SAND DIEGO TIPS & TRICKS

The other weekTrevor was in San Diego for work. Since it'd been a long winter & Trevor's busy season was finally starting to slow down we decided to tag along for a little spring break/weekend adventure.

Now I've been to San Diego before my accident. So this time I did a little research and planning, but other parts we figured out on the go. I'll just share our weekend itinerary & tips we learned along the way.

THURSDAY:

First off we flew out on Southwest and I cannot say enough good things about Southwest. They are my favorite airline to fly for multiple reasons. Their flight attendants are always the most accommodating & helpful. Also since there's no first class or assigned seating when I get on first with priority boarding we typically sit in the second row so I don't have to walk far, but still have access to my bags - especially now that I'm traveling with my baby.

Before we ever flew we booked ADA accessible rooms and the rental car. Now since I'm mostly paralyzed from the waist down, I obviously can't drive with my feet. But I can drive any car with hand control attachments. This was my first time driving a car other than my own. Since I can walk a little I didn't need a full ADA accessible van with a ramp. So we booked a compact SUV. After booking I called Alamo, the particular company we happened to choose, and requested hand controls. With that they upgraded our car, for free, to a mid-size SUV so my wheelchair could fit in the back. I wasn't sure exactly how I'd load my chair in the trunk, but I was confident I could figure it out. In addition to that phone call, I followed up and called the day before just to make sure they had the hand controls request on my reservation.

This time around I'm not going to dive into my full airplane & travel experience because that is a WHOLE post in itself. But upon getting the car in San Diego we took off towards the beaches. I wasn't sure which one, but I knew I wanted to catch every sunset for the 3 nights we stayed there. We ended up at Moonlight Beach and it was perfect. There was a sidewalk there went right up to the the cliff and I was able to transfer Will & myself down to the sand to enjoy sunset number one:

FRIDAY:

We started off with a list of beaches and locations to check out and see what was accessible and where we wanted to spend our time the next few days. I mapped out the day making our way S to N. First was Mission Beach for a walk. Mission beach has a board walk that is over 2.5 miles. We got about 2 miles out and then turned around on my way back I asked the lifeguard station about beach chairs & they had them! Although we didn't get out in the beach wheelchair I stopped at an accessible entrance to the sand, which basically means no stairs. I took Will out of the stroller since he was so excited and not interested in sleeping. We got down and played in the sand which was all fine & dandy until Will decided to get up and walk away from me. Sand is not very friendly for the disabled, but luckily he's not too fast and I was able to crawl after him.

On our way back to the car there was a cute pier, which we tried to explore, but uneven wood plants aren't very accessible to navigate on your own with a stroller. When we returned the next day with Trevor it was much easier to navigate because I only had to worry about pushing myself and my wheelchair over the bumps. 

Then we made our way north to La Jolla. On our way, I picked us up some lunch & stopped at La Jolla Tide Pools. The overlook is definitely accessible, but getting down to the tide pools would take some crutches skills. We ate lunch and watched the birds and ocean, meanwhile Will kept putting his nuggets in the sandy dirt. There was handicap parking right at the Yield sign so it was easy to get to and a beautiful view. 

We realized that in order to get back to Trevor in time, we needed to head back so we didn't explore La Jolla Beach until Sunday. By the time me made it back across town to pick up Trevor it was perfect timing and direction for the San Diego Zoo. 

The zoo was so fun, we started by taking the bus tour, which is totally accessible for all wheelchairs. It gave us a feel for where we wanted to spend our time exploring. Also another fun wheelchair tip. Go to the wheelchair/disability office to get tickets. You get a free ticket for someone who is assisting you and children under 2 are free. I try and be as frugal as possible, so this felt like a giant win saving over $50 on Trevor's ticket. We found a lot of places in Europe did this as well, they offer a free ticket for someone assisting a person in the wheelchair. I call these "PARA PERKS", they definitely are not worth my paralysis and struggles I face in a wheelchair, but they are definitely perks that give me a sigh of relief every once and awhile. 

Will loved the flamingos, monkeys & Elephants probably because they were the most lively of animals. He didn't really seem to notice the sleeping lion and polar bear. There is also tons of beautiful vegetation at the park that makes your walk around even more enjoyable.

Afterwards we headed up to Sunset Cliff National Park for the sunset since it was nice and close to the zoo. There was free parking and where we were I decided to use my crutches to get down further on the rocks & closer to the ocean. 

SATURDAY:

We started our day with Torrey Pines National Park, which I'm obsessed with! I'm so glad we went in the morning and we even made the most of our day pass by coming back for the sunset. Now you can park at the bottom and hike up the GIANT hill, which some people have to do because parking at the top fills up, but luckily there's plenty of handicap parking at the top. Part of me wanted to hike and push up the hill, but it's a very long and steep hill so it was probably for the best. 

We did a little exploring in my wheelchair and then I saw people hiking out to the ocean. At first the dirt trail was fairly accessible and then we started approach some stairs. Then more uneven terrain. I had a vision of where I wanted to go though and so we ditched the wheelchair & stroller at the side of the trail and I started hiking out towards the ocean. 

My only regret is that I didn't wear workout pants because man it was a WORKOUT! The hike out and back took over an hour, but it was totally worth it! Plus I had spent all of Friday in my wheelchair and my butt anxiety was on the rise so I really wanted out of my chair.

We made a stop near Mission Beach at Board & Brews for some yummy sandwiches and dipping sauce. Afterward we walked down the pier, Will skated with some IG/Youtubers. First he was just interested in their skateboard and next thing you know this shirtless skater is riding off with our child in his arms. Trevor and I look at each other and laugh thinking did we really just do that? But Will was pretty unimpressed & so we continued for a little walk down the beach.

Saying "woahhh" to all the waves.

Then we made our way back to Encinitas, the same place we watched our first sunset. We were able to use a beach wheelchair and have our first family beach adventure. Afterward we hit up Handles Ice Cream for some pre-dinner ice cream. This place is the BOMB, hands down best ice cream joint I've ever been too. So many unique flavors, multiple graham cracker flavors, which had been my jam lately. But our favorite was the blue monster, it was blue colored ice cream with some kind of cookies n' cream in it, BUT BETTER! Now I'm regretting now going back a second time. 

We booked it back over to Torrey Pines for our last ocean sunset. We were hanging out at a lookout & Will kept bothering this mother & daughter trying to enjoy their last night together. Will loves strangers, it's probably not the safest, but he gives them the BEST smiles. Finally we decided to go for a little hike out to the rocks that were closer to the ocean. 

Baby BurkeinSOCKS

Climbing rocks must be ingrained in my bones because when I see big rocks I just want to climb them. So we hiked out and explored a little bit before the sun set over the horizon. It was so perfect & my only regret is not having more time to explore Torrey Pines trails & eating more Handles ice cream.

SUNDAY:

Our last morning started off a little slow since Trevor had food poisoning from the left over pizza from the night before. After a little extra rest we visited the San Diego Temple. It was the perfect place for Will to run around and explore. There are temples build by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. There are hundreds of them dotted all over the world and not only are they beautiful on the inside, but the outside is always beautifully groomed with flowers, trees and the greenest grass.

Then we spent the rest of our day at La Jolla Shores Park & Beach. This beach and Encinitas are tied for first. They both had beach wheelchairs and parks to play in, as well as beautiful beaches to enjoy. La Jolla Shores beach had a board walk and seemed bigger than Encinitas.

We started with the park which was filled with sand, but surprisingly they had these handicap accessible paths build up in the sand - making it possible for me to be apart of the park fun! Afterwards we spent the rest of the afternoon on the beach playing in the sand and chasing after seagulls. The beach chair made it possible for me to get closer to the ocean and be apart of action without being totally exhausted and sinking into the sand in my crutches.

While out on the beach, I had the brilliant idea of using the beach wheelchair as a beach walk and it worked wonderfully. As Trevor chased Will, who was chasing the Seagulls I was able to slowly chase after them. It was such a wonderful afternoon and we weren't ready for it to end, but we'd definitely had enough sun. So with one last pitstop at Panera, an old hometown favorite soup/salad/sandwich shop we had a late lunch/early dinner and were off to the airport.

I'll save our airport adventures for another day. But for now the most hilarious moment was when I was being patted down in my wheelchair & Trevor was trying to juggle all our belonging at security, suddenly I see Will running off into the center of the airport. Leaving my screening, I quickly wheeled after him and picked him up. Then looking over at Trevor I laughed as I watched him struggling with the stroller, bag and belongings. I could see the overwhelm and stress in Trevor's face and I jokingly reminded him that I did this by myself on the way out. It wasn't easy, but it was so totally worth it! San Diego will definitely be a return trip. But for now we are enjoying being back in the accessibility of our home and being in our own space and routines. 

TIME FOR A NEW SEASON

Today as I sit in the sun while my baby naps, I can finally reflect on winter. In the moment, it felt as though winter would never end and so there was no way I was going to write and post about it. This past winter was rough, last year I was in the midst of newborn survival and didn't know any better. But this year we struggled to find the right routine. I knew the outdoors still had to be apart of our daily routine for my sanity and health. Typically we go somewhere or do something around 10:30 AM - most of the time it was just taking Cooper out for a walk to play at our spot. Sometimes it was still too cold to take Cooper out and then by the time Will takes his afternoon nap, it was almost dark again.

Saturday's were my saving grace. On Saturday we'd get outside and ski. Sometimes it was for a race and other times just for fun. Cross-country skiing outside helped me appreciate the beauty of nature, even in the bitter cold. Snow covered mountains really are so beautiful, but when you're stuck inside with a baby-toddler most days it can wear on you. 
But I can proudly say that we got outside every day - rain, shine, snow or slush. 

Fun fact about spinal cord injuries: we don't get good circulation. I'm not sure if it's only due to lack of motion and movement to get the blood pumping through our paralyzed limbs. But this makes winter even more unbearable because my feet can never get warm. Each night during Will's bath I'd put my feet in a soak them in the warmth, slowly color would return to my purple feet. Before Will had even fallen asleep, my feet are splotchy purple again.

"The way of essentialism mean living by DESGIN, not by DEFAULT."

After reading Essentialism and a few other books and quotes, it's made me more proactive about the direction of our lives. And as we've been contemplating our future and setting goals we wanted to set goals both big & small that will get us to our end goal. Our big goal in the next 10 years is to create an accessible, safe & loving home where we can continue to raise our children in a community and neighborhood that we love. We always thought we wanted to be back in Logan, the small valley where Trevor grew up, where we met and both 
attended college. 

But as I looked at my purple feet the other night, I questioned my quality of life. I already have so many issues and complications - why am I adding on cold purple feet to the problem. Then after one our our google chat book club life chats, I was chatting with a couple of dear friends that helped give me another perspective. There is a reason older people move to warmer locations. Both of these friends have lived or are living in warm climates and listed off the benefits especially for those who have physical pains & problems. 

We've always said we'll go where the Lord wants us to go, but sometimes he doesn't have just one right place for us to be and so we figured if we didn't feel prompted or pushed to a particular place then we'd want to move back "home". Cache Valley truly became home for me during my years at Utah State and is where almost all of Trevor's family is located. My family on the other hand has always been all over taking multiple flights to ever get us all together in one place. But now there seems to be no so clear answer and we've started considering trying out a warmer climate while our children are young and not in school. 

Right now we don't know where the Lord wants us or if he wants us to take a step of faith in a direction we think is good. Obviously there has to be the right job for Trevor, but now I'm feeling torn. For now we know this little duplex is home for the summer. But we will continue to pray and think through options, jobs, quality of life, and what is best for our family. 

A few years back I wrote a post about how life is like connect the dots. Sometimes we know where the next numbered dot will be and think we know the picture God is creating in our lives. But then dot #387 is all the way on the other side of the page. We thought God was making a picture of a sunny day, only to realize in hindsight he was painting a beautiful rainbow across our sky. I guess what I'm trying to say is we don't know where we are going in life. 


We are trying to set goals and create our own direction, but it's hard when God's the one in change and has plans of His own. Sometimes it makes me afraid to make any decisions because what if He decides something different a month after we decide to make a big change. Moving is hard for anyone, but especially when you use a wheelchair and there aren't many accessible home options out there. I know we were truly blessed and led to find our little home we are in now & I am continually reminding myself to be content with where I am now. 
But I also need to remember what I spoke on the other month about divine discontent and THIS talk where Michelle Craig shared:

"Divine discontent comes when we compare “what we are[to] what we have the power to become.”
Each of us, if we are honest, feels a gap between where and who we are, and where and who we want to become. We yearn for greater personal capacity.
We have these feelings because we are daughters and sons of God, born with the Light of Christ yet living in a fallen world. These feelings are God given and create an urgency to act."


But she also hit the nail on the head about the paralyzing fear I've been experiencing lately and how discontent can be DIVINE or DESTRUCTIVE.

“We should welcome feelings of divine discontent that call us to a higher way, while recognizing and avoiding Satan’s counterfeit—paralyzing discouragement. This is a precious space into which Satan is all too eager to jump. We can choose to walk the higher path that leads us to seek for God and His peace and grace, or we can listen to Satan, who bombards us with messages that we will never be enough: rich enough, smart enough, beautiful enough, anything enough.

Our discontent can become divine—or destructive.

Divine discontent motivates us to follow the example of the Savior, “who went about doing good.”8 As we walk the path of discipleship, we will receive spiritual nudges to reach out to others.”

So who knows if we will experience another Utah winter or if we'll move. But as my feet lay warm in the sun I'm just happy that winter is over and that my feet aren't cold all the time. It's kind of like pregnancy you forget how uncomfortable it is once it's over & then you start thinking oh I could do that again. Regardless,
it's time for a new season!

SEVEN YEARS

Seven years ago, during a moonlight rappel, I ended up falling 80-100 feet. No that’s not a typo, I FELL OVER 80 FEET and Cougar Cliff itself is over 250 feet. EVERY single day, month and year past March 12, 2012 is truly a miracle, second chance and gift because despite all reasoning & laws of physics - I survived. But not only did I survive, I have gone on to fight, thrive and build this beautiful life I have today. 

It’s become a ritual the past three years to visit Cougar Cliff near the anniversary of my accident. Each time we’ve visited we've had a faqmily prayer. This year as we visited the cliff, my emotions were very raw & so Trevor spoke the words I could not. It was such a beautiful moment to see what I had in my arms that moment and reflect on those seven years that I've had the opportunity to keep LIVING. We felt like we were walking on sacred grounds because this place & that night was a catalyst for everything that was to come in my life. And that is one of the MANY lessons I've learned this year.

SOMETIMES TRAGEDY, PAIN & TRAILS ARE THE 
CATALYSTS FOR GOOD THINGS TO COME.

This has been another year of LEARNING & LOTS OF LIFTING (my baby). I've been constantly adapting and figuring out how to best care of my ever-growing baby boy. It has been EXHAUSTING, EMPOWERING, FRUSTRATING & JOYFUL - all at the same time. This year I also finished another marathon sprinkled with speaking engagements throughout the year. But my main focus has been on motherhood and trying to keep up with all the lessons I continue to learn.



After spending the last year pouring my whole body and soul into caring for Will, I decided to focus on myself a little bit this year. For years now, I’ve had some physical struggles and pains that make it difficult to sleep, therefore affecting every aspect of my life. My days seem to revolve around my pain and exhaustion, while trying to be present with Will and be the best wife, mother, friend, daughter, sister & human-being that I can. 

With the complications and pains I've been facing, I've felt frustrated at times. Doctor after doctor, I've consulted & sought for answers and solutions. In exhaustion, I told Trevor I just wished there was one doctor that understood everything, that could help me answer all my  questions and problems. Suddenly,  I was reminded that I already have the greatest physician. One who understands all of our pains and has a cure and a solution for every ache, pain and complication. So I decided to start consulting with the Great Physician, Jesus Christ. As I've poured my heart into prayer and writing, I've had some personal and comforting experiences.

During these last few months, we've been studying the New Testament, which covers Christ's birth, life, ministry, death & Resurrection. These books, chapters and verses are filled with stories of Christ healing in a simple touch or a spoken word. My emotions have been tender, as I think of the woman with the issue of blood that suffered for 12 YEARS, without relief. I've felt close to this women, even though I've only suffered 7 years. But I can only begin to relate and imagine those feelings of faith, gratitude and pure love as she was healed, after YEARS of enduring pain & sickness. In a simple touch, in a small moment, she was healed - how miraculous. 

Although Christ is not here on earth right now, He still lives. The day of miracles has not ceased. I've come to realize that my miracle has not come in one miraculous moment. I didn't stand up and walk in ONE moment or ONE day. My nerve pain didn't lessen in ONE moment. I didn't pee after my accident, right when I started praying for it. All these miracles have taken faith, time & patience. It has been through small and seemingly simple miracles, BUT THEY ARE STILL MIRACLES. As I've been consulting with the Great Physician, I've been prompted to return to physical therapy, revisit surgeons with very specific goals and ideas in mind. 

While none of these procedures and medications have come to fruition yet - and regardless of their result, it is so comforting to know that there is someone who understands it all. Every pain, every heart-ache, every loss, every ailment - He understands them all and knows how to heal us. 

For some reason I got real ambitious this year, leading up to my accident anniversary. I decided to recap each year. Mainly, I wanted to show how my life didn't just suddenly come together. I didn't just stand up and start walking one day, I didn't cope & deal with my loss in one month or even one year. Every moment hasn't been filled with sunshine, roses & optimism. I wanted to show the highs and lows and how long it took for different aspects of my life to come together. Another aspect I wanted to show was my grieving process and rebuilding my life and confidence. It may seem silly to go month by month & there are so many details, events & memories that I'm not able to cover. Some days have been painful, others emotional, and some just flat out hilarious and so joyous to relive and reflect back on. 

So here are the links to the videos and blog posts to each anniversary for the last six years. I'm just so grateful for the opportunity to keep on LIVING the years as they come. 

YEAR ONE

YEAR TWO

YEAR THREE

YEAR FOUR

YEAR FIVE

YEAR SIX