Another adventure

Yesterday we caught the bus to go visit my good friend Anna in Sandringham.  We walked to our nearest bus stop, caught the bus just a few stops to a busy intersection, waited there about 15 minutes, caught another bus, got off at a busy road and walked a few minutes to Anna's house.

I found the walking fine, but the noise at the busy intersection was challenging.  I was very glad for my headphones while we waited there.

By the time we caught the second bus I was struggling a bit.  It was all so overwhelming: seeing new things, the motion of the bus, concentrating to make sure we got on and off OK etc.  It didn't help that the bus was blasting cold air on everyone and I was getting chilled.  I put my raincoat back on, which helped, but a hat would have been good, too.  By the time we got off the bus I desperately wanted to sit somewhere quiet for a bit, but that wasn’t an option as the road was busy and it was a few minutes walk to get off it.  So we walked and I tried not to look at anything and just focus on moving.  It was very nice to sit in the quiet once we got to Anna’s.

It was really nice to see her place, which is lovely.  We chatted, then I had a rest for a bit, then we had lunch together before Martin and I caught a taxi home.  We didn't do much for the rest of the day - I was fairly tired, but not completely trashed.

Using the bus was OK.  The hardest part was getting up and getting to the door while the bus was slowing to a stop: my balance still isn’t very good.  Taking the taxi would have been easier (and it was definitely wise to taxi home), but I'm keen for my new opportunities not to come too much at others' expense in terms of climate change.  It's good to know the bus is now an option, as that can get us a lot further than the wheelchair bike!