Travelling with guide dogs in the United States is still sometimes an adventure, even after the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. We were looking for a place to relieve our guide dogs at O’Hare International Airport. We had 57 minutes between flights en route to San Diego for a baseball sports trip. We had spent fifteen minutes in a futile attempt to get airline staff to assist.
A fellow passenger with a mobility impairment offered to help. He showed us to the front of the terminal and sure enough there was some grass. The guide dogs did their thing and we were on our way.
Despite advanced requests, airline staff were remarkably indifferent to our need. Surprising since it was their aircraft which would have been soiled if an accident had occurred on the second flight of our 9 hour journey. “After all this is an airport, what do you expect” was the response.
When travel problems arise as a result of indifference, the only solution is self help. In this case, the actual relieving took ten minutes, less time than we spent trying to get help in a large, strange terminal we had never visited before. Oh well, we were on our way again.
A few hours later, we were relaxing by the pool at our San Diego hotel in bright sun shine with pleasant mid 70s temperatures. We were listening to the San Diego Padres announcers broadcast the last game before the all star break. The game was with the Montreal Expos, the team we would follow after the break on their California road trip.
Since the Expos were doing very well in the game, it was strange to listen to the Padres announcers trying to find positive things to say, Eventually the announcers gave up in a string of. “mercies”.
For us, fans who are blind, the radio plays a big part in our ability to enjoy the game. We sit in the stands with earphones stuck in one ear and listen to the play by play descriptions over the radio, while listening to the sounds of the ball park with the other ear. However, the California games were a few days away. First it was time for a bit of sight seeing.
A visit to Tijuana for shopping produced a few bargains. A nice leather back pack was purchased for $20 after some hard bargaining. The guide dogs gave a wide berth to the many “burros” they also called “Mexican Tigers” standing on the sidewalks waiting to have their pictures taken with passing tourists.
After a tiring morning of shopping, it was off to —-for a Mexican lunch and a relaxing afternoon at the beach. All the visitors stuck to American food as they were worried about getting sick with the “tourista”.
The beach was wide and sandy. The water was a bit wavy and noisy so the dogs would not venture too far into the sea. The water was surprisingly cold at 70 degrees and helps to explain the mild pleasant coastal climate while inland locations sweltered in the summer heat.
After a romp on the beach, the dogs settled under an umbrella for a snooze. Soon a strange pungent aroma woke them up. Thus began an alert afternoon for the dogs watching pair after pair of horses ride by as people enjoyed an afternoon sea side ride.
All too soon it was time to leave and prepare for the next leg of our journey, a visit to Los Vegas.
Wow, was it hot in Los Vegas. Temperatures over 100 degrees every day. Most people seem to live inside huge resorts filled with the noise of slot machines, gaming tables and loud music.
At our hotel, the request for the special services desk for help with orientation information was met with consternation. We were informed that in Los Vegas, the only “special services offices were for providing assistance to high rollers.” Assistance for persons with disabilities was non-existent.
We had to fend for ourselves and by the end of the three day stay, we were able to get around our hotel with ease. The guide dogs were cruising through the rows after rows of slot machines as if the had been doing it for years. Slot machines were everywhere, even in the bathrooms. It was gaming on wild.
Staying in Los Vegas was like what we imagined living on a space station would be like. The heat meant that people tended to spend more time inside surrounded by video screens, bright lights and lots of electronic noise rather than out side in the 100 degree temperatures.
In the shade, it was quite pleasant outside. We spent many hours in the shade near the pool. The heat was so dry that the dogs would stay for hours without panting. However, the sun was another matter.
During the day, we avoided the sun. At night, we visited several of the monstrous hotels on the famous Los Vegas Strip. This city has 12 of the 13 largest hotels in the world. We stayed at the 13th largest hotel in the world, The Riviera, with 2273 rooms. The largest hotel in the world will be the 5009 room MGM Grand Hotel and theme park.
An average of 6589 couples say, “I do” every month in Las Vegas. Marriage licences cost just $35 dollars at the Clark County Marriage Licence Bureau which is open 8 a.m. to midnight Monday to Thursday and 24 hours a day on Weekends. So, the divorce capital of America is now trying to become the marriage capital of America, with Valentines Day and New Years Eve being the most popular marriage days of the year.
There is even a Casino Radio providing tourist information and calling itself, “the best deal on the dial.” It was a great source of information for people who could not read the tons of written ads and offers. The radio described restaurants, buffets, show times and hotel features.
More than 21 Million people visit Los Vegas each year. Revenue from gaming tops 4 billion dollars annually. We contributed to this profit. We lost all of $12 dollars in Los Vegas but one of our travelling companions cheerfully lost his budgeted gambling amount of $2000.
The Los Vegas Strip is a famous place. We had red about it in many talking books. In reality, it, like Hollywood, did not live up to expectations. It was noisy and dirty. The sidewalks were narrow, uneven and in need of repair.
The walks on the strip was memorable for us, however, because our dogs were attacked by two unleashed pets. There was a tense couple of minutes while we tried to protect our guide dogs from the other animals until help arrived. Guide dogs are not aggressive. In general, they will not even defend themselves unless seriously hurt. They look to us for protection and we did our best. Fortunately, no one was seriously hurt.
In Las Vegas, we always carried lots of water for the dogs. We never let them lay in the sun. We would not walk on the streets during the day for fear that the heat from the black asphalt roads would burn the dogs’ paw pads.
At night, we were free to roam in comfortable temperatures. We attended several Las Vegas shows including the performance by Canadian Rich Little and His Copy Cats at the Sahara Hotel and the hit show SPLASH at the Riviera.
Guide dogs do not like loud sudden noises and we became a bit worried about Luna because she began to fidget during the SPLASH show. We thought that maybe she had a problem needing a vets attention. The photographer who took pictures of patrons was a dog lover. She spent more time, with our permission, petting the dogs under the table than taking pictures during the show.
When she learned that we may need a vet, this lady went out and looked up the address and phone number of the nearest vet to our hotel and gave it to us. Although, as it turned out, we did not need to visit the vet, this thoughtfulness was very much appreciated.
We were soon off to Los Angeles for the first of our 11 baseball games. We flew on a carrier called Southwest American Airlines. They were a “no frills” airline. They did not even have seat reservations. We were worried at first about getting seats with room for the dogs on the 9 flights we were taking with this company between western United States cities.
Our worries were unfounded. Although the staff wore shorts and short sleeve shirts, there was nothing casual about their professionalism. Directions were given in explicit language which enabled us to find boarding gates on our own. We were the first of the walk on passengers which meant that we always had access to the seats with adequate room for the dogs.
At the front of the aircraft, they had two rows of seats facing one another. This configuration allowed six people and two guide dogs to travel in comfort with room for all. A highlight of the whole trip was these 9 flights on Southwest American Airlines and the ever present professional, courteous service. The staff even made a point of telling us that there was sufficient oxygen masks for the dogs in the event of cabin decompression. Rarely do the traditional airlines show this level of consideration and service to guide dog users.
We had visited Los Angeles before. So, we passed up the city tour in favour of learning the hotel. A wise decision as the other 30 members of our group returned to the hotel in shock after a wild ride with a bus driver who narrowly missed cars and often could not shift gears on the many hills of Los Angeles and had to back down many a busy city street.
Although the Expos lost 3 of the 4 games at Dodger Stadium, Chavez Ravine, this was the most enjoyable series for us. The stadium staff were courteous and attentive. The food was good for stadium fare and the seats in the stands had adequate room for the dogs to lay down in the stadium row during the game. Vince Skully, the Dodgers radio announcer, was a good commentator and so we really enjoyed the stadium and atmosphere. We purchased a radio in the shape of a baseball to take home as a souvenir.
Since the games were at night, we had the day to pursue other interests. We visited Universal Studios. We were frequently forced to take a different route than the rest of our party as we could not use the escalators. This was a bit disruptive when trying to enjoy attractions together. We were often taken directly into a ride while everyone else had to line up for a half hour to get in. We ended up waiting an equal time for everyone else at the end of the ride. The Back to the Future and the ET rides were particularly enjoyable.
Near the end of the visit, we took the dogs to see the animal show. We heard Beethoven, the new lassie and many other show animals. Our guide dogs were mighty interested in that show. They watched the birds tricks with wonder but seemed to treat the dog antics as nothing special. We found the animal show by accident as we searched for a place to relieve our dogs. Most staff were non plussed by the request until one young fellow remembered that Universal Studio had its own resident canines and took us there to use their runs. The trainers were glad to see us and made us feel most welcome.
By mid afternoon, the crowd had become horrendous and it was hard to move about the park. No matter, it was time for us to leave to ready ourselves for yet another evening baseball game.
Hotel staff were also surprised that we found grass in their courtyard suitable for relieving the animals. They were also relieved. Staff knew the had to accept guide dogs at this new hotel but not how the dogs would relieve themselves. This is a preoccupation of those who are not familiar with guide dogs. We are often complimented on our dogs’ ability to use the toilet as we leave public washrooms.
Lugging kilos of dog food around in our luggage really adds to the weight and difficulties on a trip like this with many flights and hotels. So, we planned to restock our supply during the trip. When the time came, we were still in LA. Our hotel was in the business district and there were no store nearby. A staff member at the hotel drove us to a supermarket in their limousine to get dog food and only in LA would no one bat an eye at going through the supermarket parcel pick up in a limousine with two dogs aboard. Maybe Beethoven and Lassie shopped at that supermarket too.
Early the next morning after another pleasant flight, we found ourselves in San Francisco. As the baseball games at Candle Stick Park were in the afternoon, we went directly to the stadium.
Upon arrival at the stadium, we looked like ducks out of water. Candle Stick Park must be the coldest and windiest place on earth. Marie just had to have a $35 dollar pair of sweat pants from the souvenir shop to cover her legs. I sat shivering in the stands. I looked so pitiful that the San Francisco Giant fan sitting in front of me gave me a big woolly horse blanket to snuggle under. He took great delight in showing the tourists the wind breaker he was wearing. When we returned the next day, we came armed with all the long pants, sweaters and jackets we had brought with us.
San Francisco provided the most interesting sight seeing of our trip. We visited the Golden Gate Bridge, Oakland Bridge and marvelled at the recent earthquake damage and had an enjoyable harbour cruise followed by a tour of the infamous Alcatraz prison. We enjoyed our evening walks through China Town and along the streets of Fisherman’s Wharf. The cable car ride provided a sensation of a by-gone age but walking up the steep hill of the crookedest street in the city nearly did us in. It was nearly straight up in spots and went on for blocks in a vertical direction.
San Francisco is a unique place with character of its own. One of our bus drivers lectured us on the fact that the United States was really socialist country and the Armed Forces wit their health and social benefits was the America’s socialist institution. We caused a stir when the dogs steped out of a stretch Cadillac onto the streets of China Town on our way to supper at Longs. The Holiday Inn Persisted in keeping the only piece of grass on their property, a scrubby patch of weeds, under lock and key and each trip to the dog patch was like a visit to an alcatraz maximum security cell.
After the Expos lost three games in San Francisco, it was off to San Diego where our team won three out of four games, so, our trip ended o an up beat note. The mid 70’s temperature was ideal for lounging around the pool all day which was exactly what we did. Occasional walks along the waterfront to Sea Port Village helped to add a bit of variety to pool lounging.
We had an opportunity to briefly speak to several players and team broadcasters during our stay at the same hotel used by the team. Several members of our group were upset when they observed the pitcher eating a big buffet meal an hour and a half before he was due to pitch, They were right this pitcher lost his game.
One of the pleasures of any trip is the people you meet and the new friends you make. This trip was no exception. We enjoyed several pleasant meals with an industrial psychologist and his wife who we met for the first time when attending the Rich Little Show together in Las Vegas. She was petrified of dogs and nearly did not get on the plain when she heard that two dogs were part of the party. Through the trip, she tried to overcome her dislike of dogs. The more she tried, the more pleasant time we spent together. On their wine tasting trip to the Napa Valley, they acquired wine for us. We even benefited from some free psychological services as he used his skill to solve our access problem with the stadium elevator. Even though this elevator was for use by persons with disabilities, it was commandeered by the press core and the first evening we nearly got locked in Jack Murphy Stadium waiting for the elusive elevator.
We were surprised about the few incidents of attempted denial of access of our guide dogs in California, a restaurant in Los Angeles, a cafeteria at San Francisco International Airport and The Stadium Club at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego where the host wanted to put our dogs behind a curtain in an anteroom. We never imagined that we would have to educate people about their own laws but fortunately we had photocopies of the California statute relating to service animals which we distributed liberally in response to this treatment.
Our trip home was very smooth. After all, we were retracing the route we learned on the way out to California. In Montreal, we landed at 10:10 a.m., passed through immigration, cleared customs, relieved the dogs, travelled by shuttle to the Dorval station, bought our tickets and had five minutes to wait for the 10:57 a.m. train to our home town, Ottawa.
No sports trip would be complete without statistics. Here is the box score for our trip: 16 days, 3 countries, 8 flights, 2 trains, 2 boat trips, 11 baseball games, 3 stadiums, 5 cities, 4 hotels and numerous bus, van, limousine and taxi trips. We are now longing for another idyllic vacation under palm trees on a secluded beach.