Wheelie Inspiring Interview Series: Jeanne Allen of incredibleACCESSIBLE

Chip and Jeanne Allen at the top of the Sears Tower Skydeck (now Willis Tower)

1) How did your passion for traveling begin?

 

My sister. Kay is 7 years older than me, and has been the most influential force in my life. Kay at an early age knew that she wanted to be an airline stewardess. This was in the days before flight attendants, and she is still proud of referring to herself as an airline stewardess and even more proud to announce that she was a Pan Am stew. In 1969 when I was 15 she offered to use her airline discount to fly Mom and me to Hawaii. My childhood dream come true! We grew up on a little farm in the southwest corner of Missouri and we didn’t have much money. The thought of ever being able to go to Hawaii seemed impossible. And then it was possible. We had cousins that lived in Kailua on the island of Oahu and they offered to let us stay with them for 3 weeks! There was one hitch. We needed to earn enough spending money for those three weeks. Daddy was a farmer that worked an extra job to make ends meet, unloading boxcars at the Kansas Army Ammunition Plant in Parsons, Kansas, an hour away. Mom was a housewife and there were three kids to feed. No, we didn’t have much money. But she knew how to bake bread, and I knew how to bake cookies. All summer we baked, loaded up the trunk of our old 1953 Cadillac, drove into Carl Junction, popped open the trunk, and sold bread and cookies to the ladies at the Elder Shirt Factory. We baked ourselves to Hawaii. Those three weeks met every expectation and my passion for traveling had begun.

 

2) What made you decide to start incredibleACCESSIBLE and can you explain a little bit about what it is?

What made me decide:

I have MS, multiple sclerosis. For many years it didn’t affect my mobility, and then it did. Progressing from cane to walker to electric scooter, in 2009, my husband Chip and I were about to take our first trip where I would be totally dependent on the scooter. He was going to Chicago for a conference and I was tagging along. For three days I would be on my own while he was in meetings, and I knew that I needed to do some planning. Never one to sit in my hotel room, I was determined that I would research all the accessible places that I could go on my own without having Chip to rescue me. Much to my surprise, information about accessibility was very limited. What did exist was vague, scattered, and buried. I spent hours, possibly more hours planning the trip than taking the trip. I searched the web, I made phone calls, I questioned, and I clarified. And finally I had an itinerary that I thought captured the essence of Chicago and was all accessible. And I was right! For 3 days we explored Chicago together, Millennium Park, Sears Tower, Navy Pier. We ate at Topolobampo, cruised down the Chicago River on the Architecture Tour. And then for 3 days I explored on my own. Using the CTA bus system, I explored Lincoln Park, the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago’s Chinatown. It was incredible. And at the end of the six days I looked around and wondered who I could give my hard-earned itinerary to. No one. I threw it away. For the next 4 years I repeated the process, and for 4 years I threw my incredible itineraries away. Last November I decided that it’s time. It’s time to share what I learn from my hours (yes it still takes hours) of research and my discoveries once I’m there.

incredible accessible

Chip and Jeanne Allen at the top of the Sears Tower Skydeck (now Willis Tower)

 

 

A little bit about what it is:

It’s changed. As of today incredibleACCESSIBLE is “a media platform for people with lifestyle challenges”.

It started as “a travel planning website for people with limited mobility”, and then I kept adding to the vision to include hearing, vision, cognitive, invisible. Then I added houses, products, services. I’ve just added therapy- art, laugh, animal. We will address any lifestyle challenges that tend to cause people to give up, retreat to their beds and stare at the ceiling, lifestyle challenges related to disability, aging, depression, addiction, and numerous others.
I hope to inspire people to get on with their life, through videos and photos that Chip and I take on our travels. Travel destinations that I inspire might include just getting out of the house and having lunch with a friend in a local restaurant, to hopping (or rolling) on a plane and flying around the world. I will encourage user generated travel videos and photos submitted by real people sharing their incredible accessible discoveries across the globe.
incredibleACCESSIBLE will expand to include numerous categories of resources that people with lifestyle challenges need and desire to gain knowledge. The categories will be vast- accessible travel, houses, commercial buildings, equipment, products, services, health, support groups, an endless list.

Starting with Sonoma/Napa Wine Country incredibleACCESSIBLE is building the technology and people network that will allow us to expand throughout the world and share incredible and accessible discoveries. It is a seemingly impossible task, but I believe that together we can make the impossible possible.

 

3) What’s your favorite thing about Sonoma/Napa Wine Country?

 

 

incredible accessible

Hanzell Vineyards, Sonoma, Ca
11 minutes from Jeanne’s house. Yes, she lives in paradise.

 

The spectacular beauty.

First I want to give you a little clarity about Sonoma/Napa Wine Country. Sonoma is a city, that is part of the Sonoma Valley, that is part of Sonoma County. Napa is a city, that is part of Napa Valley, that is part of Napa County. I live in Sonoma, the city.

The western border of Sonoma County follows 55 miles of dramatic Pacific Ocean, cliffs, beaches, bays and trails, all approachable along Highway 1. There are charming coastal villages here- Bodega Bay, Sea Ranch, Jenner.

Just a few miles inland from the Sonoma Coast is the Russian River resort area and the majestic redwoods. Here you’ll find the charming tiny burgs of Cazadero, Monte Rio, Duncans Mills.

Further inland the landscape is dominated by vineyards and rolling hills. Here you’ll find the charming townas of Healdsburg, Petaluma, Sebastopol.

The Sonoma Valley borders the Napa Valley, and those two great and beautiful valleys are the heart and soul of Wine Country. The Sonoma Valley is anchored by Sonoma and it’s historic Plaza and stretches through the Valley of the Moon to Glen Ellen and Kenwood.

A half hour drive east from Sonoma, the city, is Napa, the city, which anchors the Napa Valley. Yes, this is the area that was hit by the 6.0 earthquake a week ago. We rattled and rolled and a lot of damage was done, but we’re back on our feet. Sonoma had minimal damage, Napa quite a bit. I’m working now on getting photos and videos of Sonoma and Napa to put on incredibleACCESSIBLE.com so that we can show the world that we are open for business. At the same time I’m showing the world that we’re accessible. I’m riding around on my scooter, visiting the ADA compliant wineries, restaurants, hotels, and shops. Take a peek in a couple of days.

So what after Napa, the city? The Napa Valley is the backbone of Napa County and runs from Napa through Yountville, St. Helena, Calistoga, all charming cities. Have I used “charming” too much? No, I don’t think so.

incredible accessible

 

 

4) What is the most wheelchair friendly place that you have traveled to?

 

 

incredible accessible

​Butchart Gardens, Victoria, B.C.

 

 

Victoria and Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada are high on my list. Here are the 2 things that most impressed me.

At Butchart Gardens, Victoria, B.C. I went into the unisex restroom and came out asking my husband if it’s unusual to have a vertical grab bar positioned at the urinal. He said yes. Wow, does that make sense!

In Vancouver, B.C. after check-in at The Loden Hotel, I caught up with my husband outside our room. With a cheshire cat grin he handed me the keycard and said, “YOU open the door.” Quite a strange request for a woman on a scooter. Puzzled, I slid the keycard into the slot, expecting the little green light to go on. I’m not sure if it did, because much to my surprise, the door opened. Automatically. The same thing from the inside. How much sense does that make! For everyone! Inclusive design. It can be done.

 

5) What’s the least accessible place that you have traveled to?

 

We haven’t traveled internationally, other than Canada, since I’ve been dependent on an electric scooter, so I don’t have tales of unaccessible exotic places.

So, unfortunately, my childhood home town of Joplin, Missouri is the winner. Or loser. The vast majority is accessible, especially since the rebuilding after the catastrophic EF5 multiple-vortex tornado that struck May 22, 2011. Oh wow, first the worst earthquake since Loma Prieta, and now the worst tornado in the US ever. I just don’t even know what to say about that. But anyway…

Some of the buildings are historic, which is not an excuse. This particular historic restaurant in an historic building is actually owned by a childhood friend of mine. I won’t name names. Actually there are two restaurants side by side, and she owns them both. I was meeting friends in restaurant B, but there was 1 step at the entrance. The restaurants are attached with an internal doorway connecting them so I was advised to go into restaurant A and cross over to restaurant B. OK, I can deal with that, but I was glad I was on a scooter and not using a walker. When it was time to go to the ladies room, I was directed back to restaurant A. The restroom was large enough to accommodate the scooter, but there were no grab bars. I managed. Then I sweetly chatted with my friend and suggested that she could install a toilet safety frame for 50 bucks, and have immediate grab bars. I don’t know if that’s ADA compliant but I do know that it would allow me and many others to get off the toilet with ease. I’m going back in October. Maybe I’ll send a follow-up note to her. A year has passed, and this year I might not be able to get off that toilet if I don’t have some grab bars.

 

6) What kind of problems have you came across while traveling in a chair? How did you overcome them?

 

In Chicago we had been sightseeing all day and my husband was worn out from my ambitious itinerary. We were just approaching Buckingham Fountain about 10:00 at night to watch the colored light show, when I noticed that my battery gauge was showing battery weakness. Experience told me there was no way that I had enough juice to get back to the hotel. I had included bus routes in the itinerary and I knew there was a bus stop across the street. So my husband put the scooter into neutral and proceeded to push me across the street, pushing me fast to beat the light. The scooter ground to a halt due to the safety feature which prevents runaways. A few expletives later and I was on my way at a slower pace. We waited for a bit but no bus appeared, but soon a taxi came by and our problems were over. I was traveling with my Pride Go-Go travel scooter and it breaks apart in 1 minute and fits into the trunk of a taxi. Lesson learned: on long-distance sightseeing days bring the scooter charger and at lunch get a booster shot of electricity to make it through an entire day.

 

7) What are some of the top things on your bucket list?

 

I love heights. I’ve been on the Skydeck of the Sears Tower. I’ve been in a helicopter over the Grand Canyon, over a waterfall in Kaui, flying from Molokai to Lanai. I’ve been to the top of the Empire State Building, to dinner at Windows on the World at the top of the World Trade Center (before 9/11). I’ve parasailed in Puerta Vallarta in Mexico and at the Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri. I’ve floated silently in a glider plane over the Napa Valley hugging the mountain wall. I’ve taken the gondola to the top of the Matterhorn, ridden the longest and highest gondola ride in the world, the Peak to Peak at the top of Whistler Mountain. I’ve ridden the funicular at Interlaken, Switzerland, and the Peak Tramway in Hong Kong. I’ve been the passenger in a 1926 bi-plane over the Sonoma Valley. I’ve been in a Mooney piloted by a 92 year old World War II Fighting Tiger, over Morro Bay on California’s Central Coast. I’ve been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

At the top of my bucket list are all the aerial things that I haven’t yet done.

1. the accessible hot air balloon ride at Up & Away in Windsor, CA
2. a zip line anywhere, but not where they make a special accommodation for me
3. a ride in an Icon A5
4. tandem skydiving
5. bungee jumping just like Rick Hansen
6. more towers (accessible)
7. more gondolas (accessible)
8. more funiculars (accessible)
9. more tall building lookouts (accessible)\
10. a rocket into space- Elon Musk and Sir Richard Branson are you listening?

incredible accessible

8) Do you have any tips for other wheelchair users that might not think traveling is possible?

All you need is information. Some places aren’t accessible. Know that ahead of time. Some places are partially accessible. Know that ahead of time and decide if it is appropriate for you. Many places are accessible. Know that ahead of time, rejoice and go.

 

9) Most importantly, where to next?

The next week or two or three I’ll be traveling between The Sonoma Valley and the Napa Valley to take photos and videos of the buildings that weren’t damaged in the earthquake or have been repaired, ones that are ADA compliant. I want to let the world know that Sonoma/Napa Wine Country is open for business, and we are ready for visitors with limited mobility.

 

 

 To learn more about Jeanne visit her website at incredibleACCESSIBLE.com or follow along on her Facebook page or Twitter.

 

 

 

10 Comments

Comments are closed.