The
Lifetrain Trust to West Coast America
A Personal View by Matthew Law.
Sunday
14 – Wednesday 24 September 2003
Half way through our
first week, having mastered boarding aeroplanes and coaches to a certain
degree, it was time to transfer to our second destination of the trip. From
Las Vegas, Navada (more of which later) we were about to fly in a north-westerly
direction to a city called Fresno located slap-bang in the middle of California.
The queue of wheelchairs
(with users present) formed in the walkway tunnel and each ‘non-ambulant’
person in turn was lifted onto the plane by a couple of the Lifetrains’
willing able-bodied helpers. All wheelchairs were tied (so loose parts would
not become detached in transit), folded, and carried to the luggage hold
of the plane. This took about 20-25 minutes and then the ambulant disabled
members of the party, followed by the able-bodied minority filled up the
front section of the small jet plane. (a 767 I think) The other passengers
followed and total boarding took about 35-40 minutes.
The cabin crew gave
their safety briefing (locate your nearest exit and in the unlikely event
of an emergency………..etc, etc). I think because of the large percentage of
disabled passengers on board the cabin crew announcer decided to add a bit
to her briefing: ‘Those passengers requiring special assistance are to attract
the attention of members of the cabin crew who will provide assistance where
necessary’. The words ‘over to you then’ emanated from the lips of Richard
followed by the loudest combined burst of laughter on the trip. I think
The Lifetrain Trusts sole internal flight in America was a bit of an eye
opener for the staff of this particular airline.
We were supposed to
arrive at Fresno airport at around 9.30 pm but delays at Las Vegas airport
(no fault of our own) meant it was nearer 11.30. My passing comment to Mel
‘We’ve got to be up in little over five hours time for breakfast’ was not
greeted with too much enthusiasm! Once we had all got off the plane and
taken the short walk to our Holiday Inn most of us were in bed by midnight.
I say most because we were inconvenienced more by the airport delaying handling
our luggage. Even though it was being taken straight to our next hotel (in
Salinas) it still had to be collected.
So,
up at five for six O’clock breakfast and ready to board the bus at seven.
Yosemite was our destination (pronounced ‘Your-sym-itee’). It was a 3 hour
drive but - as with all our coaches – the air-conditioning and comfort made
it a pleasant journey.
Yosemite
National Park is a huge area of scenic wildlands set aside in 1890 to preserve
a portion of the Sierra Navada that stretches along the middle-eastern flank
of California. It ranges from 2,000 feet above sea level to 13,000 at its’
peak. It comprises alpine wildernesses, tree groves, waterfalls, valleys,
lakes, rivers, granite slopes, cliffs and mountains. The Park is home to many
wild animals and a quote from the accompanying Park literature made me smile:
‘If attacked by a mountain lion, call 911 and fight back hmmmm. We all had
lunch in the restaurant and bought souvenirs in the visitors centre then left
the Park at about four.
 |
|
| At
Yosemite (l to r) Donna K, Sian, Mel & Pat |
Sunset
on the road to Salinas |
The town of Salinas
was about another 3 hour drive. The Salinas Valley is the Salad Bowl of
the World, supporting a 3 billion-dollar agriculture industry. Salinas is
home to both the California Rodeo and California International Air show
and was the boyhood home of John Steinbeck (Nobel Prize winning author).
The road through it has mountains on both sides (the Gabilan and Santa Lucia
mountain ranges) and follows the Salinas River to Monterey Bay. Salinas
is 60 miles south of San Hose (Do you know the way to San Hose – you do
now!) and 100 miles south of San Francisco. On our journey from Yosemite
we were lucky enough to see a pretty amazing sunset which I captured with
my camera out of the coach window (above right).
Our first meal at the
hotel was in a conference room because the hosts felt that the number of
wheelchairs present would obstruct the movement of other restaurant guests.
Whether an excuse to separate disabled from non-disabled or a legitimate
reason is unclear but I for one quite enjoyed all 23 of us in the same room
plus the ability to hear what everyone else was saying (there was no background
music in this room). This was not a view shared by everyone in the party
however and future meals were taken in the more atmospheric restaurant of
the Black Bear Diner.
The morning of Friday
19th was spent quietly around the hotel complex. On both the
Friday and Saturday mornings we all took breakfast in the Diner. I guess
you would call them full American breakfasts: A choice of either French
toast (4 slices, tennis ball sized) or pancakes (2 x football sized). Then
2 eggs (over-easy, sunny side up or scrambled. Finally; a choice of either
bacon or sausages. All very yummy!
At about mid-day we
all left on the coach and headed for the coast; and Monterey Bay in Carmel-by-the-Sea.
Carmel village is dynamic, yet quaint and picturesque. The Village is only
one square mile in size yet has numerous unique shops (we must have been
in about half of them), fine restaurants and a spectacular white-sand beach.
Carmel is the home of the Sea Life Museum but the weather was so bright,
sunny and warm (as it was throughout our entire holiday) that the majority
of us preferred to be outside. I managed to find a working ATM machine for
the first time in the week too! Many thanks to Pat for lending me money
that just about lasted ‘till then.
 |
|
| Monterey
Bay |
By
the pool in Salinas |
Saturday got off to
a really good start as the second I came out my bedroom I received a text
message (could not get a signal in the room) saying that Chelsea had just
beaten Wolves 5-0. We had breakfast at nine and were able to spend an hour
by the pool (above right) before leaving for our final destination San Francisco.
Saturday 20th
September. (The date sounds familiar to me for some reason). “Leave the
hotel in Salinas to drive the 17 miles to San Francisco, where we will stay
for three nights”
This
did not sound the most enthralling day of the holiday according to the itinerary.
However, it soon became apparent that something must have been lost in the
translation. In 1880, the elegant Hotel Del Monte
opened its doors to the public. Among the many diversions available to guests
was a horse-drawn carriage ride on a scenic, 17-mile gravel road. The road
curved its’ way around the Monterey Peninsula and through the Del Monte Forest.
Today, 17-Mile Drive remains one of the most enchanting and famous stretches
of road in the country, with much of its most dramatic surroundings remarkably
unchanged from those first, historic tours. It is one of only nine private
toll roads in the country, and the only one west of the Mississippi. The majority
of the route has beautiful scenery and expensive homes (including John Travoltas’)
on one side and the Pacific Ocean on the other.
Donna
K had built up a reputation on the trip as an expert route timer. Any Road
sign showing distance to a location was greeted by a time at average speed
calculation within an instant by Donna. On request and within an instant
she announced that, at an average speed of 30 mph, this drive should take
32 minutes. She wasn’t far out being that the coach rarely reached this
speed.
We
arrived at our hotel in Pacifica, about 10 miles south of San Francisco
in mid afternoon and after a quick milkshake in a local restaurant it was
time to acquaint ourselves with our new surroundings. I soon found myself
looking out at a very inviting looking swimming pool and spa. Even a broken
wheelchair lift down to the pool area couldn’t put me off a dip. I was carried
down 5 concrete steps in my chair by 3 helpers from our group and one strapping
hotel guest. It was the first time I had ever been in a spa. I dare say
the appeal would subside if I did not have 3 bikini clad twenty-something
females to lift me in!
The
superb hotel, location and the friendships that had built up in a week together
made the three days spent in San Francisco, for me, the most enjoyable of
the holiday. However, this time last week many of us had never met………..
……..I
was up at four in the morning to leave at six and be at Gatwick by seven
on 14th September. We met at Zone A for the Virgin Atlantic flight
number VS043 to Las Vegas. Virgin Atlantic had given us our very own check-in
desk. “The Lifetrain Trust” was proudly displayed on the monitor above the
check-in staff.
Some
of our group were there when I arrived and to my surprise I knew quite a
few from previous trips. Simon, Sue, Wendy, David R and Tony K had all been
to Hong Kong in 1994 with a similar group (Then known as Surrey Phab). Pat
was still at the helm with husband Graham but there were also new faces:
Richard, Peter, Mel and Donna K who were all there as helpers and were linked
in some way with The Lifetrain Trust. There were also some good friends:
Donna S, Sian & Sarah and some friendships about to be formed: Marcia,
Tony P & Pauline.
Ten
and a half hours was the flying time to Las Vegas. Foolishly I thought that
if I stayed up most of the night before then I would get a decent sleep
on the plane. Not so but at least Virgins’ In-flight entertainment is better
than most airlines.
Las
Vegas is situated in the southern tip of Navada, surrounded by desert. It
was a place I had always wanted to experience. It has been described
as the most exciting and entertaining city in the world. You would be pushed
to find another city that has all the amenities that a complete resort destination
can offer: luxurious hotels, fine dining, live entertainment and state-of-the
art convention facilities as well as being the gambling Capital of the world.
On arrival at our hotel;
The San Remo on Tropicana Avenue (a short drive from McCarran Airport) I
think it would be fair to say there were some pretty tired people. It felt
like midnight but due to the time difference of 8 hours it was actually
the middle of the afternoon! Most of us were too tired to leave the hotel
so just un-packed and spent the rest of the day around the San Remo hotel
complex. In Las Vegas there is no such thing as a quiet drink so we all
sat around the bar shouting over the background music and listening to the
bells, rings, tunes and coins thumping out of the slot machines in the casino
on the ground floor. We had a lovely buffet dinner….not! Most of us were
in bed by ten as we had to be by the bus at seven the next morning.
I roomed with David
throughout the ten days. Despite his disability David was like an additional
helper for the entire holiday. He did much fetching and carrying for everyone
and was an invaluable pusher for me. On the last night (in San Francisco
– more later) he was given an award for all this extra help. It was recognition
that was thoroughly deserved. David was a star!
Not a star on that
first night though. I need light to transfer to the bed but could not reach
the light when in it. David agreed to switch it off for me when I’d got
into bed. When in bed I asked David to switch it off but the snoring from
his bed made me realize this wasn’t going to happen. I didn’t get much sleep
that night with the light on. I made sure the bedside light was reachable
from then on!
We skipped breakfast
to go straight to the bus and off for our first sightseeing experience.
In half an hour we were at Scenic Airlines Airport. The Airline omitted
to inform us that passports were required for the flight (post 9/11 no doubt).
Only four of our party did not have theirs with them. This included Michael
who had been waiting 50 years for this moment!. Luckily I had mine. We were
helped on the plane by both the Airline staff and Lifetrains’ helpers. There
were about 14 of us on board and soon our early morning flight was underway.
Unfortunately
the noise of the plane engines made it impossible to hear the commentary
which was available via a headset in 4 different languages. The flight lasted
about 80 minutes out and back. It was an experience I will never forget.
After
buying souvenirs in the airlines’ shop and a half an hour game of ‘lets manually
put the wheelchairs on the bus’ we set off back to the hotel and had a breakfast
- lunch.
Time was then
our own until the evenings entertainment one block down the road at Tropicana.
The party split into several small groups and we all did our own thing.
I went with Peter D, Graham P, Wendy, Sarah, Marcia, Graham, Richard and
my room-mate David for a wander down Las Vegas Blvd, commonly known as “The
Strip” (the main and by far the biggest Street in Las Vegas). The Street
was very busy, as it is apparently from early morning to late night. There
are hotels, restaurants, casinos, cafes, souvenir shops, clothes shops –
you name it. We went up as far as Bellagio, which is a massive 3,000 room
hotel complex with a picturesque lake out the front. On the way back we
stopped of for a bite to eat and a drink at Harley Davisons’ café before
returning to the hotel for an early dinner.
Monday night
was Show Night. “Folies Bergere’s” to
be exact. This is Las Vegas’ longest-running production
show (44 years). With stunning acrobatics, vibrant music and rich, colourful
costumes, "Folies Bergere" is a feast for the senses. The show
starts out as a tease in a dressing room scene, as showgirls and dancers
step out from behind their vanities in barely-there negligees (with flesh-coloured
bras beneath in the covered show), giving the audience a peek at what's
to come.
The
show takes the audience through the ages, from the flappers and vamps of the
'20s, to the pinups of the '50s to present day seductresses.
Juggler Wally Eastwood was the star of the show for me, he was an unbridled
burst of energy as he juggled golf balls in his mouth and played a piano with
softballs. He had a dry, witty sense of humour which appealed to me. I would
never have thought throwing and catching objects could be so amusing.
Tuesday
16th, our second full day of the holiday, was maybe the busiest
of the entire ten days. It certainly was for our coach driver both with
driving and operating the motorised lift (all our coaches were fitted with
a lift to raise wheelchairs from ground level to seat level). Firstly
it was off to the Valley of Fire: Dedicated in 1935, Valley of Fire is Nevada's
oldest State Park. It is located only 50 miles northeast of Las Vegas. The
rough floor and jagged walls of the park contain brilliant formations of
eroded sandstone and sand dunes more than 150 million years old. These features,
which are the centrepiece of the park's attractions, often appear to be
on fire when reflecting the sun's rays. It thus seemed fitting that the
temperature here seemed to rise alarmingly. Without any exaggeration as
I got off the air conditioned bus the heat struck me in the same way as
when you get too close to the bonfire on November 5th!
After a brief
stop for sandwiches overlooking Lake Mead from the coach we travelled in
a southerly direction down the east side of Las Vegas. It was dessert all
the way, nothing but brown sand and interspersed green shrubs. The monotony
of the journey only confounded by the arrival of a text message to my mobile
phone, informing me Chelsea had beaten Sparta Prague in Matchday 1 of the
Champions league. The Hoover Dam lies on the border of Nevada and Arizona.
Rising more than 700 feet above the raging waters of the Colorado River,
it was called one of the greatest engineering works in history. Built during
the Great Depression, the construction of the Hoover Dam (1901-1934) drew
men desperate for work to a remote and rugged canyon near Las Vegas. Here
they struggled against brutal heat, choking dust and perilous heights to
build a colossus of concrete that brought electricity and water to millions,
transforming the American Southwest.
We
crossed from Arizona to Nevada again and back northwards towards Las Vegas
for sightseeing stop number three of the day. It was about 4.30 when we
got to The Stratosphere. At 1,149 feet, the Stratosphere Hotel Tower is
the tallest observation tower in America. The view from the 109th floor
deck is truly spectacular and in true Las Vegas style it has a roller-coaster
on top which gives you supposedly the highest ride in the world. As we got
there quite late in the day and as it was very windy the ride was not operational.
I’m not sure that wheelchairs could get up to the ride anyway so we were
destined to miss out which was a great shame……not!
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 |
 |
| Valley
of Fire |
Hoover
Dam |
Stratosphere |
Wednesday
was slightly more relaxed. A later breakfast was followed by a day at leisure.
Again, groups were formed and we could do as we wished. Those people who were
unfortunate enough not to have their passport on them on Monday went off to
fly the Grand Canyon. At last Michael could fulfil his 50 year ambition!
I
chose to take a last look at The Strip this time with room-mate David and
the girls (Mel, Sian and the Donnas’). This time, as recommended by Wendy,
who had been there on our Monday trip, we went to see the Lion habitat in
the MGM Grand. We hoped to see a show at the Bellagio lake when we got that
far but an announcement came over the PA system (speakers playing music are
positioned everywhere in Las Vegas) that due to high winds the show had been
cancelled. High Winds? Well, I didn’t feel it.
We
were back to the hotel, fed, packed and at McCarran Airport by five to depart
for Fresno, described at the beginning of this article.
Our
first full day in San Francisco (Sunday 21st September) was partly
spent in Prison, well, visiting one anyway! First however was a sightseeing
tour of the City itself. We travelled North and then the coach weaved its’
way up the mountainside giving spectacular views of the city from across the
bay (See next page). We toured round the city too. Our guide pointed out the
various attractions including a tram that was making its’ way up one of the
streets. The guide had never seen it before. It had ‘Great Britain’ written
on the side of it and Pauline believed it had been hijacked from Blackpool!
The coach continued having gone over the Golden Gate Bridge and stopped at
Fisherman’s Wharf.
We
got off the coach and made our way (Debbie, a friend of Mel’s who had joined
our party a few days before proved a good engine for both Marcia and I as
we performed a train – Debbie pushing me, pushing Marcia) to Pier 41 where
the Ferry to Alcatraz was leaving from.
Alcatraz
Island is out in the middle of the San Francisco Bay. It took about 20 minutes
on the ferry. Once on the Island we were given a brief talk on the prison:
What films had been about it (Escape from Alcatraz) and what gangsters had
been imprisoned there (Al Capone) and its’ history (Military 1850-1933, Penitentiary
1934-1963). We then waited a short while for the arrival of a ‘train’ which
was to take all the disabled members of the group up to the prison. The wheelchairs
all had to be pushed up (being disabled does have some advantages). In fact
the wheelchairs and pushers beat the train.
When
inside the prison we were all given a tape recorder with headset containing
a full commentary on what made up the cell house and some quotes from some
of the x-inmates. One comment that really bought home what prison life was
like was by one inmate who said that the biggest single frustration was looking
out of the courtyard window, across the bay and seeing what real life was
like in San Francisco.
On
our return to the hotel there was just enough time for the girls to shower
before dinner. David and I let them use the shower in our room as we had the
only ‘roll-in’ shower amongst our group. By way of thanks the girls turned
the heating dial in our room to ‘full-on’. When we returned after dinner our
room was like a sauna so we had to open one of the sliding glass doors by
the balcony of our room to cool it down.
As it turned out, we were quite pleased the girls had played their
games as otherwise we would never have sampled the sound of the Pacific Ocean
waves crashing against the beach below.
 |
 |
| Overlooking
San Francisco (from Coach) |
Alcatraz
Island in San Francisco Bay |
Monday
was a day for the girls. “Shop ‘till you drop” in Fishermans’ Wharf, San Francisco.
I started the day with David providing his expert pusher services. We wandered
down Pier 39 looking for souvenirs. I was pleased to find a watercolour picture
to go on my wall at home to maintain my ‘picture from each country visited’
record. I also found a lovely Golden Gate Bridge Plate for my neighbour who
had bravely offered to feed my cat.
Soon
after getting to the last shop on the Pier David became conspicuous by his
absence so faced with the choice of remaining in the spot where I had last
seen him for an undefined period of time or progressing on my own, I chose
the latter. I soon bumped into Peter & Michael and went with them to see
the noisy, smelly colony of sea-lions. (See below). Our taste in food then
separated us and I continued on my way back up Pier 39. Here, I met up with
Simon & Tony K who shared 24 doughnuts with me (they were mini-doughnuts!).
We had found a large percentage of our group outside a café having their lunch
and as I was still rather peckish I tucked into Marcia’s chips and spare ribs.
My eyes then became transfixed on the fruit stall across the Pier. I bought
four of the biggest strawberries I had seen and a pot of chocolate to dip
them in. They were gorgeous but then for the equivalent of £5 they should
have been!
 |
|
| Michael
& I by the sea lions |
The
Pacific Ocean from Pacifica |
After
dinner at the hotel that night both Sian and myself were both encouraged to
make speeches and Tony A volunteered to make one too. We had all signed a
thank you card for Pat on the journey home from San Francisco but it had mysteriously
gone missing between the coach and the dinner table. Pat received her card
when it was found.
Tuesday
came and all we had to look forward to was the long flight back to Heathrow.
I consider myself quite fortunate as I only live 20 minutes from that airport.
Many had additional journeys to such places as Blackpool, Macclesfield, Bristol
and Yeovil.
| Half-way
through our holiday (l to r) Richard, Donna K, me, Sian, Donna S, Mel
& Marcia |
 |
I
would like to say a big ‘thank you’ to all the Staff of the Lifetrain Trust
and the other helpers/pushers that made this holiday possible. Clearly without
people like this, a holiday of this magnitude could never happen. Of course,
the varying disabilities of the other members of the group present obstacles
of all kinds, however, great credit must
be given to The Lifetrain Trust as any such problems are overcome with the
minimum of fuss to enable the holiday to run on smoothly and without the majority
of people even knowing. Throughout the whole holiday, all participants, regardless
of the extent of their disability are treated equally and that is why these
holidays are so successful.
| Goodbye from Pacifica (l
to r) Mel, Sian, Donna K, Sarah, Donna S, me & Marcia |
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