The Wheelchair Zone

Sorry for the huge post, but anyways… here’s my Victoria wheeling trip details, and pics/vids coming soon:

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As you guys know, I have one “real life friend” who knows about me being a wheeler. That friend and I have been planning on a trip for a while to Victoria, which is a city across the strait from our Vancouver-area homes. We picked Dec. 20th originally, but moved it up to Dec. 19th since it’d be more convenient for the both of us.

What a day to take a ferry ride to Victoria.

In order to get the first sailing of the day (and avoid the Christmastime rush during the 9am sailings), we got up really early and made our way to the terminal. This is was the first time my friend has seen me in a wheelchair, so it was a new experience for her (and a semi-new one for me, since this was only my second trip to Victoria in a chair). It was raining a little bit but hey, it rains a lot in winter here in coastal British Columbia (BC). No problem, right?

Ha.

I knew there were going to be some windy conditions but I didn’t expect anything too serious. Well, the wind was already impressive when we got to the Tsawwassen ferry terminal (which services the Vancouver area). Just about 15 minutes into the sailing, the ferry was rocking like hell. I found out today that the winds were apparently about 80 to 100 km/h (which is 50 to 60 MPH). The waves were insane, and most of the passengers decided to remain sitting rather than wander around. Those who did wander around didn’t walk in a straight line but rather in S-shaped patterns.

I almost never get seasick, but I nearly did. My friend and I were in a sitting area with a table, so I just put on my wheelchair brakes and laid my head down on the table, trying not to dizzy myself further. Surprisingly, lying my head on the table during the turbulent waves helped a lot, so I remained that way until the waves calmed down.

The winds didn’t calm down though. But that wasn’t stopping me from wanting to go out on the deck. My friend and I went out and WHOA, it was windy! On the deck, I could let go of my wheels and the wind would literally push me along the deck. So every time I wanted to move towards the back of the ferry, I just had to let go of my rims. Even the Canadian flag at the back was being tossed around like it was nothing. (I have a photo of that; it’ll be posted when the other photos, taken by my friend, are ready.)

We got to Schwartz Bay terminal (which services Victoria) about 30-45 minutes later than estimated. There was already a large crowd of people waiting for the ferry, to go to Vancouver.

The first stop we made was at The Bay Centre, a downtown Victoria mall. I wanted to check out the bookstore (and to get away from the lingering seasickness, which didn’t help when you’re on a bus immediately after the ferry ride). I’ve never been to Victoria during Christmastime, so it was a neat change from the springtime decors I’m familiar with.

Downstairs, my friend was oggling over the Nintendo Wii demonstration booth. She gave a shot at a shooting game, and did pretty well. I then gave the game a shot as well. I didn’t expect to do well, but I actually did better than her on my first try. But then again, I saw how some of the stages are done and knew what to expect.

However, what I was looking at while I was shooting targets and monsters and whatnot wasn’t the screen. I was noticing some other “youngsters” (ie. kids, teens) looking at me, the wheelchair guy who’s shooting up stuff on the Wii. It reminds me of that blog post I saw the other day, talking about how the wheelchair makes you an “instant celebrity,” especially when you’re doing something else besides wheeling. It really rings true in this case, when people are going like, “Ooh, look at the wheelchair guy shooting up shit with the Wii.” LOL… I don’t like extra attention, but I can’t help but feel like I’m now officially “cool” because of being a gamer on wheels.

We were planning to go to the University of Victoria as well, to check out what their campus looks like, but we just missed the bus and the next one wasn’t coming until much later. So we made our way to the provincial legislature buildings. For non-Canadians, Victoria is the capital of the province of BC, and the legislature building is similar to a state capitol.

We entered through the wheelchair entrance, which is actually the basement of the building. I’ve been through it before but this is the first time for my friend, who took some pictures of the eerie-looking hallways and the old jail cell (now used for storage, but used to house prisoners back in the day).

I’ve been to the legislature building before, but not during the holiday season. So you can imagine my surprise when one of the main atrium areas has a 25-foot tall Christmas tree right in the center. I’ve heard about it but never seen it in person. I looked carefully at it and I’m 99% sure the tree is real, and not some fake tree. It must be torture getting it inside the building.

We spent the rest of the trip at the Royal BC Museum. Unfortunately, the exhibit I wanted to catch, the one about the Titanic, is no longer there. Oh well. The place is still amazing by itself. My friend was fascinated by the “lightning effect” in the mammoth exhibit (when your timing is good, the lightning makes the mammoth look like this; pic taken from earlier trip, not this one), so I wandered around while she waited for the lightning to start up again.

One thing I like about wheeling is the little kids. Unlike the adults who either pretend you’re not there or whatever, the kids aren’t afraid to do certain things. If they stare at you, it’s obviously not because they’re being rude but rather by curiosity. And they’re not afraid to say or ask what they want. While my friend was waiting for the lightning, some little kids (probably not older than 6 years old) did ask “Why are you in a wheelchair?” My response was usually something vague (and a lie, unfortunately, but what can you do…), like “Because something is wrong with my body and my legs don’t work like yours.” And the great thing is that the kids usually don’t ask anything further because that seems like a good enough answer for them. (I have a soft spot for kids, as you can tell.)

We left Victoria earlier than expected because we heard reports that due to the windy weather, the ferries were delayed anywhere from an hour to an hour and a half. So, not wanting to risk anything, we left a good 30 minutes early. When we got to the terminal, the previous sailing was just about to arrive because it was so late. So we got home about 45 minutes earlier than expected.

This was my first experience wheeling in windy weather, and one of the few experiences in rainy weather. It’s also my first real winter wheeling experience (my first one was in heavy icy snow, about two years ago on a “hospital chair,” and I aborted after 200 meters). Despite how crappy the conditions were, I didn’t regret doing it and it still felt “good.” It felt good how I was able to be myself and have others see me as how I perceive myself, and also good because I don’t have to do this alone anymore, now that my friend is in the loop. It’s a huge change, going from a “solo wheeler” to a “wheeler with a friend.”

And now, since relatives and family will start flooding in for Christmas starting tonight, it’s time for me to go cold turkey on wheeling until well after New Year’s. Nothing, not even using my wheelchair as an office chair. I guess this is when the “post-wheeling crash” kicks in. Hopefully I’ll be too drunk on eggnog to notice.