On the Bus

Another adventure in the exciting world of mobility travels! Today I got on the bus with the scooter for the first time, and it was so easy and kind of fun. Laurie said she was nervous, but I found it mostly entertaining, and we had great help. The woman in the photo, left, was a sort of greeter and helped me get the scooter situated, explained about the special stop signal that lets the driver know we'll need the ramp to get off and was a Portland-friendly kind of person. She figured out we were on our way to the Hollywood Farmers Market - markets are a popular topic of conversation in our city and she suggested a couple of others we could try out via bus.

Getting around the crowded market has been a huge challenge for me in the past, so we pretty much stopped going. The walker was helpful, but it was sometimes difficult on the uneven pavement. The scooter wasn't without its challenges - I had to be careful not to run over people's toes, and some of the stalls are pretty tight for maneuvering - but it was so much easier and way more fun. Plus I got to be on eye level with lots of yummy food and with little people in wagons and strollers, who are almost always fascinated to see a big person at the same level they are. (One of our three year old friends, on seeing some people being pushed in wheelchairs last week, asked her mom why all those old people were in strollers.) I try to engage with them and put them at ease, have a little fun, like asking if they want to race.

So now we have added back in another of our favorite activities. And we had enough energy left over to stop at Trader Joe's, go to a garage sale and visit with a neighbor on the way home.  Look out world, here we come!