Welcome to The Enabled Traveler. I’m Robert Bennett, your guide for this weekly blog. Each week I’ll be bringing you new information about travel, information specifically geared toward the needs of travelers with disabilities and their companions. Each week we’ll explore the world, together. Along the way, if you have any questions, ask them. This blog will be written as much by you as by me. During our time together I will be addressing your thoughts and concerns. Yes, that means this blog is interactive. You’ll have homework, writing to me. What I plan for this blog is an exploration of the world, its airports, ships, buses, trains, and popular destinations. I will be discussing the laws that pertain to travel for people with disabilities, both domestic and international. I’ll talk about accessibility, what it means and how it is implemented. I’ll look at the travel industry to tell you how it both helps and hinders travelers with various disabilities. I’ll explore the tools and equipment one can use to make traveling easier. Finally I’ll investigate the various forms of travel insurance, including coverage possibilities for adaptive equipment. Okay, what does it mean to travel? What do you need in order to travel? Where in this world can a person with a disability go? Those three questions are very important, and the answers to them may not be what you’d expect. In the strictest definition, travel means moving from point A to point B. However, despite what you learned in high school math class, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the shortest route between those points is a straight line. Some travel routes are that simple, others are very circuitous and require more planning and more effort. The world is changing. In some senses it is becoming more open, in other senses it is closing. People with disabilities have to be aware of both. That is the only way we can get from A to B safely and comfortably….and I plan to help you get there. Ok, that said, to quote the famous comedian, Jackie Gleason… “And awaaay we go…”