Personal Travel Narrative
A Date to Remember
Aaaah first dates. An event that can be both awkward and exciting. Whether it’s your first time meeting a person, or a long time friend that you’re testing the waters with, it can be an overwhelming experience. When you’re going on a date with an individual with a disability, this adds another element to the day. Are your plans accessible? The Cripping the city project was the opportunity to explore just that.
The city of Columbia is notorious for having poorly paved sidewalks, especially downtown. So when you’re traveling somewhere with someone in a wheelchair this can add an obstacle to the date. When we traveled downtown we noticed multiple places where the roads were unkept and bumpy to the point where we had to switch sides of the roads.
One place where this was not an issue was in front of the new School of Music building. We chose this as our meeting spot because of the location and the smoothness of the newly paved sidewalks.
We decided that for the entertainment part of our date we would go to RagTag theater. RagTag is a Columbia staple and a great place to have a romantic evening and watch a nice movie. Although it was easily accessible to get in the door there were some tight spaces to actually get into the theater. Once in the theater there were very few wheelchair accessible spaces and they were all in the front of the theater to where we would have to look up at the screen. It was still doable, and I’m sure it would be rather enjoyable however, it was something to think about for future visits.
Our next plan was to go get food. On our way to go get food however, we noticed a small alleyway that we thought would be a great place for private time if it was darker outside. Maybe not super intimate during broad daylight but definitely a place for a goodbye kiss at the end of a night downtown.
After our short alley stop, our mind was back on the meal. Francisco had the idea of going to India’s House however, Nicole is allergic to the oil they use in their food so that was a no-go for our group. Allergies are also another important thing to think about when planning a date, just as a side note! With allergies in mind we decided to go to a little more, an asian style poke bowl restaurant famously known for their rolled ice cream. The entrances were easily accessible, the restaurant itself had wide walkways and easy access to seating that was wheelchair accessible. It checked off all of our marks and the really kind people who worked there made it even better! One of the employees had even done this project before. After the employees complemented us on our awesome shoe choices (crocs) we decided to head out to find some real alone time, not just an alley with the fact that it was noon on a Saturday in our minds.
We decided to head back to campus and go to Memorial Union. Memorial is a great place for some alone time on the weekends because almost no one is there except for a few people studying on the main floor and the Starbucks workers. So, we headed to the basement using wheelchair accessible and assistance button doors and an elevator. In the basement there are multiple chairs and couches that could make any afternoon comfy. The quiet area was certainly private and would make for a great place to talk and get to know each other. Possibly learn enough about each other to plan a second date?
We as a group really enjoyed this project. It was eye opening, fun and informative. However, something did come to mind as we were doing the project. If this were to have been a real date with a real individual with a disability would you have to plan everything ahead of time to be sure that everything is accessible? It’s something we had never thought about before and something that opened our eyes to just how inaccessible our world can be at times. This was an incredible experience however and although there were times where it could be difficult, I think we planned a pretty great date. It’s also exciting to note that even though Columbia businesses and the Mizzou campus aren’t perfect, they are making an effort when it comes to accessibility.
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