Traveling alone

At the best of times, traveling alone for anyone could be a bit of everything; lonely, boring, scary, anxious, and so much more. However, when you are blind and have to depend on sighted assistance in unfamiliar territory, it sure makes for some very interesting challenges.

As for me, I would like to refer to myself as a fairly seasoned traveler but for all that this is worth, I still have a plethora of feelings each time I do it alone. I do my best to line up sighted assistance before I embark on my trip. That is, I notify the airline or train company that I am traveling with that I am a blind passenger and would need help. I have found that nine out of ten times it works, and staff at these companies are more than willing to help me.

The most anxious moments for me come when I have to go through security; they are not always very accommodating as they often tend to want to take my cane away from me without first asking or advising. Or when I am waiting to board either the train or plane. I sit there with fists clenched praying that they do not forget me.

I’m Donna J. Jodhan your friendly accessibility advocate wishing you a terrific day and asking you to go out there and share my thoughts with others. Visit www.traveleyes.org to learn how blind and sight impaired persons go about traveling the world.