or left behind.

But I did enjoy the seminars and speeches. The culminating speech at the main banquet was especially empowering. It was given by the national president who was part of the fund raiser involving a blind man driving a car at daytona speedway. In fact he was the driver. The topic was don’t let yourself be the passenger always make yourself the driver.

I was so impressed with the speech that I contacted him afterwards and advised him that he should trade mark the phrase and merchandise it. I went on to say that it could raise a lot of funds for their organization.

I learned a lot about the struggles of blind people and what is going on in the federal and state legislative arenas. I found out about the efforts to repeal a law allowing employers to pay the visually impaired less than the minimum wage. I also found out about the state of texas moving to combine all the rehabilitation agencies into one office and how this may effect the blind in the future.

There were some good opportunities for socializing. The first night there was a buffet set out and I noticed how many people were seeing each other again and renewing friendships they had made in college, at previous conferences, or state institutions for the blind. I was jealous of that. But the food was good and I splurged on a beer. I had a bud lite something I hadn’t done in years. It was cold and tasted better than I remember. I enjoyed sipping it, eating some good finger food, and meeting some great new people.

Saturday night they had karaoke. I was keen to attend and participate, but my back started acting up. It was stiff, and whenever I stood up after sitting a while I had to take several steps before my back would be straight again. Its very strange walking with a cane while you are partially bent over.

But I decided to accept this and be of good cheer. I was in a room with a big tub and no room mate. There would be no one to complain if I sloshed water on the floor. And with me having lost all the weight I could not only fit but I could soak. I practiced some deep yoga breathing in the hot steamy water and felt amazing. All it needed was some music and maybe someone to wash my back. πŸ˜‰

While we were there I was impressed with the Marriott’s handling of having over 200 visually impaired people in one place. They had a working talking atm set up in a private place. Most people had ear buds, so that wouldn’t have been a problem; but it still showed amazing sensitivity. They put tape on the key cards and then showed us which way to insert them to open the room doors. They had scotch tape to place on the signature lines so we would know where to sign the check in and check out forms. They had extra staff in the common areas to help get free coffee or give directions to those of us who were constantly lost. I was so impressed I went online and wrote them a review. πŸ™‚

I did have some scary moments on the way home. I had put my laptop in my suit case and was only carrying my cell phone. It went dead and i didn’t have the cord to charge it. Even if I had had the charger, it wasn’t working real good. So I might not have been able to charge it anyway.

Then it turned out that due to a scheduling conflict my ride to the bus station couldn’t take me back home to conroe over 45 miles away. And let’s not forget I didn’t have cab money or bus money or know which routes I would even take to get close to my home.

I called my brother on one of the other people’s phones and left a message. He called and found one of our friends who works for a carnival in houston who could come get me. It would mean hanging out on their midway until closing before I could go home; but at least I would be sure of getting there. And its not like I’ve never been on a midway before.

So, after getting back home I thought I’d think about what I learned and how I could be more prepared for future trips. And here is what I came up with.

Lessons learned

First, if I am not going to have a trusted friend or family member along, then its critical to do more planning. This is hard for me because I would rather do something pretty well than not do it at all while waiting for things to be ideal. I also need to have a working cell phone or other means of contacting help. And having cash and or credit handy is also something I need to address.

In addition I need to get some training on using my white cane and traveling independently. It had been so long since I had had to depend on it, that my skills were almost nonexistent. I have called to inquire about training, so we’ll see.

And since cost will probably be an object for the near future, I can probably expect to travel by train or bus rather than plane. And this means I need to find out what kinds of snacks are okay for me to have and are okay to carry on to a bus or train. I have asked the people at Texas Laparoscopic Consultants, TLC, about this and we are working on a list. Perhaps you have some suggestions for high protein low fat low carb items that travel well.

In all it was a positive experience. I took a risk and left the house without friends, family, or much of a safety net. I made it back home not only safely but I got to spend some time with some old friends while navigating my way back home. I learned that I still have the spirit it takes to do things like this which gives me confidence about future travel. You all know I want to travel more, so I’m sure you can recognize the value of taking a baby step like this. I fell down a bit and got bruised a bit; but the wounds have healed the bandages are gone, and I’m ready to try again.

I’m looking forward to hearing your thoughts about my little excursion. Do you have any advice as to how I could get out there more often and take even longer trips. Perhaps you have suggestions on how I could generate more income or even find a sponsor. And of course any encouragement is always welcome.

Sharing is caring

I know I always ask you to share my posts. πŸ™‚ This time though I have shared about a time when I had every right to be apprehensive if not down right scared, but i went ahead and did it anyway. What is more, I want to do it again. I’m actively planning and scheming towards my next trip. I want people to see this in hopes that it will encourage them to take more risks. And that can’t happen if people don’t see the post. So please share this with your friends, family, coworkers, and social media networks.

I appreciate your continued support. I know everyone is busy, so I hope you know how much I appreciate your taking the time to read my posts and leave your thoughts. Let me know if I can do anything to help you on your own journey.

Thanks so much and take care out there, Max

15 thoughts on “a weekend in San Antonio a baby step towards more travel”

    • hi debra; well, yes you have to put yourself out there. Just wish i could see myself being out there again soon. it doesn’t seem that things are moving as quickly in that area as i would like. but it all happens in its own time god’s time not my time. so i will do my best from behind the laptop. πŸ™‚ take care, max

      Reply
  1. Sounds like quite the adventure. Thanks for sharing it.
    πŸ™‚
    Just wonder why they would have a buffet. Not exactly the easiest thing for a bunch of blind people.
    Karaoke is certainly an experience. I got to tick it off my bucket list when I was in Ireland.
    There was recently a story in the news that has been picking up steam, when a factory employing a group of mentally delayed workers, they were going to lose their jobs when the place was going to shut down. Well, people fought it and the place ended up staying open, but since then there’s been a lot of talk of why people with disabilities get paid under minimum wage and how wrong it is, taking advantage.
    Have you ever heard the song, Drive, by Incubus?
    Kerry recently posted…Love and DespairMy Profile

    Reply
    • hey kerry; glad you liked it. and sorry i left out the fact that they had people assigned to bring us food at the opening night buffet. there wasn’t a lot of choices something i found to be a good thing. πŸ™‚ and it is sad that people with disabilities either go unemployed underemployed or have to take jobs at salaries below minimum wage. but i hear this and i ask a different question. if they can pay us less for the same job, why are they still not hiring us? I’d love to hear the answers from people in the human resources sector. thanks for the comment and take care, max

      Reply
    • hey kerry; thanks so much for sharing this with me. i’m always on the look out for new inspiration even if well especially if its from a genre singer or group I’m not familiar with. i am now a subscriber and left a comment. great share especially for a monday. xoxo max

      Reply
    • yeh it was sad especially as they went through all the trouble to get me there. they also haven’t followed up on my mentoring any other members. but that just means it wasn’t the right person or the right time. thanks lorraine, max

      Reply
  2. Max — you are a born story teller. You also have a lot of courage. You just decided to take off and figure it out along the way. It’s inspiring when I think of the advantages I have and yet can be a scaredy-cat about trying new things. I was shocked when you mentioned there is a law paying blind people less than the minimum wage. Disgraceful. I hope it’s repealed soon. All the best.
    Jeannette Paladino recently posted…DonҀ™t Let Your Subscribers Change Their Email AddressesMy Profile

    Reply
    • hi jeannette; thanks for the complements. i felt like i might not have been up to my usual standards on this one. πŸ™‚ and yes we all hope they change the law soon. the problem is there are some including the companies that use the law who say that increasing the pay up to minimum wage will only mean fewer jobs. the argument doesn’t prove out for cities and states raising the over all minimum but congress is overwhelmingly republican now so don’t expect it to change soon. and i thought it would have been a shame to not go when the opportunity was put in front of me. take care, max

      Reply
    • Hi Fritan; I am happy to hear that you found my blog and enjoyed my story. I hope that it may have motivated or inspired you in some way. I also want you to know that it was your comment that helped me shake off some lethargy and finish a post I had been working on but had been finding difficulty completing. i hope you will let me know when you have new posts as so i can get to know you and so i can support your efforts. thanks again and take care, max

      Reply
    • thanks for the pat on the back. i do my best to push myself. would love to do more when the opportunities arise. i’m sure you are doing good work too. I noticed your latest post is about staying positive and motivated something I know something about and am always seeking new methods tips suggestions etc. thanks max

      Reply
  3. Hi Max, I haven’t visited with you for some time but am glad I did. I love the way you focus on the positive and keep the negative as a learning experience.
    So glad the conference was informative – I’m sure that given time you’ll be back mentoring someone(s). Hope you get to make many more trips.

    Reply

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