Walking And Accessibility On Our GA Vacation

(photo credit: breakingmuscle.com)

I am so happy to say my walking ability on our trip was probably one of my best times in the last six and a half years (since I started getting healthy again). I felt stable everywhere we went, and I never felt unsure of myself. There’s one day in particular that I was very nervous about, and I’ll get to that day in a minute. Let’s just say I was anxious about this one day for about a month before our trip.

Accessibility on our trip was for the most part OK. Railings, sidewalks, and what-not were great. We even had an upstairs bedroom at our Callaway Gardens cabin, and I maneuvered the stairs just fine. When we arrived at Callaway, I called for a shower chair to be delivered. We actually ended up calling twice before it showed up. It took about 8 hours or so before they actually got it to us. We think that this was the first very busy weekend of the season, and they didn’t have enough chairs to go around. I say this because when it was delivered, it still had the plastic wrapping on the legs. So my guess is that they ran out and had to go buy another one somewhere. At least it showed up, and it worked well.

My walking, like I said, was great. We walked around my sister’s neighborhood (to the pool and back) a few times. During our walk, I would let go and walk on my own for a little while. I slowed down during these times (for some reason I lose speed when I let go), but it felt good to be able to do that. In the grass was easier to walk on my own, but that’s a mental thing I’m sure. Up hill seemed to be pretty easy too for some reason. Strange.

So, the day I was anxious about. This was the day everyone was going to do the Treetop Adventure at Callaway. Before our trip, as soon as I heard the phrase “zip line”, I had mixed feelings. I really wanted to do the zip line, but when I checked it out online and saw there were other “aerial obstacles”, I knew I wouldn’t be doing this activity. So, I started fixating on how I was going to get around that day while my husband was doing this. I knew both my parents were going to be there to help, but I was still anxious.

I’ve written before about being uncomfortable with certain people helping me because of their “body type”, if that makes sense. I don’t feel comfortable with shorter people (particularly women) helping me. I also feel uncomfortable having people help me that have balance issues themselves. So I was a little concerned about my parents helping me (my mom is short and my dad has bad balance sometimes), although they are capable. It’s just my own insecurities.

The treetop adventure day worked out well though. It turned out that there were a bunch of benches right in the middle of the first part of the course. So my husband plunked me down with our camera and I was good to go. My parents and both my nephews hung around for a little while, and then went on to look at the turtles and the ducks in a different area. So, I was happy just to sit and take pictures of random people doing the zip lines and obstacles (which looked tough). Then my husband, sister, brother in-law, and niece had their turn.I made sure to get as many pictures as I could.

As they were going through the course, my sister’s friends came over and watched as well (their two kids were on the course in the same group). I’ll call them H and A to protect their identities. So my sister was apparently concerned about me sitting in the sun (I was in the shade for the most part, but the sun took over for about five to ten minutes). I did re-apply my sunscreen, but she thought I’d be better off moving to another shady spot. So, she asked H to help me over to another bench. This was the one thing I was worried about. And it was happening. I tried to decline saying the shade was going to be back in a few minutes, but my sister wouldn’t take no for an answer (she was in mom mode, heh). So I assessed the situation, and relented. In about a split second I decided H had the same body type and build as my chiropractor. So if I was comfortable with him, I’d be comfortable with H too. So, he moved me over, and it was perfectly fine. No problems at all. So thank you to H and A.

All my worrying was for nothing. A month’s worth of worrying for a five to ten second walk from one bench to another. I feel silly now, but that’s what anxiety and fear can do to you. Makes you over analyze and obsess over silly things. What’s the worst that could have happened? I could have fallen. Ooooh, ahhhh. big deal. I would have been embarrassed, but so what? People fall and get up all the time.

I did have to move one more time, but this time my husband was able to help me. They had to move to a different part of the course (to the lake portion), but they had no guide, so he came and got me.

It was a great trip and I was very glad my walking was as good as it was. Nothing makes a trip more comfortable than when my body is cooperating. If all this had happened a few years ago, I think I would have been in a lot more trouble. So, I’m glad I got my rear in gear and lost the weight and got moving again. Not to mention getting my back fixed. That was one of the main issues I had with walking.

If you made it through my entire vacation recap, good for you! It was a lot. Once I get going though, it’s hard for me to shut up. Can’t wait for our next trip, probably next summer. Who knows what adventures we’ll have then.

Activities On Our GA Vacation

Our first day in Atlanta was pretty laid back and relaxed. It was our niece’s and nephew’s last day of school, and they were both a part of the end of year talent show. Our nephew had a really cool act showing off his Tae Kwon Do abilities. And our niece was one of the talent show’s stage hands. Everyone put on a great performance!

After the talent show, my parents, husband, and youngest nephew all headed over to Party City and bought a bunch of Silly String. When the kids got off the bus, all of us sprayed them with the string. It was a good time and everyone had a lot of fun. Lots of silly string to be picked up off the yards, but well worth it.

Friday through Monday we spent at Callaway Gardens. Friday was spent packing up and driving, but we still got there early enough to do things. We decided that would be a good day for the Butterfly Center. There were a ton of butterflies, moths, and other critters. This guy was my favorite. I love the color of his tail.

Saturday we had a nice time outside. We headed over to the Birds of Prey show at the Discovery Amphitheater. We’ve seen this show before, and it seems as though they added in a new element. The birds, including the Harris Hawk below, swooped over the audience several times. I don’t remember them flying over the audience in past shows. They always flew from one perch to another So that was exciting. I had to duck several times, because I thought I’d get hit in the head.

Sunday was a fun-filled day for most of our gathering. First we headed over to Robin Lake Beach, where the kids swam in the lake and had a lot of fun. I just enjoyed the bench swing and the amazingly cool weather. My husband and I also took a short walk up and down the beach on the sidewalk. I didn’t know how long we would be there, so it was a short walk.

Later that day, my sister, brother in-law, my husband, and our niece all did the Treetop Adventure. This adventure is a series of zip lines, and in between these zip lines are what I describe as aerial obstacles. I really wanted to try it, but there was no way. I might have been able to do the zip lines by themselves. Maybe. But the other obstacles, no way. Lots of balance and coordination was required, and I lack in both. So I planted myself in a good spot, and I took a lot of photos. I should have switched the camera over to movie-mode (or used my iPod, duh) to take a video of everyone going along on the course. Everyone in the group did amazingly well, and I was told, that yes it was very hard. Everyone was really sore for the next few days.

Monday, we went back over to Robin Lake Beach for a little while, and then started the drive back to Atlanta. I once again enjoyed the nice weather and cool breeze sitting on the bench swing. Our time at Callaway was a lot of fun, with interesting activities.

The rest of our trip was spent in Atlanta. Tuesday we went somewhere brand new (well at least for the out-of-towners). We went to The Tellus Science Museum in Cartersville, GA. The Science in Motion exhibit takes you on a journey through time, from the Wright Brothers to the moon. You’ll see a lot of classic cars, a quadricycle from 1896, and a Benz Patent Motorwagon from 1886. In the space portion of the Science in Motion exhibit, you’ll see a replica of Sputnik, as well as replicas of a Mercury capsule and Apollo I capsule. Pretty cool stuff.

There is also a fossil gallery and a mineral gallery at the Tellus Science Museum. You’ll get to see a ton of minerals on display as well as gold and other gems. The display signs tell you where in the world you can find these minerals. In the fossil exhibit there’s replicas of a saber-tooth cat, a Tyrannosaurus Rex, and a whole lot more. This is what we saw when we first entered the museum.

There is a lot for kids to do at the Tellus Science Museum. They can pan for gems and dig for fossils in the Fossil Dig and Gem Panning exhibit area, and there’s also a large area called My Big Back Yard where there there are a lot of hands-on science activities to do.

I could go on and on about this science center, it was really an interesting and fun place to visit. There’s also the Solar House exhibit which we didn’t see. We’ll have to check that out sometime in the future.

That’s about everything we did other than a few trips to the book store and seeing the movie Epic. We had a really fun time this year in Atlanta and Callaway. I’m sure we’ll be back very soon to do more fun stuff with family.