Wheelchair Travel Newsletter: Carpe Annum. Seize The Year.
Reflections on a year of accessible travel that saw this wheelchair user take 115 flights, explore 12 countries and break a lot of ground.
“Carpe Annum. Seize the year!”
It’s a line that appears in one of my favorite comedy movies, The Big Year, in which Steve Martin, Jack Black and Owen Wilson travel across North America to count more species of birds than anyone else.
The first time I watched the film, despite having no prior interest in birding, I was left with a deep desire to become a birder. After some reflection, I decided to save that pursuit for retirement — or at least until I actually know something about birds.
As the year 2023 comes to a close, I thought it good to reflect back on a year that, even without the birds, was a big one for me. I found myself on 115 flights, flew more than 5 times the distance around the Earth, explored 12 countries, and had countless amazing experiences.
In a new article published today, entitled 2023 Accessible Travel Year in Review: Top 10 Trips to Remember, I reflect on the places I visited and why, highlighting the trips that really stood out. Give it a read and you may find some inspiration for your own future travels.
This will be the last email from me in 2023, but I am looking forward to making 2024 a truly big year in accessible travel! For you, that means more accessible travel content than ever before, an impressive line-up of guests in my Accessible Travel Chat series, more group trip announcements, and the thoughtful, hard-hitting stories that hold airlines, hotels and governments accountable for accessibility.
You can support that work now and in the new year with a premium subscription to the Wheelchair Travel Newsletter. Your commitment to supporting this work humbles me, and I am grateful to those who have joined the team!
I wish you a wonderful and Happy New Year!
See you in 2024,
— John
P.S. Limited spaces remain in the 2024 Wheelchair Travel Group Trip to Spain. If you’d like to join the group, please submit the interest form at the link above or send an email to grouptrips@wheelchairtravel.org. I look forward to traveling with you!
Yikes. That’s more than one flight per week, if the 100+ flights are round trip. Most of us don’t have that kind of energy, or bank account, once we become handicapped. Not particularly relatable for us then, is it?