August 2024
by Beth Gabel
Our Adventure to Salem, Massachusetts was amazing! It meant the world to me to be able to go on a trip with my husband and sons, just the four of us, and it was nice to be able to spend time together as a family. It was our first family vacation and sadly most likely our last, because as my ALS progresses it is more difficult to get around in unfamiliar places. Also, as my sons get older, they have less time.
My favorite part of our Adventure was the Haunts and History Night Tour. I loved learning about the history of Salem and some of the hauntings people have experienced. Our tour guide made this an exciting and really fun experience!
The most memorable part of our adventure was the Real Pirates Museum of Salem. We all had fun, the boys really enjoyed the interactive parts, and we got some cool pictures. The boys are 16 and 18 years old so sometimes it’s hard to find things that interest them too. We also enjoyed seeing downtown Salem and shopping. We also visited the Salem Witch Museum, Count Orlok’s Nightmare Museum, the Salem Wax Museum and the Salem Witch Village. The boys went to a Red Sox game and had a blast!
We had some small challenges on our trip. The wheelchair accessible van door came off the track when we got to our hotel. Fortunately, the company was located just 10 minutes from our hotel, and it was a quick fix. The other challenge was finding wheelchair accessible public bathrooms, especially a bathroom my husband could come in to help me. We were able to find other options for the bathroom.
Our hotel accommodations were fantastic!
It was very wheelchair accessible. It also had two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a kitchen. Emily from Team Gleason found this wonderful suite. It had a roll-in shower and there was plenty of room to maneuver my large power chair.
Thank you to Team Gleason for everything they helped us with! Team Gleason got us in touch with ALS Ride for Life and they provided us with a wheelchair accessible van rental for our whole vacation.
Without Team Gleason and ALS Ride for Life our Adventure would not have been possible.
