Past Travels with Old Friends 2

Last time I told a true story about my old friend, Ed Haskell. He certainly was a delightful man. Today I'd like to tell you a true story about another road trip I took with 2 developmentally disabled friends of mine. I've decided to change "Robert's" name to protect his privacy, but rest of the story is very true.

I made plans with other family members to attend a three day missionary conference at church located in Worcester, Mass. That church is affiliated with my church in Maine. The conference started on a Friday evening and ended after the Sunday morning worship service. It was early fall and the weather was beautiful and it was only about a 4 hour drive one way. I was going to drive down alone and meet my family members there. I knew my two developmentally disbled friends would love to go so I invited them. They were both very excited to take a trip out of state.

My developmentally disabled friend, Robert, told me he had never stayed in a hotel before. At the time he was 32 years old. Robert would often come to stay with me for weekends and sometimes for a week at a time. You see he lived a few towns away and was cared for by a one on one staff in a home rented by the agency that oversaw his care. When the staff needed a break they would send Robert to me. Robert often spent the holidays with my family and me as he did not have a family. When I called Robert's supervisor to see if it was okay for him to go to Worcester with me she was thrilled with the idea. I told Robert's supervisor what to pack and how long we would be gone. We agreed on a time she would drop him off at my house.

My other friend, Vicki, is a woman with Downs Syndrome. At the time of our trip she was 47 years old. She had suffered a stroke a few years ago which gave her permanent left sided weakness and she walked with a hemi-cane. Vicki lives with me, I am her caregiver. Vicki loves to travel and was very excited to go on this little weekend getaway.

So, on Saturday morning we piled into the car and I drove to Worcester. We arrived at our hotel in the early afternoon. We had to make many stops on the way for bathroom breaks and eating breaks and moving around breaks so it actually took a little longer to get there than if I had driven alone. I had reserved a suite so that all three of us could stay in the same quarters. Neither Robert nor Vicki are capable of staying alone.

Once we got registered and settled into our digs for the weekend Robert and Vicki wanted to look around the hotel. Robert also wanted to go swimming in the indoor swimming pool. So he got into his swimsuit and we started out for the pool while touring the hotel. Vicki was in a wheelchair as she can only walk short distances with her hemi-cane. The pool was at the other end of the hotel on the first floor and we were on the fourth or fifth floor. The elevator was fun, the hotel was very nicely decorated, and we noted the hotel had a restaurant which was very close to the very cool pool area.

Finally we arrived at the pool. There were lots of people swimming. Robert was very excited and before I knew it he jumped in the water and splashed a group of young ladies. We soon discovered they were teenagers celebrating a 16th birthday party. Needless to say, they were not pleased with Robert. Robert is, perhaps, 9 years old in his mind, but he looks his age physically. Often people cannot tell by looking at Robert that he is developmentally disabled. I quickly got control of the situation and had a quiet but stern talk with Robert about pool etiquette. Despite this I still got a few dirty looks from strangers who did not seem to understand the situation. Robert swam a short while longer under my constant supervision. Finally, we went back to the room to get ready for supper.

We met the rest of my family who were attending the conference at a local restaurant for dinner. It went well except that Robert tried to order everything on the menu. His eyes are waaay bigger than his belly! After supper we attended an evening service at the church before heading back to the hotel. Both Vicki and Robert had a great time but they were tired from their big day and quickly got ready for bed and fell asleep in their prospective, but really cool hotel beds.

Next morning we all got up and dressed and packed up our things and ate breakfast in the hotel restaurant. The hotel restaurant offered a breakfast buffet and Robert was like a kid in a candy shop! However, I kept things under control and eventually we finished and headed for the morning service at church. My beautiful niece, Annie joined us at the church service. Robert was immediately smitten with Annie. He sat beside her during the service.

When the service was over my family gathered in the church parking lot to discuss where to go to eat lunch before heading home. We finally made a decision and went to get into our vehicles to head to the restaurant. Robert made it very clear that he wanted to ride with Annie. We all said at the same time that we weren't surprised by Robert's request. Annie loves people and was a good sport. Robert rode with Annie to the restaurant. It was the highlight of his trip. And, by looking at Annie's picture I'm sure you can see why.

After lunch we headed home. We made it home fairly quickly as compared to the trip down. Both Vicki and Robert slept almost all the way home.