Day 2 - No Barriers USA Festival, Miami FL

Wow. Where do I begin. We're only on day 2 of 4 at this fabulous event here in Coconut Grove, and I'm already speechless. As if the day, packed full of adventure and tumultuous weather, weren't enough to render someone in awe, but tonight's speakers put the fork in me. And I have two more days to go.

We started out the morning with the technology symposium, learning about some of the most amazing medical advancements for the blind, from a tongue stimulator that stimulates a new visual pathway (yes, you didn't read that wrong) to IRIS (Intelligent Retinal Implant System) that restores visual perception. The symposium finished with new discoveries in treating spinal cord injury here at the Miami Project; as if we weren't already confident Craig would walk again, I now see the future is nearer than we think.

After lunch we headed over to Shake-A-Leg Miami's docks for an afternoon of adventure. Craig settled into the outrigger canoeing team (recruiting for the 2016 Olympics). Adapted by actually removing the outriggers off two boats and strapping them together, the system not only creates better balance for the adaptive rowers, but it also gives more room for twice the bodies, and thus, twice the speed. The media boat trailed them pathetically and I got to watch those 10 men and women shout "HUT, HO!" to the tune of fast strokes through a very choppy bay with the acuracy of Hawaiians, despite having met each other just 45 minutes before. As they came in I heard one of the ShakeALeg vols say, "I've NEVER seen an outrigger go that fast!" Inspiring? Yea.

They've got sports stacked upon each other every day so the pickin's are actually thick, not thin, and we won't have the chance to see or do it all. I managed to snap the water sports today though while watching the outrigger canoe, kayaking, both single and tandem, and plenty of sailing (including a female quadriplegic and a world class olympian teamed up, with her steering and swinging around the boat on a mobile chair while he tacked and jibbed... or whatever!). What we missed? Stand up paddleboarding, blind sailing, and adaptive swimming.

We got to hang out with Molly the pony, whom we mentioned in our previous post, watch adaptiave yoga, and check out the equipment in the Coast Guards hangar- Solorider golf cart, a powerchair-adapted land rover, and a trike that is beefier than anything you'd see on American Chopper. Woah.

Then there were tonight's speeches. We started with Jesse Billauer's story, truly an inspiring one made even more so by hearing it live- we've known Jesse for some time and Craig interviewed Jesse for the I Can Do That motivational series in 2006. I edited the interview, so I knew his story. But hearing him tell it live, from his near-paralysis experience prior to the actual paralysis, to his brother's guilt and grief, and all the jokes and tears in between was truly inspiring. But not the end.

No, the real tears came when Craig and Kelly Pearson got up to tell one ridiculously amazing story of triumph and success. In 1995, after 3 years of worry, medical visits, and waiting, she received a donor heart, and then climbed every nearly mountain on the planet with it. From Mt Whitney to Kilimanjaro to El Capitan, they racked up miles quick on her second act in life. But it was Mt Fuji that was the inspiring one. Craig received a phone call from Kelly's donor's daughter right before the trip- Kelly had already left- and asked Craig to not only take a wish up there with him for Kelly for her mom, but to also take her mom's ashes. Because of Kelly's triumphant story, and because part of the Pearson's mission was awareness, the Japanese media went along for the ride. To protect Kelly from the burdon, Craig didn't tell her of the daughter's wish nor the box of ashes until she summited (in case of failure) but when he did the tears streamed down and the media snapped it all. Thanks to them, Japan is now doing heart-transplant procedures.

This is a very small taste of what this No Barriers event is all about. Inspiring people with stories of triumph over adversity and physical tests, sharing their love of each sport and each adventure with each and every one of us.

I have no more words but thanks.

Day 1- No Barriers USA

We arrived a day later than expected thanks to the storm that swept across the country yesterday (reminding me as always that Mother Nature is the boss!) and got into Miami this afternoon via American Airlines (wonderful treatment I might add, chair on board and all) welcomed by sunny skies and sweltering temps to this Colorado crew whose blood has thickened to mud to keep us warm in the winter months. Despite having spent annual family vacations and 4 years of college in the Sunshine State, it never fails to surprise me that my body can no longer function well in this heat. Welcome to June in Florida. Thankfully we'll be spending little time on land during our four days with No Barriers, and we're ecstatic to be reporting live from this event.

As mentioned in our previous post, the sporting opportunities here are endless both on land and on the water. We're excited to see windsurfing, outrigger canoeing, blind sailing, and standup paddleboarding just to name a few. Even Molly the Pony is here- a friend sent us an email months ago about this 19 year old gray horse, rescued during Hurricane Katrina and an amputee herself. A three-legged horse? Nope, Molly has her own prosthetic, but apparently if she gets ornery she kicks it off. LOL!

Gee, if you're in Florida and you aren't here, make the trek; this event is shaping up to be the best in the US!

We saw faces we haven't seen in years as well as some we see all the time; Kevin Carr and his wonderful adaptive canoe-backrest that we saw four years ago at Outdoor Retailer show in Salt Lake, no arm John and Kili Kubacz whom we met at NB in 2007 in Tahoe, our close friend Joel Berman from Adaptive Adventures, and even took our flight next to Freedom Rider Ackerman, of all the seats he could have taken. For you locals, we even met John Beauregard, an old Steamboater! It just reminds me that this world is small, and our adaptive world is even smaller.
Tonight's keynote speaker, Aimee Mullins, double BK amputee since a very young age, kicked off the event with a wonderfully inspiring talk full of stories that got us laughing (such as emulating the Rockettes in the streets of NYC so great that one of her prosthetic legs went flying down the sidewalk!), nodding, and thinking... thinking about challenging ourselves and raising the bar for success. Only eluding to the adventures this weekend has in store for us.

Don't forget to catch our live Podcast tomorrow at 5:30pm EST (call in to 646 378 1419), and to check in with this blog nightly for updates on this fabulous event!





Opening Ceremony Wheelchair Dancing with Steamboat's own John Beauregard!

No Barriers USA

Access Anything has been blessed with the job of photographing this year's 3rd annual No Barriers Festival (NB) in Miami, FL from June 4-7 with Shake A Leg Miami (SALM), the local adaptive program. SALM focuses mostly on water events; but keeping with their all-inclusive theme, NB has so much planned you can't possibly do it all!

But for those of you in the area or within driving distance, consider attending this event next week for a day or for all four if you can. Thursday hosts the keynote speaker at the Ritz Carlton, but events start Friday morning with presenters and scientists at "Innovation Village," moving on to Tai Chi, Handcycling, and Golf in the afternoon at nearby Kennedy Park as well as swimming at the SALM Eco Islands. Saturday offers the same schedule wtih Windsurfing, Canoeing, Sailing, Yoga, and Fencing in the afternoon after the morning's symposium. Sunday switches it up with off-site clinics in horseback riding, fishing, paddling, swimming with the dolphins, and scuba diving in Innovation Village.

We attended NB2007 in Lake Tahoe and were so very impressed with the variety of activities and equipmenet as well as the side trips, wealth of expertise, and overall fun festival experience.

We're excited to attend this event in this capacity; and will be blogging all days that we're there posting pictures and videos of the event as well as hosting our new radio show with BlogTalkRadio on Friday the 5th at 5:30 Eastern, topic TBA. Please stay with us through this event, we look forward to bringing it to you first hand.

Southwest Airlines, Attitude is Everything!

It's a rarity to find helpful, energetic, and positive employees in the airline industry in this day and age, but I can say with assurance that every Southwest employee we met during our recent travels to from Denver to Chicago Midway to Albany, NY was all of the above. We always try to cheer them up with Life is Good stickers when we travel, but this group needed little encouragement.

And it wasn't just the employees that made this company desirable for travelers with disabilities. Although the frame of our Ti-Lite didn't fit in the closet (center folding chairs would), the wheels fit in the overhead, we always got on first (no matter how many elderly were waiting in airport chairs) to get the bulkhead seat, the bulkhead seat arm rests raised (unheard of! although granted this left us without food trays), and without a first class section, Craig could wheel right up to the front row without the "Hannibal Lector" aisle chair. Additionally, unlike every other airline, every aircraft was the Boeing 737-200 so we knew what to expect every time.

A few little details were consistent every time as well- there was never a drink cart to watch your elbows for; attendants asked your order personally and carried trays of drinks back at a time. The start up safety instructions were always a little different and unique, as each lead attendant added their personal style to the announcements, making them more tolerable and interesting to listen to. And their staple "No Fees," marketing rules... We were never charged for bags, and sister Laura coming in from DC actually skipped her first flight to drive with Craig's other sister but took her return flight home. Absolutely unheard of on other airlines; if you miss that first leg, you're screwed out of the entire reservation, and lose 25-30% of your paid fare in the exchange, if they even let you exchange.

And every time they helped us get the wheels out, offered help to putting the wheelchair back together, and made sure Craig got into his chair ok. Not once did we see employees from AirServe or other on-site assistance company, Southwest employees were keen on doing it themselves; even once the pilot stepped out and asked. Not to point fingers but we've had some nasty unhappy pilots in our day who would not allow our wheels or chair to be in "his closet," not knowing our rights, not offering assistance. A few airlines always give us exceptional service, (Continental and American's are unwavering) but many others often fail to, especially United, US Air, and the regional servers.

When I searched "why are Southwest Airline's employees so happy?" on Google, it pulled up numerous articles on how CEO Gary Kelly makes sure his employees provide "Texas-style warmth and spirit," which must trickle down from the top.

You can bet we'll be flying Southwest again, and recommending it to others who travel with wheelchairs. Attitude is everything!

Lake George NY

We're usually lucky to visit Lake George New York several times a year; Craig is from the area, and yet we've (gasp!) never reported to you on its access...
LG is a lovely little town tucked into the bottom corner of the Adirondack Park Reserve, an hour north of Albany, and neighboring Vermont. The lake itself is 32 miles long and an impressive site in itself with clear cool water that freezes every winter. Discovered in the mid 1600s, Lake George is rich with early settlers' and early US military history including the battle of Lake George in 1755 and was dubbed the most beautiful lake that Thomas Jefferson had ever seen.
There's plenty to do in the area that's accessible, including taking a ride with the Lake George Steamboat Company, and the usual lake and nearby mountain activities like fishing, hiking, camping, mini golf and golf, kayaking and boating, and of course shopping in "the village."

My first visit to the area was for Craig's sister's wedding in 2001, and I must include this is an absolutely lovely destination-wedding location. But what endears me, a non-yank, to the area has been the peacefulness of the community in general. The views across the wide placid lake are of the surrounding mountain range, the roads are winding and secluded, and the locals are just like ours, with that small town feel, super nice and out for a good time. Then again, I've never been in July. I hear it's pretty crazy-full of tourists, but we're quite used to that in Steamboat!

Two historic forts are located on either end of the town, Fort Ticonderoga to the north end, and Fort William Henry to the south with loud and colorful re-enactments of past historic battles.

Don't miss nearby Bolton Landing, even cuter than Lake George, which is home to the Adirondack Extreme Adventure Course and the Lake Georg Kayak Company which offers some options for people with disabilities!

Ironically, it was quite hard for us to find access information online at any of the websites we searched, so you can wager we'll be making an impact in that arena if we can!

To view picture of Lake George, click here, we'll be adding to our fall album while we're there from May 13-19!