[Travelandtourism] My Friend and I

Tue Jan 15 14:22:19 UTC 2013

Good morning Trevor you travel the world a lot in the past, which we have spoken about at the Annual Meetings at Convention. I want to remind those members paid or not, we have a monthly board meeting which is opened to all to come and listen and learn what we are doing throughout the year, and also Secretary Margo Downy, posts the minutes here.
We are also going to be having our Annual Meeting in Orlando on July 2 from 1-4PM, so you know for your schedule.
Now many bus tours have changed and other escorted tours have changed over the years, why because more and more people like the blind are traveling more and demanding that the tours are more hands on and offer more than sitting on a bus all day, the better tour suppliers are doing so, plus there are independent tour operators that know there countries that have started there own special needs tours, some people want these tours, some don't all up to the person traveling.
I am posting my last show from The Echevarria Travel Show which was live on January 2, 2013 I have 2 guests and it is about an hour long, one of the people on the show is blind, her husband is legally blind and her daughter is also blind, who went to Ireland in 2011 to celebrate there daughter's sweet 16.  Some of you may know her she used to be a member of the NFB of NY, but all in all they had a great time.
I have to say though, as blind people, we know that everything is visual, that is it, the world and all its beauty is visual, but remember we have other senses as well, and meeting new people, having fun, laughing, talking, eating, experiencing things is all it is what it is about.
We cannot change this, if you are going to the rain forest in Puerto Rico, which is the only one in the US, you cannot see it, but you can touch it, smell it from the flowers and the mist and the sounds, etc. And yes you need to get into the car and drive to it, and other things are around you. But I would want to be there anyway, next time we go I am going zip lining  at 46 I will be zip lining yup, unless I chicken out the last minute.  
We are also doing the fundraiser event for the Travel & Tourism Division in October, we are going to Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, Navajo Indian Nation, Zion Canyon, and Bryce Canyon, yes we will be on the bus getting to different places, but we will stop, we will have tour guide with us giving the history of things, and yes for many of us we will not be able to see a darn thing, but we can experience all the other things there.
Let's take the part we cannot see out of the equation and put in what we can do. Some may think we cannot take the blindness out of the equation, but think about it if you do, we strive for independence and equality, so we do this all the time.
No we will never see again, but does that stop us from enjoying life.
Cheryl

Disabled Entrepreneur of the Year 2012 of NY State
Leading the Way in Independent Travel!SNG Certified - Accessible Travel Advocate!Cheryl Echevarria, Ownerhttp://www.echevarriatravel.com631-456-5394reservations@echevarriatravel.comhttp://www.echevarriatravel.wordpress.com2012 Norwegian Cruise Line University Advisory Board Member.
Affiliated as an independent contractor with Montrose TravelCST - #1018299-10Echevarria Travel and proud member of the National Federation of the Blind will be holding a year round fundraiser for the http://www.NFBNY.org after Hurricane Sandy and other resources. Any vacation package booked between November 6 2012-November 6, 2013 and vacation must be traveled no later than 12/30/2014 a percentage of my earnings will go to the affiliate.  Also is you book a Sandals for couples or Beaches for families and friends resorts vacation, $100.00 per booking will go to the affiliate as well.  You do not need to be a member of the NFB.org, just book through us.

> From: tattenberg at gmail.com
> To: travelandtourism at nfbnet.org
> Date: Mon, 14 Jan 2013 23:59:46 -0800
> Subject: Re: [Travelandtourism] My Friend and I
> 
> How about some kind of bike tour a blind person could hop on. A little more
> out and about, with fresh air. I've never much enjoyed bus tours. I see they
> have their Marat. I did some with my grandmother (who didn't enjoy walking
> much) as a kid, and the guides could be entertaining and informative. The
> trips were just so much sitting and imagining what was out the window--and
> all the stops were so short. But I can see how one might desire the
> convenience of being driven around and able to get an informed glance at all
> the hot spots. 
> I got scammed into a three or four night tour bus trip around Scotland when
> I was studying there. No expenses were paid for,, and there was all this
> scenery out the window that we were given little chance to actually step out
> into. It cost me something like $300 for just the bus seats. The driver kept
> shouting at me for being slow to get back on the bus. This is while I was
> studying abroad in Scotland. I never did much traveling before I became a
> college student--one of the benefits of being a researcher/student.
> The travel agent that hooked me up with this Scottish tour bus was convinced
> I would not be able to participate in some of the more outdoorsy activities
> other international students were enjoying. I did not fully realize this
> until I returned to complain after my bus trip. I guess it really matters
> who's setting you up.
> Cool thing about Europe is you can go from country to country within the EU
> without much security at all. And the trains in these countries are
> something else.  Along with the common architecture and food, some of the
> novelties of Europe to check out include regional music and dance, and well
> executed graffiti. Barcelona's got dances that break out on the street; and
> Brussels has a cool (all be it Eurocentric) musical instrument museum, as
> well as a comic/animation museum.
>   Lots of cities in Western Europe have canals that you can take a tour boat
> on. All of these cities, save Venice, fancy themselves as "the Venice of the
> North."
> Trevor A 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Travelandtourism [mailto:travelandtourism-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of cheryl echevarria
> Sent: Monday, January 14, 2013 12:20 PM
> To: travelandtourism
> Subject: Re: [Travelandtourism] My Friend and I
> 
> 
> Yes but also remember even if you cannot see, with a good tour bus, the tour
> operators are knowledgeable, and can point things out locally that you will
> not experience on a train, but giving you the history on things, and also be
> able to ask questions about height, weight, color, who created it, how does
> this affect history your own (maybe genealogical) or the US History or World
> History, we miss so much on the train, but if you are using from going
> between England and Paris, by all means or if you are doing other things as
> well.
> What is also becoming very popular in Europe is the River Cruising, smaller
> ships, closer to the shore lines then out in the ocean, other town that you
> may have not gotten to see if you were going on an escorted bus tour or a
> mass market cruise liner.
> Just some different ways of doing so.
> 
> Disabled Entrepreneur of the Year 2012 of NY State Leading the Way in
> Independent Travel!SNG Certified - Accessible Travel Advocate!Cheryl
> Echevarria,
> Ownerhttp://www.echevarriatravel.com631-456-5394reservations@echevarriatrave
> l.comhttp://www.echevarriatravel.wordpress.com2012 Norwegian Cruise Line
> University Advisory Board Member.
> Affiliated as an independent contractor with Montrose TravelCST -
> #1018299-10Echevarria Travel and proud member of the National Federation of
> the Blind will be holding a year round fundraiser for the
> http://www.NFBNY.org after Hurricane Sandy and other resources. Any vacation
> package booked between November 6 2012-November 6, 2013 and vacation must be
> traveled no later than 12/30/2014 a percentage of my earnings will go to the
> affiliate.  Also is you book a Sandals for couples or Beaches for families
> and friends resorts vacation, $100.00 per booking will go to the affiliate
> as well.  You do not need to be a member of the NFB.org, just book through
> us.
> 
> 
> > From: REBECCA.PICKRELL at tasc.com
> > To: travelandtourism at nfbnet.org
> > Date: Mon, 14 Jan 2013 20:02:01 +0000
> > Subject: Re: [Travelandtourism] My Friend and I
> > 
> >         Yes to the train. It's neat.
> > 
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Travelandtourism [mailto:travelandtourism-bounces at nfbnet.org] On 
> > Behalf Of Keitei Colton
> > Sent: Saturday, January 12, 2013 12:44 PM
> > To: travelandtourism at nfbnet.org
> > Subject: Re: [Travelandtourism] My Friend and I
> > 
> > Hi Everyone,
> > 
> > I have been conferring with my friend and she wanted me to ask: What
> countries do people have the most experience traveling through when they
> have gone to Europe? Also, has anyone taken the train in Europe to other
> countries?
> > 
> > Thanks,
> > 
> > Keitei Colton
> > (435)-901-4265
> > 555 South 200 East
> > Salt Lake City, UT 84111
> > kekiangeles111 at gmail.com
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