WEBVTT

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(gentle music)

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Welcome to Hadley Presents.

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I'm your host, Ricky Enger, inviting you to sit back, relax,

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and enjoy a conversation with the experts.

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In this episode, certified accessible travel advocate,

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Melvin Reynolds joins us with tips

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on keeping travel fun and accessible.

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Welcome to the show, Melvin.

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Thank you for having me, Ricky.

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It is so great to have you here.

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I know that you're passionate about travel

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and you've actually gone a step further and decided

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to help others with their travel needs as well,

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and we'll get into that in just a bit.

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But before we do that, I'm wondering

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if you can just give us a quick intro.

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Tell us about yourself and how you came

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to just kind of fall in love with traveling.

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Where does your passion for that come from?

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In 2010, I graduated from

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Youngstown State University

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with an associate degree in hospitality management.

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Before that, in 1997, I had graduated

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from Youngstown University with a bachelor's in geography.

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And I kind of wanted to figure out some way

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to combine the two, geography and hospitality.

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In early 2020, I saw an ad on Facebook for Cruise Brothers

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and I thought, "Well what better way

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"than to become a travel agent?"

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I became a certified travel associate

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through the Travel Institute it was a year ago,

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this past April that I received that.

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Went one step further and actually got

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a certification through a special needs group

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as an accessible travel advocate.

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Fell in love with traveling when I was just out

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of high school, my sister and I took trips

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all over the eastern United States

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up into New England and down south

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into North Carolina, Kentucky, Virginia.

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I mean, we went everywhere.

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Every summer we were on a road trip, my sister and I.

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And from that I kind of developed a love of travel.

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We can makes some amazing memories like that,

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just going with family or friends

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and figuring out a new place to go

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that you just haven't experienced yet.

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And I think being with people that you enjoy,

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whether it's people that you don't know well yet,

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but you're getting to know better

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or somebody like your sister,

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where it's something that you can talk about

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for years to come, that's really awesome.

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I think one of the first steps to traveling

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is figuring out where you wanna go.

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And that's true, you know, regardless if you're traveling

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as someone who has 20/20 vision or if you're traveling

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as someone who's blind or low vision,

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you kind of want the same things out of a trip, right?

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You wanna have fun, you wanna get the most out of the trip,

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you wanna go somewhere that you will enjoy like,

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hey, I hate the cold, I probably shouldn't go

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to the snowy mountains necessarily.

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Are there things beyond just I guess, the standard questions

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that you might ask yourself?

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Are there considerations beyond

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that that somebody who's blind or low vision

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should think about when they're figuring out

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where they should take a trip?

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One of the biggest ones I think is

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what is the public transportation like?

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Do they have buses, is there taxis available?

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That sort of thing so you kind of know

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what you're getting into when you get

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to wherever you're going.

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Whereas a sighted person probably

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doesn't have to think about that as much.

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Also, what are the accessibility issues

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you're going to face, is there elevators?

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Will I be able to understand the braille that's on signage,

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if there's braille on signage?

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You know, the whole world doesn't use

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unified English braille, unfortunately.

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Like I took a Spanish class

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and I had to learn Spanish braille.

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Do I have enough basis in that language

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that I can at least communicate

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that I am blind or low vision and I need help?

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You know, those kinds of things also go

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into figuring out where you wanna go when you travel.

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That's a great point and it actually kind of

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dovetails nicely into my next question,

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which is figuring out how to get there,

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that can really be a challenge.

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You mentioned public transportation.

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There are also things like, I guess,

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thinking about what your technology needs are

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or what your level of technology is.

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So are there tips for say, making travel arrangements

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for a tech savvy person?

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And then how might somebody who's not really in love

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with the technology still do something

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like being able to arrange travel,

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whether it's Uber, or Lyft, or airlines, or what have you?

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Are there ways that somebody who's not

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in love with technology can still do this easily?

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You know, even as a travel advisor,

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I have issues with a lot of the technology sites.

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They don't read well with screen readers, that sort of thing

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so even I need sighted help from time to time.

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If you're really super uncomfortable with using technology

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and you wanna book something like a flight

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or a cruise, I would suggest calling

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a professional, calling a travel agent.

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And they are more than happy to help you do

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whatever it is that you need done.

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Some of 'em do charge fees,

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especially if they're booking flights only.

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I personally do not book flights only.

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I do book them in combinations with like hotels

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and cruises, that kind of thing.

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Travel agents make no money off of flights

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'cause they pay no commission.

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A lot of agents won't book flights only,

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but some of them, if you explain what your situation is

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they may say, "Okay, I'll do it for you."

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It can't hurt to call someone to ask.

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Right, and I mean I think for some people

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there's just no substitute for having

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a human on the other end of the phone to talk to,

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whether it's a travel agent,

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or even the air carriers themselves.

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You can arrange flights by phone,

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although some of them I think do have fees

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and for some of them you might be on hold for as long

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as your flight is in order to get that arranged.

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But it's a possibility, right?

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Even the cruise lines also have phone numbers.

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If you would rather work directly with the cruise lines,

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they have phone numbers that you can call.

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Airlines have accessibility specialists.

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Cruise lines, Amtrak, they all have

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accessibility specialists that are

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more than happy to work with someone.

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That's fantastic.

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I am not currently a guide dog user, but I have been

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in the past and it was interesting for me

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because it was number one, one of

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the most freeing experiences I've ever had

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to travel with a guide dog.

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And number two, one of the most logistically challenging,

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at times, experiences that I've had.

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For someone who is perhaps, a new guide dog user

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or maybe they've been a guide dog user for a while,

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but haven't traveled in a bit, what kinds

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of logistics does somebody need to think about

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when they're going to take a trip with their guide dog

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that doesn't really come up with a cane?

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You know, a lot of countries don't have...

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Like we have the ADA, a lot of countries

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don't have something like that.

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You cannot take your dog into a store,

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or a restaurant, or even a hotel in some countries.

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Short story, I was in Martinique on a cruise

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and we were doing a walking tour of the city.

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At first, they weren't even gonna let me take

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my dog off the ship, we finally agreed

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that we could bring it along and if

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after she met the dog, she didn't like it,

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I could take her back to the ship.

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We went on our tour, the strange thing is

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people were jumping, literally jumping

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over car hoods to get out of our way

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because they just were not used to a dog in the city.

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Dogs were not a city thing,

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they're a country thing in Martinique.

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I had no issues getting her into any of the buildings,

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but it's just that, you know, people aren't used to it.

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So there is that, there is the paperwork that's involved

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'cause every country that you go

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to has their own requirements for you

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to enter their country with your dog.

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They have their own paperwork, the US has its paperwork,

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there's tests that need to be done.

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There's all that paperwork that needs to be done, not only

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for the countries but also now for the airlines as well.

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There's a form that you have to fill out

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and submit to the airline and they send you back

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a code and it's kind of a hassle.

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Yeah, so it sounds like a lot of

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doing some research,

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asking a lot of questions ahead of time

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and planning for a number of different

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possible contingencies before you go.

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Yes, and someone who is an

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accessible travel advocate,

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or maybe not even necessarily an accessible travel advocate,

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but they specialize in travel for blind

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or low vision people can help with that paperwork.

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They can, they know where to go to get the paperwork,

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they know what needs to be filled out

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and that kind of thing, that's a possibility too,

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is working with someone like that.

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That's fantastic and we'll talk a bit more about

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what an accessible travel advocate is in just a second.

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Before we do, I am curious about one thing

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that comes up a lot traveling as a blind

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or low vision person and you're with your friends and family

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and they're like, "Let's go sightseeing."

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And for a lot of people, just even the name of that,

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that phrase is, "Oh really, this is not going

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"to be fun for me at all."

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But I think there are probably ways

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that sightseeing can be made accessible in some way.

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Like you can still get something out of the experience.

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Are there ways that you can kind of plan ahead for

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so that everybody is having fun with kind

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of the sightseeing aspect of traveling?

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You know, maybe doing reading on the place

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where you're going I think gives you a little background.

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Say, you're visiting Mount Rushmore, you know,

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if you read a book on the history of Mount Mount Rushmore,

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you understand a little more how it was sculpted and carved,

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and that kind of thing and the time that it took.

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Also having a family member who is a good describer,

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not someone who just says, "Oh there's a purple flower."

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What does that purple flower look like

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other than a purple flower?

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Try to describe it, you know, if you have someone

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who can describe really well, it helps a lot.

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When I do like shore excursions

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or even guided tours of historic homes here in the US.

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If I speak to the tour guide prior

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to taking off on the tour and say,

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"Hey, you know, I need a little more in depth discussion,

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"a little more in depth detail on things,"

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they tend to do their best.

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I mean it's not always perfect,

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but they do their best to describe something.

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And I've actually been really surprised

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that there have been times that I've actually been able

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to touch things that most people don't get to touch.

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One really cool place we went was Monticello,

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got to feel things at the Monticello,

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which was really kind of cool.

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Got to feel a sample of the wallboard,

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and got to feel a sample of Buffalo hide

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and you know, it was fascinating the stuff

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that I got to feel at Monticello

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when we took a tour of it, that was really kind of cool.

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So, you know, if you ask upfront, especially the tour guide

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or a family member that you're with, they can help.

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So just being willing to advocate for what's going

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to make things a little more fun and enjoyable for you,

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and just seeing how far that takes you.

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That makes a lot of sense, actually.

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I mean it's surprising even the Ryman Theater

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in Nashville, I got a private guided tour.

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Or me and my partner got a private guided tour

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of the Ryman because we called

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and said, "You know, totally blind,

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"is there anything you can do for me?"

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The director of the museum said, "Sure, come on down,

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"ask for me when you get here I'll give you a private tour."

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Paid no extra for it, it's something they did just because,

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and it was really kind of neat.

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That's fantastic.

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So you've talked a lot about cruises,

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we've mentioned that several times.

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I love cruising and I know you do as well.

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Are there tips for taking a cruise that a blind

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or low vision person might really benefit from

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just to make the trip that much more fun?

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One of the coolest things though,

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I think, is some of the technology

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that the cruises are coming out with now.

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And you can actually use an app on your phone

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to find your way around the ship.

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And there's only certain cruise lines that have it

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and it's not necessary the cruise lines

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with the biggest ships that have it either.

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It's some of the smaller ships that have it,

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but it makes it really nice.

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On the opposite end of that big ship you have

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the smaller ships and sometimes those are easier

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to navigate than the big, gigantic ships.

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The 2,000, 2700 passenger ships, those are nice

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'cause they're small, they're a little more intimate,

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they're easier to navigate.

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Asking the crew, you know...

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The crew's there to work for you

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and they're more than willing to help you out.

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Now granted they're not going to take you

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and guide you someplace because that's a liability issue

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for the cruise line if you were

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to get hurt while they were guiding you.

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They will give you electronic menus,

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if you contact them prior to sailing,

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at least 30 days prior, they will send you menus

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in electronic format that you can look at

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either on your phone, in an email,

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or on on your computer, whichever.

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There is braille signage everywhere on the ship,

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all the state rooms have braille signage,

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the elevators have it, the elevators talk,

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tell you what deck you're on.

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The servers at the main dining rooms,

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once they know, I mean they will do anything for you,

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they set the plate down in front of you

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and they tell you your steak's at six o'clock,

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your green beans are at two,

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and your potato's at nine or whatever.

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They've had some training in it as well.

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But once they realize that that's

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what you need, that's what they'll do.

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They do provide relief areas for the dogs.

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If you do travel with a service dog on a cruise,

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they will provide a relief area.

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There is paperwork again, that needs to be filled out

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for the cruise line, it's required so many days

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before that certain paperwork needs

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to be sent in and proof of rabies vaccine

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and proof that they're actually a service dog.

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People are gonna say, well, the ADA says they can't,

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well, they're not based in the US,

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they're based usually in The Bahamas.

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So they don't necessarily follow the ADA when it comes

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to requiring documentation that it's actually a service dog.

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Yeah, and I guess that's a

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good point just in general

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and I think we kind of alluded to this earlier,

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is just to be aware that laws may be different elsewhere.

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So that actually does bring up my last question,

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which is, I mean, we've talked a lot about some do's

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and don'ts and things to research and think about

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before you go, and for a lot of people it's a lot

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and it may become really overwhelming.

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So I'm wondering how much of that

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can a certified accessible travel advocate help with?

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What kinds of things are you able to do so

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that somebody who's booking a trip just thinks about,

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"Oh, I'm gonna have so much fun, it's gonna be great,

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"everything's gonna be taken care of."

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What are those things that you or someone like you

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can help people figure out before they leave?

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We can help with making sure that

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your paperwork is in on time,

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making sure you have the correct paperwork

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because it changes, I mean, it can change...

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What I fill out today, may not be what I need tomorrow.

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It can change that quickly.

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We take care of submitting all the paperwork

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to say, the cruise line for you.

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We take care of all the arrangements as far as, you know,

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letting the ship know that you have a service dog coming,

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or the hotel or whatever, wherever you're going,

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we can help with actually booking the trip

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and taking you from start to finish,

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from picking where you will go to follow up

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when you come home, you know, things like that.

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We can help with pretty much anything

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that you need to do to make your trip pleasant and fun.

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That's excellent.

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And so for somebody who's looking

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for a certified accessible travel advocate,

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how do they go about finding you or somebody like you?

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Unfortunately, there's no published list of,

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you know, certified successful travel advocates.

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Google is probably your best friend,

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calling your local travel agency

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and saying, "Hey, do you have someone there

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"that's a certified accessible travel advocate

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"or that is familiar with working with someone

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"who has low vision, possibly traveling with a guide dog,"

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however, it is that you travel.

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And if not, ask if they can recommend you to someone who is,

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they may or may not know someone,

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you know, it just really depends.,

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That makes sense and Google's your friend

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and sometimes word of mouth is your friend.

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We will have a link to your Facebook page

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in the show notes here, so that'll be

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at least one place that people can go.

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Any final thoughts that you want to leave

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the listeners with before we wrap up here?

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Don't be afraid to step out there,

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and travel and have fun and experience the world.

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You know, if you just stay at home

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and don't put yourself out there you're missing a lot.

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Not just the travel itself, but the cultures

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you get to experience, the food, the friends you'll make.

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I have made friends that, you know, we've been friends now

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for six, seven years that I met on a cruise

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and we still keep in contact, we still have lunch

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and dinner at each other's house every once in a while.

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You make lifelong friends when you travel

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and there's nothing like it.

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Love it, thank you so much for that, Melvin.

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I would like to, you know, stop the recording

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and head out to the beach right now,

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so I'm feeling inspired.

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(both chuckling)

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Thank you for dropping by and for sharing

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your experience with us, really appreciate it.

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You're welcome, thank you.

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Got something to say?

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Share your thoughts about this episode of Hadley Presents,

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or make suggestions for future episodes.

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We'd love to hear from you.

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Send us an email at podcast@hadley.edu.

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00:19:05.610 --> 00:19:10.610
That's P-O-D-C-A-S-T@hadley.edu.

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00:19:10.890 --> 00:19:15.890
Or leave us a message at 847-784-2870, thanks for listening.

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(gentle music)