November 4 - An Air Canada Adventure

T’was the night before Christmas…well, not really, but it sure felt like it this past Thursday. Lyle and I had plans to go to B.C.’s Okanagan Valley. Lyle was to drive and I had decided to fly. The snow was falling.

I was a little anxious about the flight because it has been some time since I have flown alone. Still, my friend Shirley was driving me to the airport and basically handing me over to the Air Canada staff at the desk. I should have no worries. In fact, in Edmonton everything went very smoothly. This year we had purchased Maple Leaf Lounge passes, so that was my first stop after security. A huge thank you to Edna, Marie and Linda who looked after me there. The flight to Vancouver was uneventful and again I was ensconced in the Maple Leaf Lounge where Fanny and Monica made sure that I had everything I needed.

It was all fine until the time for me to board my next flight to Penticton. Lo and behold, winter had come early to BC’s interior. The snow was heavy, the visibility was near nil and the flight had been cancelled. Not only that, there were no more flights that night.

I managed to remain fairly calm, although not especially happy. The Air Canada staff who took charge of me were excellent. Somehow or other, a hotel room was arranged and a guide came to take me to the shuttle bus. As the woman who arranged this for me said, “You will just have to look on this as a new adventure!”

Getting to the hotel went smoothly, and the night manager showed me to my room and explained the buttons on the elevator. I slept reasonably well but retained some anxiety about the next morning.

Actually, as it turned out, the only mishap of the next day was mixing up the buttons in the elevator at the hotel. I think I pressed the alarm button instead of the lobby and I rode all the way up before someone else got on to press the right key.

The shuttle was good, but when we neared the airport, I remembered the confusion of the previous night. Vancouver Airport is big and I knew that where the shuttle dropped me off I would never be able to find my way to the check in counter.  Instead, I spoke up in the bus - “Is anyone here going to Air Canada?”

I was in luck. One kind passenger answered my call for help. I don’t know this gentleman’s name, but he was tall and had on white running shoes. Also, he was an Aussie! Well, he was born in Australia but had been here for twenty years.

I am most grateful to this stranger. He led me to the Air Canada desk, and although we were separated at that point, we met again at security and again at the boarding gate. Each time, this man acknowledged me to make sure I was okay. Again, when we landed in Penticton, my new friend made sure I had someone there to meet me. Possibly he doesn’t know just how grateful I was for the few words we exchanged, but he definitely did his good deed for the day.

So, if you do see someone with a white cane who looks as if they might be struggling, do please offer to help. Again, I am very grateful to everyone who made my unexpected flight delays into just a good feeling flight adventure.  

October 29 - Guide Dog Goes Cruising

Did you know that guide dogs can also enjoy the cruise experience? I didn’t know this until our recent cruise when we met Rana, a beautiful Golden Retriever. She was on board with her owner and handler, Chuck, and his wife Peggy. When Lyle pointed them out to me, I immediately hoped that I would get an opportunity to speak with them.

Over the course of our ten-day cruise, this happened several times. I learned that Chuck and Rana were experienced travellers. My first question was to ask where Rana did her business. After all, the decks of the ship were all smooth, clean and polished. Chuck explained that the shipping company provided a small grass patch of either real or artificial turf, at the back of the ship. Of course, he had needed to notify the company ahead of sailing time that he would be accompanied by his service dog so that all this could be arranged. Naturally enough, only certified service dogs would be accommodated in this way. 

Rana seemed to take the whole experience in her stride and was indeed one of the better behaved guide dogs I have encountered. Full credit to Chuck for her daily training and also to the Seeing Eye School in New Jersey for her initial training. Chuck also had only good things to say about this particular guide dog school.

After hearing the accommodations Holland America had made for Chuck and Rana, I also have praise for the cruise line. I had registered as a legally blind passenger and once again I was happy with our own cabin assignment. We were allotted a cabin just at the bottom of a stairwell and elevator. I had no need to count down a myriad of doors to find our room. It was simply the first one as we rounded the corner. I also found the staff in the dining areas very helpful. Lyle and I are already looking forward to the next time we can enjoy a cruise experience.

The picture below is of Chuck, Rana and myself.  It was taken on gala night and so we are all looking quite spiffy!

Chuck, Rana, and Sue

October 26 - White Cane Reconnections

It has been five years now since I did my series of walks across Canada using my white cane and meeting other white cane users. When I have the opportunity to reconnect with people I met as part of that trek, I still get quite excited, and so it was when our cruise ship stopped in Sydney, Nova Scotia.

When Lyle and I were in Sydney five years ago we met with a group of people from the CCB group there. CCB stands for Canadian Council for the Blind and there is a very active chapter in Sydney. In fact, the national president, Louise Gillis is part of the group, as is Christina Lewis who is a board member. As well, several of the group are part of a blind curling team. Each year this team participates in the blind curling tournament held in Ottawa during white Cane Week. In 2012, the team walked away with the Bronze placement and when we met with Chris this past week, she informed me that they had done the same in 2016. The team is the only all female group to participate in the tournament.

When we met with Raymond and Chris in Sydney, I was pleased and not too surprised at how easily it was to slip into conversation. The connecting thread of visual impairment is a starting point of mutual interest. I listened as Raymond and Chris told us of the efforts of their local CCB group to promote and awareness of people who are blind or partially sighted. Raymond, who has struggled with the challenges of partial sight for most of his life, has been especially active with fund raising among the local businesses. Chris, as well as being a CCB board member, is part of the curling team.

As well as speaking of issues specific to Sydney, our conversation then strayed to other trends and challenges facing people with vision loss. I was grateful to both Raymond and Chris for meeting with us and also cheered with how easily it was to reconnect with other white cane users across the country. Somehow or other this connection with other people who have similar challenges with vision loss helps to break down barriers of isolation  and of being the only one in the crowd.

In the picture below, I am sitting with Raymond and Chris having coffee and conversation.

Raymond, Chris, and Sue having coffee