Last week my mom and I drove a few hours to the west side of the state to Ludington. Over the summer I saw information about an event on Wednesday, September 11th called “Disability Dirt Days” at Silver Lake Sand Dunes. The event was hosted by an organization called Wheels In Motion. I’d never been to see any sand dunes before so my mom encouraged me to register. Plus, we’d be right by Lake Michigan which I also had never been to before. I registered for the event and because I wasn’t sure what my time slot would be until the week before, we decided to book a hotel for Tuesday-Thursday. This way we’d have plenty of time to rest up before and after the event plus explore the area. We crammed a lot into those few days – see below for a summary and some incredible photos!
Tuesday: travel day and the Ludington North Breakwater Lighthouse
Mom and I had fun chatting about all sorts of things during our drive. I also enjoyed seeing the changing colors of the leaves. Our hotel was fine, not overly fancy or anything but the location was convenient and we had a 2 room suite since I wanted an accessible roll-in shower in the bathroom. (I had no idea how messy I’d be after the dune ride haha). After checking in we drove down to the beach area. It was so cool! Prior to the trip I found an article by Curb Free with Cory Lee specifically about the Ludington area which was super helpful. It’s because of his article that we knew to look for pathways on the beach that allowed me to get fairly close to the shoreline.
It also gave me confidence to drive my chair on the pathway leading out to the North Breakwater Lighthouse. The pathway was wide enough BUT it was scary because the edges weren’t clearly marked and they angled downwards… not the best for someone with low vision. I think marking the path edges would be helpful for improving the accessibility of the area. But with my mom there I felt safe. I’m so glad we gave it a shot – it was so cool to be on the lighthouse platform area and to see how tall it was. Lake Michigan was so pretty and with it being late afternoon it wasn’t too hot. I was actually cold by the time we walked back to the van.
For dinner we went to House of Flavors (another suggestion from Cory’s article) and it was so cute!! I got chicken and waffles. Yum! There were also so many ice cream flavor options for dessert. Mom and I decided to split a simple hot fudge sundae though because we were already pretty full. On the way back to the hotel we stopped to get some snacks for the night because we planned to watch the Presidential debate. I only made it halfway through the debate before falling asleep. But it was a fun night.
Wednesday: exploring the beach, shopping, and the Dune ride
Wednesday morning we had our free breakfast and then went over to see the beach again. We found the pathways going towards the shore I mentioned earlier and I loved it. Pro-tip: after checking out all 3, I think the northern-most one gets the closest to the water. Mom and I stayed there for like a half hour just enjoying the view and sound of the waves. I was also able to get out of my chair and walk in the sand to stick my feet in the water. It’s definitely cold! But so worth it. I could absolutely get used to being able to go there with my kindle and a coffee and just relax.
After staying by the water for a bit we went downtown into some shops for souvenirs and lunch. We went to a place called The Cluck Bucket for lunch. It was okay but not my favorite. Plus I was getting a little tired. After lunch we went back to the hotel to rest up before the dune ride! Our time slot was 6p.
So, getting to the actual event was an adventure in itself. Cell service was sketchy in the state park and we had difficulty finding where we needed to go. But we found it! At first I was bummed about the 6p time slot because it was close to the end of the event. However I ended up being really pleased because it wasn’t as hot and the sun was so pretty. I had the choice of 3 types of vehicles we could ride in and of course I chose the most adventurous: a “side by side”. I sat next to my mom in the back and in front was the driver and another participant. I used my backless booster seat and roho wheelchair cushion to support by back and I was very comfortable! We all had to wear goggles and after going on the ride it made sense – so much speed and flying sand!
After getting comfy we took off for the dunes. It’s hard to describe seeing all the sand and varying dune sizes. My mom had been on one other ride (in a different city) and she said it was nothing like our ride. Her ride was calm and more like a guided tour. Ours was essentially a free-for-all. Our driver Stacey was really nice; she checked on me a few times to gauge if we were going too fast, if I was comfortable, needed to stop etc. We stopped a few times for photos which was neat. But, per usual I wanted to go fast! We also conquered the highest dune called “Test Hill”. Stacey checked her phone and it said we were over 700 feet above sea level. We actually did Test Hill twice… however we bottomed out on the 2nd time and had to be rescued. In a way though it was nice because it gave my stomach time to catch up to where we were (I was starting to get queasy) and the view was incredible. One of the other volunteers came and helped us out and then we were off again. By this time it was getting late so we headed back to the parking lot. All in all we were out on the dunes for about 40-45 minutes.
Mom and I weren’t very hungry after that adventure so we got some more snacks on the way back to the hotel. I ended up having a lunchable and going to bed pretty soon after getting there. By then the adrenaline had worn off and I was ready to lay down!
Thursday: one more beach visit and travel day
Thursday morning we had our breakfast and then packed up our stuff before checking out. My blood pressure has been on the high side lately so I am enrolled in Michigan Medicine’s Remote Home Monitoring program – I check my blood pressure, heart rate, oxygen level and weight everyday and answer questions about how I’m feeling. This information is then transmitted via Bluetooth to the the remote monitoring team and added to my MiChart record. This information will help my primary care doctor track how I’m doing and whether additional medication changes need to be made. When I sent my vitals that morning my heart rate was higher than the remote team liked (this has been an ongoing issue, more on that in another post). I was also tired and sore so I wasn’t surprised. The funny thing is when we went over to the beach I did a recheck and my heart rate was much better. It went down from the 110s to 95. Mom and I decided that I need to be able to come that close to a large body of water where I can hear the waves, feel the breeze and relax all the time – you know, for my health. 🙂
We stayed on the beach for about 20 minutes and then decided to head towards home. It was warmer and we would have needed an umbrella or something for some shade if we stayed much longer. On the way back to the van we saw lots of seagulls lounging in the sand.
The trip home was a bit eventful… we forgot to get gas when we stopped for lunch. After some tense google searching we found a gas station. My mom took a picture of the van’s dashboard because it said “Distance to Empty Please Refuel”. She said she didn’t know it could say that… we aren’t sure if this is worse than 0 miles to empty. Whoops. But we made it! The rest of the ride was smooth and I was able to sleep some.
Wrap-up and my next adventure?
All in all it was an exciting trip and I am so glad we went. It was an experience for sure!
I found out too late that there is a place in Muskegon that has an adaptive zip line… I don’t know why but this is something I want to try so this might be my next big trip!
