2016 Road tripping to Myrtle Beach (with dog)
Mike began using a motorized wheelchair in November 2015. However, it wasn’t until four months later that we were able to complete the purchase of a vehicle that could accommodate his wheelchair. When we finally brought home our Dodge Grand Caravan in February 2016 it was marvelous to think about being able to travel together again. How long do you think it took us to leave on a road trip Sojourn? I'll tell you - less than a week!
Our beautiful, navy blue mobility minivan, adapted by GT Mobility, has all the features we wanted and some we didn't know we needed but got anyway. It has hand controls, a six-direction transfer seat in the driver position, an in-floor ramp, a suspension system that enables the van to “kneel” when the ramp comes out, and more. Mike was trained in the use of the hand controls, we packed our bags and we headed south on our maiden voyage. (Van photos below are from different sojourns.)
It had been a long winter in Wisconsin, so we wanted warmth and sunshine. We were fortunate to have an early spring break, so we thought we had a pretty good chance of getting a hotel room on the beach if we headed to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. We made a few calls to make sure there were vacancies, but didn't book anything.
We left Whitewater, Wisconsin on Saturday morning at 11 a.m., and by 11 p.m. that night we were checking into a hotel room in Caryville, Tennessee. The next morning we had breakfast and hit the road again. By 5 p.m. Sunday we were pulling into Myrtle Beach, ready to find a hotel or resort that would be our home for the week.
We had been unable to find a dog sitter on short notice, so Speed the wonder dog was with us. Since I haven't introduced Speed on the blog yet, allow me a moment to brag. He is loyal and lovable and supportive and friendly. He guards our house with his ferocious bark. He catches flies and burps charmingly after eating them. He can say "I love you" but not without sneezing. He is slowly going white around the muzzle, but has always had the white diamond on his forehead, a beacon for where your hand should start when you pet him. He will be your best friend and sit at your feet forever if you give him attention.
According to a DNA test, Speed is part Collie, part Golden Retriever, part Labrador and part Chinese Shar Pei. He is not one bit Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever as advertised on Petfinder by the Iowa shelter from where we adopted him, but we couldn't care less. He has been our faithful companion ever since 2007.
Speed also likes long walks on the beach, but I'll come to that later!
Speed provided wonderful companionship for the boys on the van ride, but upon our arrival in Myrtle Beach we discovered that he added a level of complication to finding a hotel room. We drove up and down Ocean Boulevard asking for a pet-friendly, accessible room for four, and, surprise, it proved difficult. We are pretty optimistic folks, but after 20+ stops it was getting late and we were getting tired.
One of our best strategies for finding accommodations when sojourning is to call Hotels.com. Typically we are connected to a polite operator from India who is very knowledgeable and professional and who uses an American name.
On this trip, we spoke with a wonderful guy named Mike who was as patient and kind as any customer service agent I've ever met. Our call went something like this:
Hotels.com Mike: Hello, thank you for calling Hotels.com, my name is Mike. How can I help you today?
Me: Hi Mike. I'm in a van in Myrtle Beach with my family and we are in need of a hotel, can you help us out?
Hotels.com Mike: Of course, that would be my great pleasure. Can you tell me more about your needs? How long will you be staying in Myrtle Beach?
Me: I believe we are going to stay through Friday morning. Did I mention we are actually in our van in a parking lot in Myrtle Beach? We've been on the road for two full days driving from Wisconsin and we should have called you sooner but we thought more hotel rooms would be available. But then today when we pulled into town and drove up and down the main drag and stopped in at hotels with "vacancy" signs - but the rooms that were shown to us just wouldn't work.
Hotels.com Mike: I am sorry to hear that. I am confident that I can help you find a place to stay. Do not worry about it. I will help you and we will do it quickly.
Me: Did I mention we haven't had dinner yet so we're all a bit cranky and emotional?
Hotels.com Mike: Oh ha ha, ha! That is fine. I am confident I can help you. Will you please tell me a bit more about the accommodation that you need?
Me: OK, yes of course. Well, there are four of us, two adults and two teenage boys. My husband uses a motorized wheelchair so we need a truly wheelchair accessible room. Not a "sort-of" accessible room. We need a room with no steps, a wide entry door, a fully accessible bathroom with grab bars by the toilet and preferably a roll-in shower. The whole room needs to have lots of space because of the width and turning radius of the wheelchair. I mention all this because many people have tried to sell us hotel rooms today that they call "accessible" but which do not meet these specifications...so I'd like to be very up front. (Aside) What's that, boys? Oh yeah, and we need a pet friendly room. Oh, and Mike, I hate to mention it, but our budget is tight, so it needs to cost less than $100 a night.
Hotels.com Mike: (Slight pause - typing.) Yes yes. Of course. I am (pause-typing) quite sure I will be able to help you. Did you say you have a pet with you? (Typing.)
Me: Yes. One dog. His name is Speed.
Hotels.com Mike: Excellent. (Typing. Long pause.) You know, it is (pause) a bit tricky because you need the room tonight, and most accessible rooms are just one king bed, not two queens, and I understand we must make sure it is fully ADA compliant...
Me: Yes, I'll need to speak with front desk staff to make sure the room is truly accessible. I don't mean to be difficult, but I just can't take your word for it. Not after what we've experienced today.
Hotels.com Mike: Yes, that's understandable. Another difficulty is that not all places accept pets...
Me: And the price needs to be low.
Hotels.com Mike: Yes, yes the price needs to be low. Of course. (Long pause. Typing.) I think I have found just the place.
And guess what? He did! Westgate Myrtle Beach Oceanfront Resort. The place we ended up staying at was in fact found by wonderful Mike from Hotels.com.
However, we did not book with Hotels.com. (Dirty little secret - we never do. We just use them for scouting. I really hope Mike gets paid either way!)
Armed with the information that a perfect room was awaiting us just down the road, we drove directly to Westgate Myrtle Beach Oceanfront Resort, weary and wasted. It was dark, we had not eaten dinner, and the dog needed to pee. One boy took the dog, one came with me to check the room.
And here's where the story takes another twist, dear readers. The room was available, but it was NOT accessible. We took a key from the front desk to check the room before booking - no go. The door was going to be too narrow for Mike's motorized wheelchair. There was a tub, not a roll-in shower. There was no maneuverability. It was the kind of room we could make work for one night, but not what we needed for a week-long vacation. Defeated, exhausted, we returned to the front desk of the Westgate.
And then an angel appeared. And her name was Ivory.
Front desk angel Ivory listened carefully to our needs and set to work to solve the problem. She typed on her computer a bit, then checked with a manager, and then proceeded to walk us to the opposite side of the resort and show us to a fully wheelchair accessible villa in the north tower, room 20501, (which I will forever think of as "The Ivory Tower".) Ivory was able to give us this beautiful, amazing, perfect, wonderful space for the same rate as the room we had looked at, simply because it did not have two queen beds; instead it was a two-room villa: one room with a king size bed and one room with a pullout couch. "The boys will be thrilled!” I told her. "They'll have their own room and their own TV!" It also had a full kitchen, dining room, a jacuzzi in the Master bedroom, and a balcony with a view of the ocean.
A lot of hotels say that their rooms are accessible, but this room truly was. The bathroom had multiple well-placed grab bars next to the toilet; the walk-in shower was spacious and included grab bars, a shower bench and a handheld shower head on a slidebar; the roll-under bathroom sink was the perfect height for a wheelchair, the hallways and spaces by the beds were wide; even the kitchen was fully accessible with light switches at wheelchair level! Being shown to this space after our hours of searching was overwhelming. Our check-in experience ended with me giving Ivory a hug with tears of joy in my eyes, and Josh jumping in the master bedroom Jacuzzi before the bags were even brought in!
We stayed for four days and five nights in this paradise. The resort has 3 pools, 3 hot tubs, a game room, and of course, THE BEACH! We swam, we boogie boarded, we played cards, we watched TV, we read by the pool, we played air hockey, we played catch and "500" on the beach, we went go-carting across the street - we relaxed and had fun just like you are supposed to on vacation!
Really cool note about Myrtle Beach: The city of Myrtle Beach Police Department (843-918-1382) loans out beach wheelchairs for free. All you have to do is call up and make the request, tell them where you are staying, and they deliver it to you. We would meet them in the lobby, Mike would switch to the beach wheelchair, then the front desk staff would store his power wheelchair behind the front desk while we spent time on the beach. To me, the best moments of the trip took place down on the sand, together.
When Friday came it was hard to leave the beach behind, and the Ivory Tower, too. As I stood in the water and said goodbye to the ocean on our final morning, I thought with gratitude about all the forces that had come together to make this Sojourn so amazing: the staff at GT Mobility who guided us to the perfect vehicle; unflappable Mike from Hotels.com who got us to the Westgate Resort; angel Ivory from Westgate who saw our struggles and made a miracle happen; the Myrtle Beach Police Department and the folks on the Myrtle Beach city council who wisely decided the beach should be for everyone, and who dedicate time and resources to execute that decision.
Our family needs help to be successful on our sojourns. We depend on the kindness and support of family, friends, and, quite often, complete strangers. So far, the universe has sent us so many good people we can hardly count them all. We are thankful for each and every one.