Trip to Wonderful

Musee de Beaux Artes

2005-08-23T14:59:00.000-07:00

Well, actually it was the local art museum here on the Gisland--Nassau County Musem of Art. Staff were nice, but the inside is not especially kid-friendly, let alone for ASD kids w/impulse issues and a desire to touch everything. The outside, though, was great: there's a big sculpture garden for which one does not have to pay, benches (in noticeably short supply in the museum, incidentally--a guard politely warned my daughter off the baseboard she was using as a seat), and formal gardens with fountains--plenty of narrow paths to walk along, not too many precious botanica to destroy. Lots of bronze and stone sculptures that would be fairly hard to destroy, and plenty of space to get one's yayas out. Almost all the visitors were retirees, with the exception of one young Orthodox couple (on a date?).

Another minus: the part of the sculpture garden we visited is a very large open field favored by Canada geese, so it was filled with goose spore. And the restaurant had the child-unwelcoming-sounding name of "Cafe Musee," so we didn't check it out.

We briefly checked out the Tee Ridder Miniatures Museum. Not wonderful except for very tractable kids, though I'd have liked it were I alone: the room is smallish, with a wooden floor, so my son's rather averagely loud voice sounded like it was bouncing off the ceiling. Not to mention the Fear Factor of all those doll houses with doll parts, doll eyes, doll mouth, doll legs, on sale for $4,000 and within arm's reach of my son.

Moving day is here!

2005-05-19T18:55:00.000-07:00

Finally, Trip To Wonderful's permanent home is set up. Change your bookmarks to www.triptowonderful.org.

Travois deux and the Datastorm arrives...

2005-05-13T18:22:00.000-07:00

In five separate boxes...the latter, that is...

It took us two months to decide upon our first trailer, the Jayco 25G. We looked at a good dozen different hybrid models before settling, happily, upon the Jay Feather. When we learned of the aforementioned full-timing clause (ironically, on page 18 of the owner's manual), our world was definitely thrown off kilter. D-Day is slightly more than three weeks away, and we have no home.

So for two days we traversed the state high and low, on the hunt for that perfect trailer, and with gross vehicle weight ratings nearing 10K lbs and lengths over 30 ft, these were of a very different breed.

Last night, we ordered a Sunnybrook 3009. With a queen, a full, a twin bunk and queen pull-out sofa, it sleeps the Keebler elves or a medium-large sized family.

I thought that by finally settling on a trailer and tow, I'd banish the anxiety gremlin which wakes me very morning at four. So this morning, while I'd like to blame the pre-dawn street scrubbers (which for some reason PARKED and then proceeded to BACK UP, which that horrific beeping, for a full 10 minutes outside my window), it was the excitement of the pending trip which pulled me from dreamland.

Today, as I drove off to pick up Jonah, my favorite man in Brown arrived with a heap of packages, all addressed to me. It was the DustyFoot datastorm tripod satellite unit, which will allow is to access satellite internet just about anywhere in North America. We broke out the wrenches, and spent the next few hours assemblign and re-assembling. Then we ran out of daylight. Fortunately, tomorrow is another day.

Bad news and good karma...

2005-05-10T18:29:00.000-07:00

A few days ago we learned from the very kind people at RVDirect (our Jayco dealer) that Jayco's warranty policy precluded owners from residing full-time in their vehicle. We've spent the past few days attempting to get a more complete answer, and are still waiting (kinda, sorta.) The latest information is that Jayco deals with such situations on a "case-by-case" basis, which, unfortunately isn't really good enough when you're planning your next 12 months around a bumper-to-bumper warranty.

We are exploring other options, e.g., heavier trailers which explicitly allow full-timing, and to that end had to re-evaluate our tow vehicle options.

We'd mostly settled on a 1/2 ton Suburban or it's GMC equivilant, the Yukon XL. The tow capacity 72-8400 lbs fit well within the range of a lightweight hybrid (the Jayco's GVWR is 5800 lbs.) Heavier year-round tow trailers tend towards the 9000 lbs+ range. So we knew we might have to look for a larger SUV.

When we were exploring the Airstream option, I sent out feelers for a 3/4 ton Suburban (2500 series), to no avail. The closest one I could locate was in New Jersey.

Yesterday, I was randomly calling dealers, still thinking that 1/2 tons were options, when a dealer informed me that the vehicle about which I was inquiring was in fact a Suburban 2500, 4WD to boot. Mileage was pretty good for a 2001, and Carfax.com indicated it had only one private owner. We looked over the car, liked what we saw, and today, bought it.

So where's the good karma?

When Grace was 18 months old, she developed an intussuception, a potentially fatal bowel blockage. Her care at Maine Med was overseen by a team of diligent and competent surgeons, led by a wonderful pair of experts, one known mostly by his nickname, Dr. D.

We learned today that the one owner of our new Suburban was the same Dr. D. who saved our Grace's life (it took three interventions to right the obstruction.) You can't buy better karma than that.

We have our cheval. Time to nail down the travois once and for all.

I've purchased the travois...now we need the horse...

2005-05-06T16:43:00.000-07:00

Eric joked recently that we should order matching "vanity" plates for the trailer and tow vehicle. After much brainstorming, my suggestion, a nod to his more equine Plains roots (Abenakis used dogs, not horses, as pack animals), was "cheval" and "travois".

Well, yesterday, I bought the travois. A brand-spanking new Jayco 25G awaits us in Buffalo, New York, with an early June due date.

The horse is still a mystery, though we are narrowing the choices.

The countdown officially begins.

2005-05-04T13:05:00.000-07:00

Well, 5PM last evening came and went without incident, so now the house is truly sold.

D-Day, 6th of June.

Today, I had a date with a half-dozen late-model Suburbans (with a lone Yukon XL thrown in the lot), still trying to match up our Jayco 25G with its perfect mate. A few decent prospects, nothing which made me open the checkbook immediately, however.

Lunch with my former campaign manager, Tracy and her lovely spouse Josh was sandwiched between stops at the DMV to pick up Jonah's handicapped parking permit. Why two stops? Seems that our pediatrician overlooked checking a box. Thus, the wonderful bureaucrats at Motor Vehicles determined that when someone is applying for a disabled permit, it makes complete sense to make their life even harder, sending them across town for a simple checked box, rather than assume from the lengthy desciption on the second page that a diagnosis of autism indicates a neurological, not ambulatory, disability. Sigh.

Next on the agenda is a follow-up to RV Direct to find out the status of our prospective trailer.

As this post up until now indicates, activities around here for the next few days, perhaps weeks, will be mostly organizational...and dull. Thus, I urge you to head on over to my latest discovered gem of a blog, Travelogue, chronicling the adventures of a family of six, two parents, four young kids, meandering around North America in their travel trailer (having sold their home and stored their possessions.) Gee, I hate when we end up being copy-cats without even knowing it.

The pins and needles of home selling

2005-05-03T10:52:00.000-07:00

Although we've accepted an offer on the house (two now, actually, and a third waiting in the wings,) we've been subjected to over a week of inspections, appraisals and, sadly, arm-twisting. Seems as though the buyer's broker failed to inform them that freestanding appliances needed to be negotiated in the sale, and thus, neither the 48" Viking range and hood or the high-end KitchenAid fridge were included in the contract. The sellers attempted to rectify this by offering a lower (yes, lower) price, including the appliances, with the hope that although we'd reject the reduced price, we'd "compromise" and happily include $12K worth of appliances in the original price. Since we've rejected that scenario outright, they have until 5pm this afternoon to decide whether to annull the contract. If they do, we go to the next offer, equal to the first, with much less manipulative buyers/brokers. If they don't cancel, they're tied into the contract without appliances, though we might consider selling such, for their market value, of course. (Note: When the buyers first realized their faux pas, we offered the appliances at a very reasonable price.)

The worst of all this is the uncertainty: It's hard to plan an itinerary if you don't know if you'll be on the road June 7th, 27th or sometime in July. It also leads to writers block, as all mental energy is consumed by the ongoing ordeal of negotiating with a party determined to get the very best deal, even at the expense of goodwill.

I'd like to update the sidebar, but I'm still hoping Eric will get around to purchasing the permanent URL. I guess I can just copy the links into their new location. I do now have quite a library of new travel books, including some great Insider Guides for families.

More camping resources

2005-04-26T04:12:00.000-07:00

At some point, I will address private campgrounds and RV "resorts", but since we don't plan on spending much time ourselves in such accomodations, much of my current focus is on public recreational lands.

I mentioned the Reserve America site a while back, namely as the means of reserving sites at National Park campgrounds. However, I found a wonderful resource on the site, it's "Browse Maps" feature, which provides information on thousands of state and federal campgrounds, including those, like Army Corps of Engineer lands, which are often more "developed", e.g., provide water and electric hookups, but are often overlooked by camping guides and websites. The only limitation is that only sites which are in fact reservable are listed on the website; "first-come, first served" campgrounds are not.

A second resource I happened upon which begins to fill that gap is unofficial US National Forest Campground Guide. The authors have now reviewed over 100 Forest Service campgrounds, with the expectation to eventually hit all USDA sites.

I just mentioned to Eric this morning that I need to come up with a more "accessible" means of organizing campgrounds which may or may not fit our own perimeters, so that when it's late in the evening and we're looking for a good spot to set up camp, that information is as close as my laptop. I'll let you all know what I come up with.

Step 1 complete

2005-04-24T16:26:00.000-07:00

Sold the house yesterday. Well, I should say, we accepted an offer (actually, a counter-counter-counter-counter offer (we won the bidding war)) and signed the papers last night. We close May 31st, vacate the premises June 7th.

Now the real fun begins. While the stress will probably decrease on some levels and increase on others, I should have more time to document the process, as I won't be constantly cleaning and leaving the house for showings. Thus, TtW will return to it's previous relatively prolific status.

En vacances

2005-04-24T14:10:00.000-07:00

Right now the Honda odyssey is sounding pretty good--we're off for an entire week, courtesy of the district not using up its alloted snow days. We need structure chez nous. I'm thinking we should probably plan a couple of day trips for this week, or things will get ugly: my daughter is already starting to get ornery. Right now it's taking the form of wanting stuff, like why aren't we on vacation to Disney, and why can't I have a hamster (I don't want hamsters: they eat their young). I have a couple of ideas for trips: I'll write about the results if anything instructive happens.

Getting off "The Grid"

2005-04-19T07:29:00.000-07:00

As I posted over on Wampum yesterday, I've spent the last week immersed in the workings of alternative energy sources for camping in areas without convenience hookups, electricity in particular.

So why would families with neurologically exceptional children choose to forgo such ammenities on their vacations? For one, as I mentioned in an earlier post, National Parks and other US government lands offer deep discounts in entrance and camping fees for disabled individuals and their families. That means that most campsites are $10 or less per night. Compare that with $40-$50 per night for many private campgrounds.

In addition to lower cost, public land campgrounds offer larger, more private campsites. This provides not only room to expend the extra energy a lot of our kids have, but is welcome in the middle of the night when children like our Jonah decide it's time to get up and play - loudly. Not having to deal with angry neighbors in the morning greatly increases the chance of an enjoyable camping experience.

While our needs will be a bit more extensive than the average camping family, there are requirements for all families who choose to "rough" it in more primitive campgrounds, whether in a tent or a 40' motorhome. For us, it means that our electric needs, mostly limited computer, lights and TV/DVD use in the evenings and coffee maker and toaster in the morning, must be handled by energy stored in the house batteries (DC) or produced for immediate use via a gas-powered generator.

Many national and state parks prohibit the use of generators for long periods, even the new "super-quiet" models, due to noise concerns. So while recharging the batteries every few days is a possibility, depending upon full-time generator power isn't feasible, or even environmentally friendly, as generators burn gasoline and produce emissions.

While not an inexpensive initial outlay, we've decided to replenish most of our energy usage with a solar-electric set-up consisting of 2 125W solar panels mounted on the trailer's roof and a medium-sized bank of deep-cell batteries for energy storage. We'll convert from DC 12volt to AC 110volt, as we can then use most of our own appliances, rather than purchase new 12volt substitutes. On days with little sunshine, we'll supplement recharging with a small generator (2KW), rather than having to invest in a large (4.5KW+), expensive model.

Of course, all of this is hypothetical, as we still haven't purchased our trailer yet. In addition, the question is whether I can install the system myself, or have to turn everything over to an RV electrician. Stay tuned.

TtW back online!

2005-04-11T07:07:00.000-07:00

My laptop returned last week from HP, for the third time in a month. This time, however, it actually booted up. My wireless connection is still on the fritz, but I can now surf, write and post on the same machine.

Lots of developments in the planning. Eric decided about a month ago that his adolescent dream of wandering the globe in an Airstream actually fit into our plan, so I spent a couple of weeks attempting to figure out if we could in fact all fit into, and then tow, a Silver Bullet. The answer, sadly for him, was eventually "no". In order to tow the 30' model which could sleep six comfortably, we needed a tow capacity of at least 9000 pounds. While a number of pick-up trucks have that rating, few vehicles which seat seven (2 adults, 4 kids and a large dog) do. Essentially, only the Chevy Suburban 2500, which, surprisingly, is very difficult to find here in Maine.

So we compromised. I still wanted the feel of "camping", i.e., canvass, and Eric wanted more of the permanent feeling of a trailer. So we started looking at "hybrids" (and if any for PUP readers are still watching, feel free to knock me upside the head, as this was recommended when I started planning this whole affair.)

We've decided upon a Jayco 25G, a combination queen pop-out bunk in the front, with quad bunk bed in the rear. Weighs about 4000 dry, with a total GVWR of 5800. Can thus be towed by almost any of the larger SUVs, including the Dodge Durangos and Toyota Sequoias we're now test driving.

The house went onto the market this morning. We've already begun moving much of our smaller stuff, books, toys, books, books, (did I mention books?) into storage.

We sell the Odyssey on Wednesday. Found a buyer, and since we have the 88 Volvo working, figure we can survive until the house closes, as long as we all don't have to go anywhere together. Besides, it gives us the extra cash to finish some house projects, put a down payment on the trailer, buy the generator, etc., etc. Inspection and registration were up this month, and didn't want to pay another $600 for only a month or two (excise taxes aren't rolled-over onto new vehicles, so it appears.)

We still hope to be on the road in early June. Cross your fingers that we find a buyer this week.

Technical difficulties continue...

2005-03-15T08:20:00.000-08:00

I'm still without a laptop, having mine returned from HP unfixed yesterday morning. After yet another call to technical support, I finally happened upon a kind soul (in Vancouver) who straightened the entire mess out, and is having UPS pick it up today, with the promise of it being returned, fixed free of charge, by March 21.

I do have access to my spouse's FreeBSD machines, but they're more conducive to research than post construction. However, I'll have so much to write on by the time the laptop returns, I promise to make up for the recent drought.

Thank you for bearing with us. Ironically, the damage was autistic-child induced. Moral of the story? Get the accidental damage coverage. I just extended my warranty for another year, and added just that.

It's all about timing...

2005-03-10T17:12:00.000-08:00

As I move between my computer and the 50" x 40" laminated map of the US which now adorns the wall of our dining room, I'm slowly but surely creating a winding path of red marker, from New England to the Rockies, back to the Upper Peninsula, down to Southern Appalachians, etc., etc. Each of the points in the path are only placed if they fulfill two criteria: First is the expected temperature during the proposed visit, second, and somewhat related, are the expected crowds.

Now, some destinations have such small windows of opportunity that filling the first criteria means that the second criteria is bound to fail. Yellowstone National Park falls into this category. Camping in the park is essentially limited to three months. Those months also fall in the middle of summer vacation, the peak of the travel season for most families. So while that doesn't knock Yellowstone off the list, we know we're going to have to look at ways to mitigate the crowd factor. Visiting mid-week, camping at one of the lesser-known campgrounds, or even in one of the national forests which border the park may alleviate some of issues, should they even arise. I mean, let's be honest - it's a huge national park, not Disney World, so is being "crowded" at Yellowstone just relative?

But speaking of Disney World... This is one of those times where it is in fact possible to fulfill both criteria. You do, however, have to be willing to thumb your nose at your school's calendar, which we have never had a problem doing.

The least crowded times at Disney are in the Fall, after Labor Day and up to Thanksgiving, then in early December, and again in January and early February. In the latter, the weather tends to be a bit cooler, which may not actually be a problem for a heat-sensitive autistic child, but it does mean a lot of the water parks and pools, much beloved by autistic kids everywhere, are closed. That leaves the Fall, and frankly, near perfect weather.

I've been to Disney in mid-September (immediately following 9/11/2001), early October, and early December, and every time, the crowds have been so light that the lines where almost non-existant. Granted, it doesn't really count in September 2001, when we could actually remain on any ride we chose. Generally, there are still crowds, some days more than others (weekends and Columbus Day holiday, in particular), but they are so much more managable than during peak season. Even with the Guest Assistance Card for ride entry (which has changed slightly, from what I understand), just the crush of the crowds in the common areas during peak season would be enough to frazzle many autistic kids.

There are economic benefits as well to travelling during slow seasons. Rates at hotels, campgrounds and home/condo rentals drop dramatically during off season. With the savings, most families can upgrade to a larger living space, including those with cooking facilities, and remove one other potential stressor, dining out. At Disney, between the off-season discounts and other potential savings devices, such as annual pass rates or renting DVC "points" (both of which I'll explain in the near future in another post), families can save more than 50% on Disney "Home-Away-From-Home" properties.

Off seasons are often surprising as well. While Googling for information on the Florida Keys this morning, I learned that their high-season didn't begin until December 1st. For those of us who live in northern climes, November seems like a pretty nice time to be basking in the sun. Most vacationers don't really think of tropical destinations until they can't take winter any longer, and by that time, all their neighbors feel the same.

It pays to do a little research on air and water temperatures (if applicable.) While the both the air and water temperature on the North Carolina Outer Banks drop off in early October, both are still above 70 degrees for a few more weeks, and housing prices are at their annual low. Head south through South Carolina and Georgia, and comfortable weather, and prices, extend a little longer.

On our travels, we expect to run into times when we can't satify both crowd and climate control. In some cases, we'll settle for slightly cooler temps and fewer people. In others, particularly next winter, weather will tip the scales. But a little research and planning, and willingness to shrug off school administrators, can mean the difference between surviving a vacation, and truly enjoying it, for both parents and kids.

Cautionary Tales

2005-03-09T07:29:00.000-08:00

Um, hi! [waving tentatively] I'm the mother of a girl on the spectrum and longtime cyberbud of MB. I thought for my maiden post I could function as a horrible warning. My daughter is somewhere in the HFA/PDD/Asperger's range. As one evaluator so clinically put it, she has a "prominent rigid personality." Mommy is fairly ADD, which means planning ahead? Not my strong point. We'd pick some sort of family destination--Hershey Park, say. This is a largish place, if you haven't been, full of opportunities for sensory overload. My daughter's poison of choice was merry-go-rounds.* Like many autistic kids, she likes the sensation of spinning. And like many girls with Asperger's, she loves animals, especially horses. Hershey Park was fairly accommodating about the bracelets for people with disabilities: I do remember having to walk somewhere deep into the park to go to the relevant office with my antsy five-year-old, and then I had a very short discussion with a total stranger about my kid's diagnosis, and then we were given the Magic Bracelet,** which meant we didn't have to wait on line and (very important) didn't have to get off the preferred ride. Which we went on over and over and over. And over. And. Over. As in, for the first day we were there, it was the only ride we went on. I'm remembering that on the second day we were able to get her to try another ride (it must have had animals to sit in, or painted on the side), but pretty much that vacation I just stood there watching her, like Phoebe and Holden, except not.

She's grown, we've grown: now she is much more open to different activities. We've done best on vacations that have structured programs for kids: we're in New York, so we've done our tour of resorts upstate that have camps. They have structure and variety and they bring her together with other kids, and my daughter does much, much better with structure. Bonus: it also means the spousal unit and I get to have a bit of time to ourselves. I take a lot of naps on those vacations.

*I used to know a lot about various parks and zoos in the LI area that had merry-go-rounds.

**I'm going to skip, for now, my musings about wearing those bracelets and suddenly having physical evidence of an invisible disability.

Buying travel books

2005-03-08T08:52:00.000-08:00

If my readers haven't figured it out yet, I'm a research hound; I live to do research. Probably the reason that in my pre-Stay-at-Home-Mom days I wore the professional mantle of archaeologist. It was just a means of spending hours upon hours lost in the stacks of the local research library.

Of course, that was before the massive expansion of information now accessible on the Internet. I don't even have to leave my home to do much of the work at hand.

Generally, that is. It's still difficult to find most books on line, particularly travel books. That, however, gave me the excuse to spend hours thumbing through relevant volumes in our local Borders. And, to be honest, as long as you're not looking for books on travel with special needs kids, there are a lot of interesting and useful books out there. Pretty ones, too. One could spend a fortune in fact, just properly outfitting a library on US locations alone. Ah, there's the problem - I don't have a fortune to spend, and if I did, I'd much rather spend it on actually traveling, not reading about it.

Libraries are great, but often don't have the most up-to-date editions, which are generally more important in travel books, than, say, the history of the Middle Ages. Enter the underappreciated utility of the online used book store.

I first entered this new domain through good old Amazon.com, when I noticed the "buy it new or used starting at $---" below their list price. The first time I clicked through, I was amazed that some bookstore in Massachusetts was offering the same book, which they claimed was in "like new" condition, for a little over a dollar. I figured they must get you on the shipping charges, but it turns out, there's a flat fee of $3.25 per item. Not cheap, but less than Amazon's basic shipping charges, and I still would get the book for less than a quarter of what I would have paid through Amazon, and a sixth of my local Border's sticker price. I took a chance (the book seller had a record of good feedback) and placed the order. Ten days later (twice as long as it usually takes Amazon), I received my $4.50 book, with the original $19.95 sticker still attached, in perfect condition. Not even a mark, although the seller warned me there might in fact be one.

Since that time, I've ordered six such books. All but one I previewed at Borders, and the one I missed (a 99 cent late 1990's edition) was in fact a dud. All the others. ranging in price from $1.07 to $7.45, have been great additions to my growing travel collection, and I've added a few more to my future purchase list.

Other online bookstores offer similar passthroughs to used sellers; I like Powells a lot, and although they don't have as extensive a selection, their shipping prices are lower. I've read here and there about Half.com, but I can't say I was impressed when trying to find any of the books on my original list for a lower price than Amazon's resellers.

I'll be adding the new books to the sidebar in a few days. I've been putting it off, hoping the new site would be up, but I won't delay much longer. Yesterday's lot (two books via post) was particularly enjoyable as I vegged on the couch, recovering from some form of late winter flu.

The mystery of the National Park Reservation solved!

2005-03-04T16:54:00.000-08:00

Whenever I see "reservations recommended" at a campground, my heart falls. See, I've always assumed that you have to book a half-way decent site, heck, any site, in a popular National Park at least a year in advance, and let's be honest, parents of autistics just don't think that far ahead.

So imagine my surprise when I received my $1.09 Amazon.com "used" ($24.99 tag still intact) Charles Wohlforth's Frommer's Family Vacations in the National Parks (2nd Edition). According to Wohlforth, I could in fact still book both the months of July and August in all the reservable parks, with the exception of Yellowstone, which in fact does book a year out. (That's okay, the campground we want, Norris, is first-come, first serve anyway.)

So I scooted over to the National Park Service reservation website, and lo and behold, he was correct. The way it works is that the Park Service only books five months out, but they open an entire month at one time, on the fifth of the month. Thus, if you want to book a site anytime from July 5th - August 4th, you can't attempt to reserve until March 5th (tomorrow!). If you want an August 5th - September 4th site, you have to be on the phone or at the website starting April 5th.

In order to make life a little easier (which is really what we PoA's need most of all, isn't it?), I sifted through the NPS site so as to list below which parks and campground accept reservations.

(Moving East to West)
Acadia (Blackwoods)
Assateague (Bayside and Oceanside)
Greenbelt (all)
Shenandoah (Big Meadows)
Cape Hatteras (Ocracoke)
Great Smokey (most campgrounds)
Big South Fork (Blue Heron, Bandy Creek)
Everglades (Flamingo, Long Pine)
Sleeping Bear Dunes (Platte River, South Manitou Island)
Rocky Mountains (Glacier Basin, Moraine Park)
Grand Canyon (Mather South Rim, North Rim)
Zion (Watchman)
Glacier (Fish Creek, St. Mary)
Joshua Tree (Black Rock, Indian Cove)
Channel Islands (all islands)
Death Valley (Furnace Creek)
Sequoia-Kings Canyon (Dorst Creek, Lodgepole)
Yosemite (Lower Pines, Upper Pines, Crane Flat, Hodgdon Meadows, Tuolumne Meadows, Wawona)
Whiskeytown (Dry Creek, Oak Bottom)
Mount Rainier (Cougar Rock, Ohanapecosh)
Olympic (Kalaloch)

Now, I'll be online tomorrow reserving sites at Yosemite (Tuolomne Meadows) and Mt. Rainier (Cougar Rock), so no jumping the cue.

Happy trails.

Update: Turns out the Yosemite is on a slightly different booking schedule than the other parks listed above. The key date is the 15th of the month, not the 5th. So on March 15th, dates will open through August 14th. On April 15th, dates through September 15th.

All Aboard!

2005-03-04T11:25:00.000-08:00

Since Dwight has been discussing travel by planes and automobiles, I thought I'd fill in the missing method of transport in the trilogy, trains.

Autistic children generally love trains. Well, at least mine do. Okay, so they love the Brio kind. Jonah can take up our entire living room floor with elaborate rail configurations, often elevated with the help of soup cans, books and anything else he finds in his immediate vicinity.

But I digress. Train travel is often well suited for children with developmental or neurological special needs, as it allows more mobility (and energy release) than planes or cars, where kids are not only stuck in their seats, but generally strapped into car seats as well. The rhythmic movement of the train as it chugs along the tracks can be soothing to kids craving a varied sensory and auditory diet. And although it may be a bit much for those children with sensitive hearing, ear plugs or earphones can help significantly in that area.

Amtrak offers special discounts for disabled customers (15% on weekends, 25% during the week), but their kids fares are a much better deal at 50%, with up to two kids travelling per adult. Just in time for Spring vacations, Amtrak has an even better deal for families along the East Coast. When two adults pay full price, up to four children under 18 ride for 90% off the full-price fare. Details can be found at Amtrak.com, or here.

Greyhound and other bus companies offer discounts for children and disabled riders, but there's nothing like a train for moderate distances with special needs kids.

Travel stories

2005-03-02T10:25:00.000-08:00

My co-editor and dear friend, Dwight Meredith, has been sharing his experiences and acquired wisdom on the subject of travel with his ten year-old autistic son, Bobby, over on our political advocacy blog, Wampum. So far there are three episodes, Travels with Bobby, Part I, II, and III. I highly recommend them.

I will note, however, that our experiences so far with Sam (a little verbal but otherwise high functioning) and Jonah (moderately affected) have been rather tame compared to Dwight's. But his make for much more colorful narratives.

Dwight has promised to offer more of his experience and wit, and so I will be linking frequently to Wampum in the future. The time right now is excellent, as my laptop suffered a serious Jonah-related injury yesterday, and will be in the shop for at least a week. While Eric is fine with sharing his hardware, it's generally easier for me to research and post on my own more familiar platform.

Guilty of the sin of cross-posting...

2005-02-28T14:26:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I won't actually cross-post, but link to this piece I put up on Wampum a few hours ago. Although much of it is a reaction to the planning of our trip, since the message is directed at those who are not parents of autistics, putting it here would in all probability defeat the purpose.

Special Needs Vacation Tip #3: Amusement Park Discounts

2005-02-28T03:56:00.000-08:00

While Disney has yet to jump on the bandwagon, many other large amusement park chains offer significant discounts to special needs individuals and their families.

Busch Gardens parks, which include SeaWorld, Discovery Cove, Water Country, Adventure Island and Sesame Place, offer 50% off one day tickets for disabled/special needs individuals and one companion. We learned of this program two summers ago when we visited Sesame Park in Pennsylvania. After our trip to Disney where we learned of special assistance passes which allow expedited access to rides and shows (NB: this program has changed significantly at Disney and I'll be posting on that soon), we decided to ask if other amusement parks had similar programs. When I inquired at the ticket counter, not only was I provided with the special needs passes, I was informed of the discounted rate.

Since we have two children with autism, such discounts are significant. A single day adult admission for Busch Gardens is $49.95, $42.95 for kids. This isn't just a feel-good perk: While many neurologically exceptional children thrive in the intense stimulation of theme parks, for some, the sensory overload is too much, and a day planned at the park turns into a couple of hours.

Most private parks, concerned about potential ADA litigation, do not require documentation of disability. This, of course, has led to significant abuse by non-disabled visitors looking to save a few bucks. The abuse of the Guest Assistance Program at Disney's parks led to the changes in their policy, much to the detriment of those who depended upon the policy to have a successful vacation experience. I suggest, however, that in order to counter the perception by park staff that the discount policy is being abused, especially in those with "invisible disabilities", parents should offer a note from the child's pediatrician or neurologist. Most times the staff won't want it, but the fact that you're willing to provide it cuts back on negative perceptions which might lead to policy changes in the future.

I've read reports of other theme parks (Marineland, Six Flags) offering some form of disability discount, but I have not been able to confirm this information at this time. I'll contact the parks directly and post updates as they come in.

Change of plans

2005-02-27T07:59:00.000-08:00

I've been working on a post on traveling and dining with children with special diets, an issue close to our hearts as Sam has been gluten-free (and mostly dairy-free as well) since he was 21 months old.

However, I never realized how much information is out there, but on a zillion different sites, with no one site offering a complete picture of dining out with kids with dietary restrictions.

So I'm putting off that post while I do a better job of compiling the information. I've also emailed a number of companies requesting further detail on their policies.

So now I'm sending the Googling monkeys off in a new direction. Stay tuned.

Welcome addition

2005-02-26T16:06:00.000-08:00

I think I've been able to ~~sucker~~, er, convince my dear friend Emily to contribute some of her extensive knowledge to this new endeavor. Emily has a neurologically exceptional child who is doing incredibly well (can one say "almost indistinguishable"?), due mostly to Emily (and M.'s) hard work.

I know that Emily is a font of information on vacationing with a high functioning child, as well as being the goto person for all-things-NYC/LI and, of all things, Dude Ranches. Now, not a chuckle. If there's any single family resort that spectrum kids, with their host of sensory needs, will love beyond a doubt, it's the good old fashion dude ranch.

Now I need to figure out how to allow addition authors again on Blogger. Yes, we are moving to WordPress on our Wampum server sometime soon (Eric, buy the *&^%& domain name), with a PHPBB forum and all, but for now, I'm working off two year old knowledge here. Bear with me.

The Plan (Version 1.1)

2005-02-26T04:25:00.000-08:00

So, The Plan (Version 1.0) has already changed a bit. We're no longer 1) setting a time limit, e.g. three months, 2) will visit our potential new residence locations at the end of the first leg, and 3) will in fact travel through the Deep South, though in the slightly cooler autumn months (okay, so I did a bit of research on poisonous snake fatalities.) The US is far too large to see in Ms. Pacman mode, chopping through attractions at a whirlwind pace.

We're also looking today at slightly larger pop-ups. Turns out that a camper with bathroom and shower facilities (along with a kitchen and sleeping quarters) qualifies as a home (for tax purposes.) The freezer in the larger PUP has some appeal as well - less hunting for fresh sources of Sam's favorite gluten-free chicken dinosaurs and donuts. (Ah, there's fodder for our next post.)

Like vacationing in the wilderness, but don't want to camp?

2005-02-26T04:18:00.000-08:00

While our plans include towing a 17ft pop-up through hill and dale and camping in more "primitive" campgrounds, that's not for everyone. However, the benefits for family of neurologically exceptional children of a vacation which eschews the regular musuems, amusement parks and high-scale hotels are many. No pushy crowds, no florescent lights, no loud music. No worry that Junior's desire to bounce off the walls at 3am might just result in a knock on the door from hotel security.

When we took our first non-beach camping trip with the kids, I thought they might be bored just hanging out in the woods. Little did I know that the tiny creek which ran by the side of our site could keep them occupied for hours. That scaling and running down the small hill which formed the opposite camp boundary provided more joy and energy release than even Disney himself could offer.

Well, for those who desire these idyllic conditions but don't want to rough it in a tent or camper, many state and national parks and public lands offer rustic cabins for rent.

Most National Park and Forest Service cabins must be reserved, unlike a lot of "first-come, first-served" campsites. The federal government has contracted with Reserve USA for this service. Unfortunately, the website, while adequate, isn't all that helpful discerning those states which actually offer rental cabins. It's essentially a hit or miss exercise on a state-by-state basis.

Many state parks around the US also provide cabins for rental on daily or weekly terms. In my research on the subject, I found Virginia's State Park cabin and campground website, which was spectacular. Not only does it provide pictures, rates (3 seasons, VA resident or out-of-state) and description of locale, but physical layouts of the different cabin types are available as well. In the next few weeks, I'll spend some time pulling more state park resources for the sidebar.

If the rustic charm of public cabins aren't your cup of tea, there are thousands of private cabins for rent around North America, many to be found at USA Cabins.com (back up a level to see worldwide resources.) State-based tourism organizations also may provide detailed private cabin information and reservations.
Ohio Parks is an example of such a site, but it should be noted that these private properties are generally significantly more expensive than state and national park cabins.

Each cabin is different, so you'll need to check ahead of time to see what you need to bring. Some National Parks facilities are very basic -- essentially the equivilent of a tent made from logs -- no indoor cooking or bathroom facilities. Others provide a few more modern ammenities. All, however, offer families the wonderful opportunity to explore America's pristine habitats, but with a lockable door sufficient to keep bears out, and curious children in.

Feeding the fixation

2005-02-22T11:33:00.000-08:00

I began this post a few days ago, and was pleasantly surprised by the serendipitous interview with Temple Grandin I came across this morning in the Schafer Autism Report. When asked about a statement in her book regarding fixations, Grandin replied,

Let's say that a child loves trains -- that's a very common fixation. Well, read a book about trains, do math problems with trains, read about the history of the railroad. In other words, if a kid loves trains, you can somehow drag a train into just about every subject in school to get him motivated to study it. Fixations are tremendous motivators."

Jonah love trains. Or, I should say, he loves train tracks. He builds extremely complex, often raised, rail systems out of his Brio tracks and a variety of supports, including cans, toys and lumber scraps.

Sam's interests, however, are zoological rather than mechanical. Well, paleozoological. He loves dinosaurs. A child who seldoms speaks more than a few words at a time, he can name over a hundreds different species of dinosaurs and terasaurs.

So we plan on taking Dr. Grandin's advice and feeding Sam's fixation with creatures which have not roamed the earth for hundreds of millions of years. Fortunately, a few hours searching turned up quite a smorgasborg of dino-offerings. We could plan our entire trip just paleo-hopping.

Dinosaur State Park (Connecticut)

Museum of Natural History (New York)

Dinosaur Beach Adventure Theme Park (website coming soon) (New Jersey)

Carnegie Museum of Natural History (Pennsylvania)

Old Pro Golf Dinosaurs! (Maryland)

National Museum of Natural History (Smithsonian) (District of Columbia)

Dinosaur Land (Virginia)

Fernbank Museum of Natural History (Georgia)

Dinosaur Adventure Land (Florida)

Disney's Animal Kingdom (Florida)

Dinosaur Valley State Park (Texas)

Dinosphere @ Children's Museum of Indianapolis (Indiana)

The Field Museum (Illinois)

Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry (Utah)

The Wyoming Dinosaur Center & Dig Site (Wyoming)

Dinosaur Ridge (Colorado)

Dinosaur National Monument (Colorado)

Denver Museum of Nature and Science (Colorado)

The Dinosaur Museum (Utah)

Dinosaur Discovery Center @ Knott's Berry Farm (California)

UC Museum of Paleontology (California)

Prehistoric World (Ontario)

Of course, sometimes you have to truly feed the boy, not just the fixation:

Dinosaur Bar-B-Que (New York)

If you have information regarding these dino-features, please share in comments below. Also, let us know about other entrees which feed the dino-fixation diet.

Handicapped parking permits

2005-02-21T06:39:00.000-08:00

Even though we have two children with autism, we never really thought too much about obtaining a handicapped parking permit. Parking in and around Portland, except during the holiday shopping season, has never been particularly cumbersome, even with a moderately tantruming, forty-plus pound five-year old.

However, while planning about our upcoming trip, I began to rethink the issue. In our past travels, when we've visited areas with long treks to and from the parking area, we've had to convince handicapped area gatekeepers that, despite our not being in possession of a parking permit, our children's disabilities necessitated easy access to a quick getaway should a mondo-meltdown ensue. Fortunately, such interrogations were few and far between, mostly because we tend to avoid such venues, preferring instead quite campgrounds and beaches off the beaten path.

Generally, handicapped parking permits are restricted to individuals with mobility issues. Most children with autism don't obstensively appear to fit that criteria. However, I learned recently that permits are also meant to cover those instances where the distance between the parking lot and site entrance might put the individual in physical danger. Boy, did they have our number.

While Sam is pretty easygoing in most public situations, Jonah has "bolting issues." The doors on our home are now fitted with eardrum peircing alarms since the time we found Jonah dancing on the side of heavily trafficked Forest Ave., having figured out the locks and doorlatches on both the exterior and screen doors. Maine BDS has determined that Jonah's propensity to run entitles him to 25-35 hours of one-on-one support by a trained aide. I figured if one Maine agency felt that our son's safety issues were enough to shell out thousands of dollars per year, then another shouldn't have much problem with handing over a 4" x 9" placard to hang off our car's rearview mirror.

However, it's not as easy as that. Most states require a physician to approve the application. While many people with disabilities see their doctor more frequently than the average Joe, this isn't always the case with autistic children. For us, a trip to the doc is 1) an opportunity ripe for contact with infectious germs and virii, and 2) a painfully long period in the waiting room, followed by chasing down a boy as he negotiates the beehive of rooms and hallways. That's even before we make it onto the examination table.

The professionals most familiar with Jonah's "issues" are his case manager, teachers and therapists. So when I made an appointment for his annual physical, I brought up the handicapped parking application with the receptionist, to make sure we had all the supporting documentation when we came to the appointment. I figured we might have to sell the idea, despite the fact our ped herself has an autistic child.

This morning I got a call back from the receptionist. No problem whatsoever. Just bring the application, no need for letters from his school, case manager, in-home support agency, the clerk at the last store in which he had a meltdown, etc. We should have the placard in time for our trip.

Sometimes I think that parents with special needs kids are our own worst enemies. We imagine all kinds of obstacles, think that we'll have to spend hours explaining the most intimate details of our lives, just to get the services our kids need to have positive experiences out in the world. I think that this stems in part from our experiences with the public education system, which is currently set up to be antagonistic to special needs kids who request real accomodation. Surprisingly, however, in the non-education world, even government bureaucracies seem to go out of their way to help.

But that's a subject for another post.

Special needs vacation tip #2: Reciprocal memberships

2005-02-20T04:24:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I picked up Zagat's U.S. Family Travel Guide, which rates hundreds of attractions, both from a kid's view as well as the appeal to their parents. The guide also indicates age appropriateness, e.g., toddler, young child, and pre-teen, or any combination there of.

One of the things which struck me after just a few minutes perusing cities which may fall along our travel path is that kids consistently rate essentially four venues as their favorites, no matter where they are: Children's museums, amusement parks, zoos and aquariums. Throw in a park and beach or two, and if you spent your entire vacation within this purview, your kids will think they died and went to heaven. However, you might want to throw in an art or science museum, or even a historical monument. Zagat has the dirt on those as well.

Should you choose, like us, to indulge the affinity for children's museums, I highly recommend springing for an Association of Children's Museums reciprocal membership. For an annual fee of $90-$120 (depending upon "home" museum), the membership provide free entrance for parents/guardians and their children to over 100 childrens museums across the country, including big ones such as Boston, Chicago, St. Louis, Denver, etc. Our pass (from the Portland (Maine) Children's Museum also allows us access to hundreds of science museums as well (see list here [.pdf] of all science and discovery museums covered by the ASTC "Travel Passport".) You can purchase your "home" pass at any of these museums.

While some children's museums may be a bit overstimulating for autistic children with sensory issues, many include a quiet area for toddlers and babies. We found in the Baltimore children's museum (Port Discovery) that museum staff were fine with Jonah, our sound sensitive child, hanging out in this room (as long as one of us was with him), even though he was older than the age limit. Better to accomodate than have to endure a major meltdown in the middle of the museum. This year, we also intend on trying earphones and music for Jonah, to see if it helps as well.

Update: I changed the title of this post slightly, as I decided to look to see if there are other reciprocal memberships. Turns out that the members of the American Zoological and Aquarium Association also recognize reciprocal memberships with over 100 zoos and aquariums around the US. The list of participants can be found here.

Can't think about summer vacationing yet? How about family skiing?

2005-02-19T05:02:00.000-08:00

A few years back, when Sam was first diagnosed with autism and I was Googling for local resources, I came across information on the Maine Handicapped Skiing program, headquarted in the Western Maine mountains at Sunday River Ski Resort. I initially thought the program only covered actual physical disabilities, however, according to the National Center on Physical Activity and Disability website (on sidebar),

Participants in MHS have a range of disabilities including autism, hearing and vision impairments, muscular dystrophy, spina bifida, traumatic brain injury, cerebral palsy, spinal cord injury, and other neuromuscular conditions. In addition to residents of Maine and New England, participants come from across the U.S. and Great Britain. Participants submit an application and a physician's statement before undergoing an evaluation by MHS staff to determine their particular interests and abilities.

For more information on the program, visit Maine Handicapped Skiing's website (currently undergoing some renovation).

A tale of two search engines

2005-02-16T13:08:00.000-08:00

What's the first thing any writer does when they come up with an idea for a new book?

They check Amazon.com to see if it's been published already. At least, that's what I did, a writer with one piddly book under her belt (okay, it was a chapter in an obscure volume on gender archaeology.)

So I thoughtfully typed in the simple search term, "Travel with special needs kids".

The results? Well, I got a couple of resource books telling me that special kids need special parents. Anything about a special parent who can read a map and a compass? A special parent who can pitch a tent? Roast marshmallows? Fend off rattlesnakes? Nope. Checked the table of contents, because, you know, I could have missed something in the extensive reviews, but, no, nothing about venturing further from your backyard trampoline with your "special needs child".

So maybe I was being too general. Let's try the specific, "Travel children autism".

Well, that gets me 123 books, not one which deals with travelling with autistic children. So how about the ultra-descriptive, "Camping with autistic children"? Result? "

Book search results: we found no results that closely match your search

Travel with autistic children? The same.

The fact is, there is not a single book in print which discusses in length and detail the joys, and challenges, of travelling with special needs children, and neurologically/genetically exception children in particular. Nothing. Nada. Zilch.

So like any seasoned researcher, I turned to the web, as we all know that the truly cutting edge information on any given subject first appears on the "Internets." Releasing the Googling monkeys with the search term, "camping with children with autism", I pulled up an amazing 43,300 sites, give or take a few. Sadly, 43,299 of them were about sending your autistic child to summer camp; the other was selling Viagra.

To be honest, this is not all that surprising. The current patronistic society, aka parens patri, the current modus operandi for "dealing" with non-school/therapy time for special needs kids is to shuffle them off to a new school/therapy environment, this one in the guise of a "summer camp". The care, and enjoyment, of children is handed off to those deemed more qualified to deal with their needs, but who is really more qualified do understand our children's need (and dreams and goals) than their parents.

Society needs to cherish the bond between parent and special needs child, and to nurture it, like it claims to want to nourish the bond between parent and "normal" children. To accomplish this, society/government/community needs to promote accomodation, not separation. Vacation, whether at home or on the road, should be a time when familes can enjoy each other without added stress: This may mean in-home support (not childcare) to help with the added challenges of altered schedules, or a more helpful and understanding public for familes who decide to hit the road, to the beach, mountains or amusement part.

Special Needs Travel Tip #1

2005-02-15T04:27:00.000-08:00

Get a Golden Access Passport.

These are available from the National Park Service for people, including children, with permanent disabilities. It allows the passport holder, along with immediate family (parents, siblings, children) free access to any federal recreation area which charges a fee (National Parks and Forests, BLM areas, Army Corps of Engineers lands, etc.) Better yet, it provides a 50% discount on all camping and recreation (swimming, parking, boat launching, and tour) fees within the designated federal area.

To obtain a passport, bring documentation of your child's disability (I'm using their neurologist's diagnosis) and your child to any National Park or Forest Service office (located at all the sites which charge admission.)

A number of states also have disability pass programs. I'll do further research on such programs and write up what I find in a later follow-up post.

Discovering the perfect pair....

2005-02-14T17:04:00.000-08:00

No, I'm not talking about the Sports Illustrated swimsuit model competition.

We currently are the proud owners of a 2003 Odyssey. An earlier flirtation with the Pop-Up (from here on known a PUP) lifestyle left us secretly coveting a Coleman camper. Well, since that time, a spat developed between Coleman and their not-so-quality- oriented parent, Fleetwood. Coleman won the battle (kept their name) but lost the war (Fleetwood kept the camper designs.) Furthermore, Coleman can't give/sell their name to anyone else, at least for the time being. But since the closest thing to an old-time Coleman is a new Fleetwood, we've tranferred our infatuation from one to the other. What can I say, I'm fickle.

Problem is, Coleman/Fleetwoods are a tad on the heavy side, mostly due to their sturdy construction. The Odyssey has a towing capacity of 3500lbs. Most of the PUP we're looking at (12' box, 2 king-sized beds) have a "dry weight" of around 2000lbs. No problemo, right?

Well, enter Pop-up Explorer, a website for those who exist in that ephemeral world between crunchy tent campers and the RV elite. Post a question to their well travelled bulletin board, and a whole raft of PUPers emerge from the woodwork (er, canvas?) ready to offer advice on everything from the perfect campground to the right WDH (weight distributed hitch - don't ask, I'm still not clear on the concept.)

So I posed my specific question on finding that perfect pair of towing vehicle (TV) and camper (PUP) a few days back, and 119 answers later (some, of course, were mine own clarifications... well, more than some,) we've come to some sort of consensus. "Dry weight" means nada in the PUP world: Everything is dependent on GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating). The PUPs I covet have GVWRs at my Odyssey's towing weight limit. I can probably tow any one of them, through Kansas.

So I've made the executive decision that if we want to tow anything larger than a pup-tent on wheels, we need a more powerful TV; otherwise, we risk leaving our transmission somewhere over the Rockies.

Thus, after we close on the house, the beloved Ody gets traded up for a suitable TV, most likely an SUV, unless some automaker suddenly puts out a minivan with a 5000lb towing capacity. Three months plodding up mountain highways and byways with Grace and Sam's knees up around their collarbones is not the best recipe for a happy vacation. Power and space beat out the soccer mom set.

Not that tough of a choice after all.

The Plan (version 1.0)

2005-02-14T09:37:00.000-08:00

The current (1.0) version of "The Plan" is this: Get the house presentable for sale, put it on the market, hopefully getting a quick bite (it is a historic house with a very large urban lot), and close sometime before May 15th. Then pack up the house and send the movers out to some yet-undetermined location on the Left Coast. The cats will board with a friend until we're settled and they can be safely airlifted to our new home. The dog is undergoing "service dog" training, so as to be Jonah's four-legged replacement for his current two-legged in-home support aide, so he will travel with us.

And for the rest of us? Veteran tent campers, such a journey in our LL Bean's Waldorf-Astoria Tent might take too high a toll, with all the set-ups and take downs, particularly late at night, fending off a pack of hungry skunks. So we're on the hunt for (gasp!) a pop-up camper. Nothing with a lot of bells and whistles, just enough room to sleep six comfortably.

Then we head out. Our goal is to arrive somewhere on the West Coast (my preference - Oregon, Eric's - the Bay Area) sometime before September. Or not. Depends upon how long we can sanely travel with four kids, currently ages 2.5 to eight. We'll mostly stay in public campgrounds, although some urban destinations here and there may require stowing the rig in a safe parking lot and roughing it in a nice hotel room for a night or two. We hope to see as much as we can of the land "from sea to shining sea", although I'm not exactly convinced of the merits of the Deep South in mid-summer. Throw in a dozen species of poisonous snakes, and I'm even less convinced I travel much below the Great Smokies. But that all is still TBD.

I imagine it will be challenging, even down-right hard work, from time to time. But Eric and I agree that the best memories we have of spending time as a family are those from our camping trips; to Passamaquoddy Bay in late spring, to Cape Hatteras in late summer. Despite hurricanes, tornados and swarms of mosquitos the size of buzzards, we are never as content as when we're ensconded in nylon and down.

Some of my reasons for wanting to do this now are personal. My father lived his entire life making wonderful plans for his retirement, putting off many of their travels until they could enjoy them with all the time in the world. Three months after he retired at 62, my father died from a brain tumor. Four years later, a diabetes-induced heart attack took my mom at 63. All of their parents lived to be eighty or more; they had no reason to think they didn't have years ahead of them in which to enjoy their retirement together.

Despite having four small children, neither Eric nor I are particularly young. Ergo, carpe diem. This opportunity seems to be throwing itself at our feet, so there is no time like the present.

When Dwight and I first met faced to face, we kibbitzed over the prospect of putting together a book on travelling with autistic children. I still hope to lasso him into a few chapters on his own travels with his son, Bobby. This is an opportunity to put our experience and resources we gather along the way, both through this blog and, hopefully, should we find a willing publisher, in print, to share with other families of neurologically exceptional children.

So that's the plan, version 1.0. I'm sure we'll see many more versions along the way.

The beginning

2005-02-13T08:44:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago, Eric and I agreed we would embark on this adventure. A move, from our home of 8 years on one coast, to a new world, full of uncertainly, and hope, on the other. For both of us, Maine has little left to offer career-wise: The tech revolution former Gov. King touted as just around the bend never made it past Portsmouth, and "Clean Elections" removed money, and thus the staff that went with such, from state and local politics. An abundance of professional operatives now vie for a few choice not-for-profit jobs, and if you're a hopeless believer in the fostering a non-partisan Progressive environment, job choices are nearly non-existent.

Governor Baldacci has made this move all the easier with his latest budget, which drastically cuts spending on special needs children (early intervention, in-home support, Medicaid reimbursement) for the benefit of his 2006 re-election bid. He promised that he would not raise taxes and a few thousand (non-voting) disabled kids are not getting in his way.

The housing bubble in Portland has expanded beyond recognition (+20%/year) since we purchase our 1913 Four-Square, putting us in that "landed-poor" bracket - unemployed, but with a healthy reserve of untapped equity. So cashing out before the bubble bursts (which it eventually has to in Southern Maine, with under-employment and suburban sprawl impinging upon urban real estate prices) seems the thing to do. And with nothing but 12,000 of history holding me here, it was time to let Eric return "home", or at least to the familiarity of the sun setting, not rising, into the sea.

So here we are, ready to move our family 3500 miles from the only home they remember. It's thrilling and frightening all at once, like the high point of the roller coaster before it plunges back towards earth. It should have more significance than simply getting from point A to point B. This is an opportunity to give our children a gift too few can experience, autistic or not. It is also the chance to offer experience, and hope, to thousands of families for whom the word "vacation" means an end to the structure of school, replaced by scrambing for appropriate caregivers or juggling work hours and time off in order to fill the void left by absent teachers and therapists. Vacationing as a happy family is the dream most parents share before the first booty is even knit. That dream should not die with a diagnosis of autism or Down's or other developmental disability. It is my hope that this wonderful journey upon which we are about to embark will embolden other families with neurologically exceptional children to live the dream as well.

Welcome to our adventure. Buckle up, the ride will mostly likely be bumpy.