On Thursday, we went to vote with our friend Scarlet! Early voting was open through Friday. If you haven’t voted yet, vote tomorrow (Tuesday, Nov. 8th)!!!
I didn’t know if we could fit three power wheelchairs into our van. On the way to the voting place, we took apart Scarlet and my wheelchairs and they fit pretty well! I was happy about that.
When we arrived, they didn’t seem prepared for someone with disabilities wanting to park and go in rather than do curbside voting. But the curbside line was really long and it would have been complicated for all three of us to use their roll-around machine. So we wanted to park and go in. Plus that way we could get more pictures!
Eventually they remembered where accessible parking was, and we got our chairs out and headed over to the building. On the way, we stopped for a couple of quick pictures. Those are the pictures of us masked.
When we got inside the polling place, they wouldn’t let us take any pictures. They were certainly surprised to see three wheelchair users all at once! One woman there started asking me if any of our wheelchairs had the elevate function. I said no, but that Scarlet’s and my wheelchairs come apart. She was duly impressed LOL. There were also the usual comments about my “little friend” and whether or not Hestia would be able to cast a ballot as well, sigh.
It was easy to get my ballot and use the voting booth. Actually every single booth was on a regular banquet table so they were all accessible from a wheelchair! And they were all placed on the tables so you could roll up underneath the table if you so wanted. A+ for accessibility!
I didn’t roll under the table, though, because I saw that Brad would be stationed right behind me and we would run into each other. So we both pulled in sideways and voted that way.
I had everyone I wanted to vote for listed on my phone, so it was easy to go through the ballot and do everything. Then I just put my ballot in the machine and grabbed an “I voted” sticker!
When we left, we got several pictures in front of the “I voted” sign outside the polling place.
We got back to our car, and Scarlet had an idea that if we folded up the footplates on their wheelchair and Brad’s wheelchair, that both would be able to fit in the main section of the van without being taken apart. Brad and I weren’t sure this would work, but it just barely did!!!! This is excellent news! Mine won’t fit that way because the base is longer, but it’s great that if we go out with the three of us, I’ll only have to take apart and put together my wheelchair and the others can just roll in and out.
Then we headed back to our place to go for a nice autumn stroll. I ran inside and grabbed Alice, and while I was doing that and coming back out, apparently kids getting off of school had commented that we were a bunch of handicapped people. Brad told them we preferred the term disabled.
Then as we started our walk, the same kids were in a yard further down the street and they asked if we were “just riding those things”. They were wondering if we were just having fun riding wheeled devices! So we explained that we are disabled and have varying abilities to walk, and that we needed our wheelchairs to get around. They were nice kids, just totally clueless about wheelchairs and disabilities. Now they’re less clueless, so hopefully that’ll help.
We had a really fun walk. The leaves were gorgeous! Brad took his new prism along and got some photos with that refracting the light in interesting ways.
We stopped in front of the creek and got some portraits. Then a little after we turned around to head back home, Hestia got tired! So I picked her up on my lap and Alice walked solo the rest of the way home.
It was a fun outing, and I’m so glad we all got to vote early!
Enjoy the pictures! Scarlet is dressed in all black and has half orange and half black hair. I am wearing a blue dress and red boots. Hestia is a white and black Japanese Chin wearing a purple harness. Brad is the fashionista of the group wearing blue shiny pants, a blue shirt, a blue scarf, a red bowtie, a red and white striped blazer, and a straw fedora.
