Tague Team Travel

This is an awesome program! It helped us change a tire on the interstate when we were in Florida on vacation!

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/Y6hTv1P1GZwBRTRZ/?mibextid=K8Wfd2

Stranded? Don’t worry! Our free Highway Helper service may be able to help. Highway Helpers patrol the freeway systems in Des Moines, Council Bluffs, Cedar Rapids/Iowa City, and Quad Cities metros. Call 911 to report your emergency and the dispatcher will take it from there.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/sh28XU6ccCg8kPjS/?mibextid=K8Wfd2

There is a car in front of them a short distance!
Remind your loved ones, neighbors and anyone you know that will listen - Turn "ON" your headlights, please. The automatic running lights are not your actual headlights. When you “turn your headlights ON” your back lights come on so that all four corners of your vehicle are visible.

This is nearly always an issue when parking! What a good invention!!!

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/8v5ZqfetAgbXXG6P/?mibextid=9R9pXO

We recently stayed at a hotel in Omaha on the 3rd floor. The elevator was so noisy and unsteady I made the kids take the stairs as much as possible. Then looking at their inspection certificate found it was last inspected over 5 years ago. When I approached the front desk clerk about this he said it was inspected a few months back and he doesn't know why they don't update the certificate in the elevator. He also said some other questionable things I won't repeat. When an elevator is still moving and not level with the floor when the doors open it makes you nervous. The video really doesn't do it justice. I will post video in another post.

I have always wanted to do this to see it "in action" by how much room you can save and see if clothes will end of wrinkly. I will have to try it next trip and see if it really works for all of us!

5 AMAZINGLY Compact Ways to Fold Clothes for Packing Watch this quick step by step video and learn 5 of the most compact ways to fold clothes for packing. Using the techniques taught in this video will help you...

Hope everyone has a safe Thanksgiving holiday spent with family & friends!

Recommend watching THE LAST TOURIST on Hulu 🎯

Finally getting a response on a complaint I made about a hotel in Omaha not having a rollin shower but advertising they did. The Dept. Of Justice is now opening a case to investigate if this hotel is not following ADA law. Side note: this hotel was just remodeled a few years ago and they still didn't add rollin showers. Every one they showed me had a tub. They just put up grab bars and add a shower chair and call it accessible despite their website and third party websites advertising they have wheelchair accessible roll in showers. This is not the first of this chain that has not had these accommodations available.

If anyone knows us, even a little, our family LOVES to travel. And having someone in a wheelchair should NOT limit your ability to discover, experience, & enjoy anything.

This is the biggest issue we had on our trip and have always had. It don't matter if you stay at a Super 8 or a Candlewood Suites we nearly always have this issue of bed height. A standard wheelchair is ranges from 19-21 inches high. My husband's shower chair is just over 23 inches tall and his electric wheelchair is slightly taller than that. He has the ability to adjust the tilt and recline of both his seat and backrest which can improve position to ensure increased ease and success of transfer. Someone in manual chair cannot. The bed in this picture was our highest on our trip at approximately 30 inches. That means I would have to deadlift a 6 ft 200 lb quadriplegic up approximately 7 inches to lift him into bed. I have been called tiny but mighty but this is a nearly impossible feat and not pretty. I don't know how any able bodied senior with shoulder issues or limited knee or hip mobility can do this. Why do they make the beds so high?!? I have addressed these issues with the managers at all the hotels and I hope they are passing these concerns on to the owners as they said they would. My hope is to get ahold of these owners and help them make their facilities not only more ADA compliant but make them more wheelchair friendly to allow more disabled travelers the ability to travel successfully.

These are examples of the MobiChair/Water Wheelchairs and MobiMats we got to see/use on our trip. They come equipped with chest and leg straps and all but one had a seat belt. One did come with a strap to help pull the chair as well which was great for helping maneuver through sand and the water. My husband thought it would be fun to be hooked up to the back of a jet ski and pulled!

When we were in Florida at Everglades National Park we went on the Bobcat Boardwalk Trail which is one of many trails that are 100% wheelchair accessible as they have built wooden ramps and platforms through the swampy areas so that the trails are wheelchair accessible. I will share a video in a future post.

Another example of a roll in shower. This works well for anyone with pain, mobility issues, and range of motion limitations because they do not have to step over a tub and onto a wet, slick surface. Just stepping up and over a tub at varying heights creates a change because you are forced into a single limb stance momentarily. Just balancing on one leg while shifting your weight can cause a very unsteady position and be extremely unsafe for some.

A typical roll in shower room. No tub. Needed for individuals in a wheelchair for showering.

I have been out of state with family this month but will return to Iowa by next week. We have gotten to explore many states and as a result have had to stay at a variety of places. Some better and more accessible than others. I plan on posting some of our issues and ideas I have to make things easier on and more accessible for wheelchair users soon. I want to share the successes and failures we have had and hopefully open the eyes of the higher ups to some changes that may need to be made.