After weeks of highway travel, family visits, and major life organization, John, Stevie, and Robert have finally returned home. Their recent road trip took them through Florida, Tennessee, and the miles of highway stretching in between, balancing a deeply personal and logistical mission with a family vacation.
The primary purpose of the journey was to empty a storage unit that John had maintained in Gainesville, Florida, for nearly a decade. Confronted with years of accumulated belongings, John committed to a severe downsizing effort: reducing his entire stored history down to just three boxes of keepsakes. This drastic reduction was a practical necessity driven by the space limitations of their vehicle. With a family of three traveling alongside two wheelchairs, the family van offered very limited cargo room for anything beyond essentials.
Arriving at the Gainesville facility, John embarked on a poignant journey down memory lane, sorting through dust-covered boxes that held treasures dating all the way back to kindergarten. The process proved to be both humbling and emotional. To pare down the collection, he parted with a dumpster-full of childhood mementos, while donating larger portions of his past to a Goodwill located just two blocks away from the storage facility. Among the donations were his childhood baseball card collection and more than a hundred Hot Wheels cars.
With the Gainesville storage unit cleared, the family shifted gears from logistics to leisure, traveling to St. Augustine, Florida. There, they spent a few days catching up with Stevie’s brother, soaking in the city’s historic charm, and visiting nearby Vilano Beach.
During their time in the area, they also checked off a lifelong ambition by visiting a Ripley’s Believe It Or Not attraction. While Stevie and Robert had experienced a Ripley’s location before, it marked a first-time visit for John. He found the attraction entertaining and quirky, though it occasionally prompted raised eyebrows and reflection on how certain displays have aged over time. The standout attraction of the visit for John was the Bigfoot exhibit. Having grown up in Florida, where the creature is locally known as the "Skunk Ape," John noted with amusement that he was fortunate never to have crossed paths with the regional cryptid during his youth.
Exploring the Outdoors in Knoxville, Tennessee
Following their stay on the Florida coast, the family journeyed north to Tennessee to spend quality time with Stevie’s family. During their brief stop in Knoxville, Stevie found inspiration in the region’s abundant natural spaces, prompting her to document the many wheelchair-accessible outdoor activities she and Robert have enjoyed there over the years.
The resulting coverage highlights the Knoxville region’s diverse offerings for wheelchair-accessible outdoor recreation, spanning national parks, state parks, and local greenways. Emphasizing that outdoor recreation is a critical component of family life and accessibility, the blog aims to foster a love for the outdoors in their son. Readers can expect to see expanded coverage of wheelchair-friendly outdoor activities featured on the platform moving forward.
Coming Soon: Wheelchair Travel Group Trip to Morocco!
Looking ahead to international adventures, plans are officially underway for the next Wheelchair Travel Group Trip, returning to Morocco following the tremendous success of the inaugural tour held last year.
Designed as an intimate travel experience, the Morocco tour is deliberately kept small, accommodating only six travelers. The upcoming 10-day itinerary is scheduled to run from January 22 to January 31, 2027. It will showcase the vibrant culture, history, art, architecture, and gastronomy of Morocco, with planned visits to prominent cities including Casablanca, Marrakesh, and Essaouira.
To ensure fair access to the limited spots, the complete tour itinerary is scheduled to be released exclusively to paid members of the newsletter. Paid participants will be granted a private five-day booking window. If any spaces remain available following this exclusive window, bookings will then be opened to free subscribers.
Odds & Ends
The recent North Florida leg of the family’s road trip also provided an opportunity to evaluate local accommodations. Reviews have been published detailing their stays at two regional hotels: the Hampton Inn & Suites St. Augustine-Vilano Beach, which features a wheelchair-accessible room equipped with an accessible bathtub, and the Hilton University of Florida Conference Center in Gainesville. Regarding the Gainesville property, the review notes that while the aging hotel features accessible rooms with functioning bathtubs, travelers requiring roll-in shower rooms should steer clear.
In addition to hotel reviews, the latest accessible travel news roundup has been released, covering international disability and travel developments. Highlights include the debut of a new wheelchair-accessible zip line—known locally as a "flying fox"—in Australia, as well as legislative updates regarding a bill aimed at ensuring faster wheelchair repairs.
Looking Ahead
Travel plans show no signs of slowing down, with John departing on a familiarization trip sponsored by the Colombian government’s development agency to explore Bogota, Colombia.
Having last visited Bogota in 2019 alongside his sister, John is eager to observe what accessibility investments and improvements have been implemented in the Colombian capital over the intervening years. Additionally, the itinerary includes first-time visits to two other Colombian cities: Barranquilla and Cartagena. Upon his return, John plans to share travel highlights and provide a comprehensive update to the existing Bogota, Colombia Wheelchair Accessible Travel Guide.
Closer to home, upcoming newsletter content will shift toward personal travel history. Later this week, John and Stevie will share the behind-the-scenes story of planning their honeymoon trip to Buenos Aires, Argentina. Described as a trip that was somewhat of a disaster in its execution, the candid narrative will detail how they managed to transform the rocky start into an amazing experience.
