The new school year has brought major shifts and a whirlwind of travel to the Morris household. With their son Robert transitioning out of homeschooling, John and Stevie Morris have found new opportunities to collaborate more closely on managing both their bustling family life and the expanding initiatives of Wheelchair Travel.
Reflecting on the realities of parenthood and household management, John shared candid insights into the logistical challenges of balancing a growing family with a travel-centric career. When the couple first married, John assumed overall household productivity would instantly skyrocket. Instead, he quickly discovered that running a home—especially from the perspective of a newcomer to daily domestic management—demands immense dedication. He expressed profound admiration for his wife, Stevie, who successfully directed household operations on her own prior to their marriage, praising her resilience and the dedication of parents everywhere.
Family life inevitably takes precedence over travel schedules, which led to a brief delay in publishing this season’s community updates. The dispatch was originally scheduled to reach subscribers prior to John’s departure for the recent Wheelchair Travel Group Trip to Switzerland. That Swiss excursion served as an amuse-bouche for an exceptionally demanding autumn season, kicking off a packed schedule known internally as "Autumn Abroad."
This season features three back-to-back group tours taking John across Europe, including upcoming itineraries in Portugal and Italy. In total, John will welcome more than 30 Wheelchair Travel readers to Europe over the coming weeks. While guiding groups abroad is a source of great professional and personal joy, it represents a massive logistical undertaking. Looking to a favored family saying coined by Stevie, John emphasized a guiding philosophy for the months ahead: "We can do hard things."
A Few In-Case-You-Missed-Its: Global Accessibility Updates
While many regular dispatches land directly in subscriber inboxes, Wheelchair Travel consistently publishes independent stories and accessibility reviews directly on its primary platform, WheelchairTravel.org. Recent coverage highlights significant strides in global accessibility, ranging from coastal destinations in South America to improved public transit mapping in the United States.
Among the recent international updates is a detailed look at newly introduced beach accessibility infrastructure in Cartagena, Colombia. Visitors to the scenic Bocagrande beachfront can now utilize free manual beach wheelchairs, opening up coastal exploration for travelers with mobility disabilities. Investments in coastal accessibility are expanding worldwide, and Cartagena’s approach incorporates essential features such as stable boardwalk pathways, dedicated accessible seating areas, and adapted restroom facilities to ensure a comfortable beach outing.
Complementing the public beach improvements, recent reviews have evaluated local hospitality options for disabled tourists. John’s stay at the InterContinental Cartagena de Indias Hotel provided firsthand insight into the property’s accessibility offerings. While the modern luxury beachfront hotel does not meet every conceivable accessibility requirement for every traveler, it features spacious accommodations equipped with roll-in showers. John noted that the property serves as a viable lodging option for many visitors, particularly those who travel prepared with their own portable shower chairs.
Domestically, recent developments have also improved travel planning for passengers relying on intercity bus networks. Despite often being overlooked in favor of air or rail travel, over-the-road bus systems across the United States offer vital connectivity. Companies such as Greyhound and Megabus operate fleets equipped with multiple wheelchair securement spaces, a feature many travelers remain unaware of. To help bridge this information gap, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics has released the Intercity Bus Atlas. This interactive mapping tool simplifies the search process across nearly 2,000 routes and 3,500 stops, marking a welcome step forward in public transit transparency and accessibility.
Coming Soon: Wheelchair Travel Group Trip to Germany and Poland
Looking ahead to the 2027 travel calendar, Wheelchair Travel Tours has officially announced an upcoming 11-day itinerary exploring Germany and Poland. Scheduled to run from August 8 to August 18, 2027, the tour will immerse participants in the cultures, arts, and culinary traditions of Central Europe.
The carefully curated journey will feature major tourist attractions alongside locations of profound historical significance, stopping in Germany’s capital city of Berlin as well as the historic Polish cultural centers of Krakow and Warsaw.
To ensure fair access for dedicated community members, the complete tour itinerary will be released exclusively to paid newsletter subscribers on Monday, September 21, at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time. Paid members will receive a four-day private booking window. Should spaces remain available following this initial priority period, reservations will open to free subscribers on Friday, September 22. Travelers interested in securing early access to this and future accessible group tours are encouraged to upgrade their subscriptions in advance.
The Place for Bonus Content and Looking Ahead
After a prolonged hiatus from social media platforms, John has resumed sharing candid behind-the-scenes content online. Followers can now find spontaneous updates and lighthearted snapshots—including a widely shared image of John perched atop a carved wooden cow during his time in the Swiss Alps—by following Wheelchair Travel on Facebook and Instagram.
The transition in the Morris household will also bring new voices to the forefront of the publication. While John leads group tours across Europe, Stevie Morris will step in to author several forthcoming articles she has been developing behind the scenes. Readers can expect her first contributed piece to hit their inboxes next week.
Following the conclusion of the European group tours, John will briefly transition between itineraries rather than returning home. With a four-day window separating the Portugal and Sicily tours in late September—an interval too brief for transatlantic travel—he will use the interim to visit Cologne and Wuppertal in Germany. Because it will be his first time exploring both cities, the stopover is expected to yield unique travel insights and future reporting for the community. Additional highlights and photographs from the recent Swiss excursion will also be shared as John processes the hundreds of images captured during the journey.
