Travelscoot and HOPE!

I received the following email from a blog reader. I hope we hear about MANY future TravelScoot adventures from her.

Thank you so much for making your blog.

I've been getting sicker these last five years- can't really walk anywhere anymore. I used those scooters at walmart and target, but they were heavy, loud and always ran down. I thought- this is mobility? We also live on the third floor of an apartment building- so lugging a 500lb scooter upstairs to charge it wouldn't work. I felt so trapped and alone.

Then I found the travelscoot and then your blog. I see pictures of people having FUN! They're outside! They're not alone! I cried because now I know I can have that too- I can have a life again. I could go for a walk with my Hubby like we used to. I could even go on a cruise! Imagine- me who only leaves the house for two hours a week- a CRUISE!

I'm excited again- to live and get out there! I hope to send you lots of pictures of me outside - spending time with my loved ones again. I might even get to the grocery store on my own!

You've given me a great gift- thank you so very very much.

Sincerely,

Jen

Into Each Life a Little Rain Must Fall

We've been having afternoon rain showers here for the last couple of weeks, so it's not surprising that I got stuck in some rain while shopping at Walmart. It's best not to get the TravelScoot wet, but it was raining a bit when I went to my vehicle so I decided to see how it would work out. I was driving our Odyssey, which was great because I could put the back of the van up and keep me and the scoot dry while I loaded the groceries. I was feeling really brave and decided to go back in the store for more things. Let me just say that making a 180 degree turn at the same time you're pulling a grocery cart, just starting the scoot AND going up an incline is not a good idea. Especially not in the rain. Yes, you guessed it. My battery overloaded.

No problem. I turned around to go back down the same incline I had just come up. I stayed on the scoot, left the battery turned on, and gave it a hard push with my feet. (Thank you Rhonda for the brilliant idea!) Yeah, the battery started right back up. At the bottom of the incline I made another 180 degree turn while pulling a grocery cart, just starting the scoot and going up an incline. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that, yes, you guessed it -- the battery overloaded again. Now I'm sitting in the middle of the parking lot aisle, wet, laughing, and looking around to see who might be watching me, or making a cool "stupid scooter tricks" YouTube video.

I stayed on the scoot yet again, left the battery turned on and gave it a hard push with my feet. THIS time once the battery came back on I kept going before I turned around and gave myself a running start as I tried the incline again. I'd also let go of the cart so I wasn't dragging that extra weight. Success! Wet, but no worse for the wear, I headed back into Walmart and did another round of shopping. By the time I checked out the second time, I was just about dry.

Unfortunately it was still raining. Oh well!

Think King drink holder and hook get gold stars

I attached my Think King cup holder today. Because it's soft and attached with velcro, I had doubts about how well it would stay attached, but I put a full large drink in it and off I scooted to shop in Walmart.

I had no problem removing the drink and putting it back (over and over and over again). The velcro held tight, and the cup holder is the perfect size for me.

As you'll see in the pictures, I've also figured out the best use for the Think King hook -- it holds my keys!

I feel like I've found a good, workable combination for me. I have a small purse with a long strap and I hook that over the handlebars and the purse rests in the fabric caddy. My drink is within easy reach, and so are my keys. I'm also able to leave both items attached when I fold my TravelScoot.

I give the Think King cup holder and hook big gold stars.

The Think King website is at: http://think-king.com/.

Cynth's Shopping Tips

Cynth's Shopping Adventures and Tips

Cynth said...

I took today off (4/17/09) to take care of appointments and decided to just go for it and go to Walmart to do my first in-store grocery shopping in 5 years.

It took me a little over 2 hours, but I did it. I wouldn't want to shop during peak hours and once I figure out where everything I need is and on what side of the isle it is it will go smoother.

I got in a few peoples way, but then again people got in my way too. And our Walmart has posts in the center of some isles that require shoving the shopping cart past it on one side while I drive past it on the other.

I do feel much better now knowing that the scooter will take me shopping. I parked clear out back in the parking lot so I could have room to get my groceries in the car and fold the scooter up and down without someone parking next to me.

I also saved about $50 by shopping myself and not using Albertson's delivery.

Ok the mission today (4/18/09) was to go to Target. Mission accomplished. Our Target does have some groceries so I was able to pick up some coffee on sale and various sundry items.

I got my grandkids each 2 outfits and had fun looking at all the baby clothes (I had a new granddaughter March 23 and I have twin granddaughters that are 6).

As far as the isles go, the main isles are wide enough but the isles that have items on them are too narrow for me to drag the shopping cart through. Well ok, I "could" but that would take up the entire isle and I hate when people do that walking side by side so I avoid it.

I decided instead of buying a grocery organizer I'd first try using the box the TravelScoot came in. It should fit across my backseat just fine.

Oh and today when I was unloading and loading I was much faster. I watched Hardy's videos again and noticed he does not put the handle bar down when unloading and folding. So I tried that today and it was MUCH easier to get it to "snap".

I also paid more attention to how I was getting it in and out of the trunk; I do both with one hand. I really don't find it that heavy at all.

Elizabeth says...

Whoo hoo! You are hitting the ground running! Or should I say rolling? It must have been so fun to pick out baby clothes at Target. They have some of the cutest stuff. My Target is a Super Target so it's got a big grocery section and all the department store items too, but at least yours has some grocery items. Yesterday at Target I was able to pull my grocery cart directly behind me when I needed to fit through a narrower space. Most of the time I just park my buggy somewhere at the end of the aisle and zip back and forth putting things in it. I spent about $150 on groceries, so I bought quite a few things.

Shopping at Walmart

On Friday I used my TravelScoot to grocery shop at Walmart. I don't suggest trying this during the holiday rush, but I got a buggy and pulled it from the front using my left hand. I would find a place to leave it near the end of the aisle and zip down the aisle to get whatever I needed. I even bought several 2-liter drinks, but I pulled the buggy down the soft drink aisle for that.

The bathroom wasn't too much of a challenge either. The Walmart I shop at normally has a handicap/family bathroom and that's what I prefer to use, but it was out of order so I went in the regular bathroom. I was able to drive it into the handicap stall, and drive it back out when I was done. I did wait until there was no one in the bathroom in case there were problems, but it wasn't necessary.

If you've ever used a store cart in Walmart, you're going to find that it's a lot easier to open the doors on the frozen food and milk cases from the TravelScoot. I even was able to handle checkout with no problems. My total was about $120, so I had a lot in the buggy. I pulled in line with my cart behind me, then while the person in front of me was checking out I stood up and unloaded my cart. When I was finished I sat back on my scoot and pulled the cart to where it could be loaded, then I stayed on my TravelScoot and went back to pay.

It was easy to pull the cart out of the store to my car and get everything unloaded. I'll definitely use this method again. It's really nice to be able to shop by myself AND to have my own scooter so I don't have to depend on the store having one available. My scoot also goes about 20 times faster than the store one!