Lake Geneva, Wisconsin

Last Saturday, I took a day trip to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin with ALDA Chicago. In the morning, we had a board meeting in Cary, Illinois. That town is northwest of Chicago and located en route to Lake Geneva. My husband Rob came with me and we left our house at 6:30 a.m. to have plenty of time to get to Cary by 9:00 a.m.

On our way, we stopped at Walker Brothers pancake house. In the photo at left you can see the impressive looking exterior of this restaurant. The inside was decorated like a castle. I had a yummy breakfast of 3 pigs in a blanket (sausage links wrapped in pancakes) and Rob had french toast. Later, we were very glad we had stopped around 8:00 a.m. and had a substantial breakfast.

The board meeting ended promptly at 11:00 a.m. because we needed to arrive in Lake Geneva in time to board the boat for our lake cruise at 12:30 p.m. We were booked on a cruise that included a tour of Black Point Estate, one of the oldest mansions on Geneva Lake. [Lake Geneva is the town and Geneva Lake is the body of water.] Rob and I enjoy seeing historic homes and were looking forward to it. The board meeting location was about 45 minutes to 1 hour away from Lake Geneva, so we thought we had plenty of time.

As you can see from the photos, the skies were blue and we had a beautiful day for travelling. What we didn't know was that Lake Geneva was having a Venetian Festival that weekend drawing more than the usual number of tourists. Traffic on the road was slow-moving getting into the town and parking near the waterfront was difficult to find. Sadly, we missed our boat's departure.

But all was not lost because one of the group members arriving ahead of us but also too late for the boat made arrangements for 7 of us to board the next boat leaving at 1:00 p.m. We got on just in time to claim the last available seats.

The cruise company graciously provided us with scripts of the tour narration which were very helpful in following the descriptions of the million dollar homes we were sailing past. Hooray for deaf advocacy! But I have to admit that looking down at the script and then looking up at the shoreline made me a little seasick. My husband bought me some 7Up from the ship's bar and after drinking that my stomach settled. I did have to take a break from my reading, though, and just enjoy the passing scenery.

The 1:00 cruise did not include the stop at Black Point Estate so we got back earlier than expected and had free time to explore. As Rob and I had missed lunch completely, our first stop was for ice cream cones. Mmmm.

I've included a few photos of things that caught my eye as we walked around: an angel fountain, a horse with rainbow colored "socks", and a pub sign.

We met back up with the group from ALDA Chicago at 5:00 p.m. to have dinner at Popeye's restaurant located on the waterfront. I had a delicious perch sandwich for my meal. It was fun to be together with my friends and catch up on their lives. But I was really puzzled when people kept telling me that after dinner they were stopping to buy funds. I had no idea what they were talking about despite repeated attempts on my part for clarification. It wasn't until we were nearly home that night, that I figured out they were talking about buying fudge. Smile.

Amish Country Quilt Gardens Tour: Day Two

Here are a few highlights of our second day viewing the quilt gardens. Many more photos are available on flickr including pictures I took of painted quilt murals on the tour, a yummy looking quilt made of jelly beans, and lovely landscape photos completely unrelated to quilts taken at Wellfield Botanic Gardens.

Sign in Wakarusa, IN

Liberty Garden - Goshen, IN

 This design features a torch amid purple and
red stars. The marigolds are the torch's flames.

Miles Variation - Goshen, IN

Brickwork - Wakarusa, IN

Star of Hope - Elkhart, IN

Amish Country Quilt Gardens Tour: Day One

Here are a few photos from my travels along the Heritage Trail in the Amish country of Northern Indiana. This was my first time to photograph the quilt gardens which are a free attraction on display May 30-October 1, 2012. My friend Linda drove me on this self-guided tour. You can see more photos from our day on flickr. To learn more about the Quilt Gardens tour, visit the official website.

Piecefully Amish - Nappanee, IN

Can you see the orange triangle caution symbol
on the back of the Amish buggy?

Purdue Grand Champion Sunflower - Goshen, IN

Sunshine and Shadows - Shipshewana, IN

Peace and Plenty - Shipshewana, IN

Double Nine Patch - Shipshewana, IN

Trip Around the World - Middlebury, IN

Grandmother's Fan - Bristol, IN

Stellar Days - Elkhart, IN

Wedding Garden - Elkhart, IN

Cactus Dahlia - Elkhart, IN

Don't Let Hearing Loss Keep You Home

The beach is my favorite destination!

It's almost summer time and many people are thinking about how to spend their vacation. In the U.S. gas prices are high and air travel is a hassle, so I can understand if some choose to stay close to home. But I don't want anyone to use hearing loss as an excuse not to see new places! With a little planning and self assertiveness, you can get where you want to go.

Can you see the palm trees
reflected in the window?

Last Saturday, I attended a seminar on travel tips for people with hearing loss by Tina Childress, an audiologist who's late deafened and wears bilateral cochlear implants. I'd like to share a few of the many things that I learned from her and offer my own thoughts and experiences.

For Travel by Airplane

• Don't pack any hearing aid or cochlear implant equipment in your checked luggage. The scanner for this luggage is much stronger than the one for carry-on bags. I've had my luggage lost before, so I never put anything of value in there.
• It's OK to walk through the metal detector with hearing aids or ear level CIs. But a body worn CI has more metal and may set off an alarm. I've wondered about the effect of metal detectors on my hearing aids and even asked security staff if it was OK... but even though they gave me the go ahead, I always felt a little leery about it. I never had any damage or problems occur, but I feel better knowing from a hearing professional that it's all right.
• When you reach your gate, let the staff at the desk know you have a hearing loss so you can be informed in case of delays, gate changes, or other announcements. It's in your best interest to sit as close as possible to the desk to make it easy for them to find you. I have not actually approached airline personnel about my hearing loss, although I do sit as close as I can to the desk. Now that I know Tina has done this, I will be more assertive myself.
• Hearing aids and CIs will not interfere with the plane's navigational instruments and do NOT need to be removed during takeoff and landing. I don't like to wear my hearing aids on a plane because of the engine noise. I was surprised to hear from Tina that occasionally cochlear implants are mistaken for Bluetooth devices and the difference has to be explained. By the way, if you ever meet Tina yourself, be sure and ask about her Redtooth story - it's hilarious!

For Travel by Automobile

• Turn on the light at night for better lipreading. I wasn't sure that was legal. Good to know!
• Purchase an extra wide rear-view mirror which eliminates blind spots and reduces headlight glare. That sounds like just what I need! That's a good tip for everyone in fact.

General Tips

• When traveling alone on a plane, train, or bus you may want to let the person sitting next to you know about your hearing loss in case an emergency announcement is made. I might do that if the person were friendly or solicitous, but for me it would definitely depend on the person! Some people make me feel uncomfortable. Use your gut instinct on this.
• Bring along the customer service number for your hearing aid/cochlear implant manufacturer. If you need a new part, you can get one shipped to your travel location. I had never thought of that. It would be very helpful to have that number looked up in advance. Just in case.

Tina is an outstanding speaker and there was much more than this to her presentation. If you ever get the chance to attend "Planes, Trains and Automobiles: Travel Tips for People with Hearing Loss" or any of her other workshops, I highly recommend it. 

I wish you all safe travels wherever you choose to go this summer. Do you have any plans made?

My LA Story - Part 3

I am all smiles at the Focus on People Awards luncheon.

Stig Seitzberg presents me with my award.

Jennifer & me

After the awards luncheon, my husband Rob and I took the Metro to Hollywood and Highland where the Hollywood Walk of Fame and Grauman's Chinese Theater are located. It was a hot day, in the 90s , with bright sunlight reflecting off the sidewalk which affected the quality of some of our photos. It was a busy, touristy location and we spent only about an hour there.

Grauman's Chinese Theater

Putting my hands inside Meryl Streep's handprints.

Rob measures his hands against the Arnold's handprints.

Kneeling next to Sandra Bullock's star
on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Rob & Marilyn in front of Madame Tussaud's.

Back at the hotel later, Rob bragged that he saw Marilyn and she was "all over him". I chimed in dryly, "She was wax."

My funny hard of hearing moment came when I decided to pose for a photo with Elmo and Big Bird. As you can see from the picture Elmo had to explain something to me. When I stood next to him for the photo, he leaned in discreetly and said, "We work for a kiss." At least that's what I thought he said. It's never a good idea to try to whisper something to me! Thinking he was joking around with me, I sent an air kiss his way and Big Bird's. Then he said more clearly, "Lady, we work for tips." Oops, not quite the same thing. Rob gave each of them a dollar. Can you imagine how hot it was to wear those costumes in that weather?

After we got back to our hotel and freshened up, we joined the Oticon group for a backlot tour of Universal Studios. Highlights included seeing sets from Jurassic Park and Back to the Future, driving down Wisteria Lane from the Desperate Housewives TV show, watching a flash flood staged, and passing by a timeline made of  movie posters from Universal Studios films. 

The most exciting part of the tour was a 3D film which we viewed while seated in our tour tram cars wearing special glasses. Suddenly enormous dinosaurs appeared on both sides of us. They were fighting a battle against King Kong. At one point King Kong leaped from one side of the tram car to the other. As the dinosaurs hissed and spit at us, water was sprayed on us. It felt as though we were moving back and forth and at one point it appeared as if our tram car had tumbled over the side of a cliff. I held on for dear life! It was so realistic and scary and fun.

We walked the red carpet laid down in front of the
Globe Theater accompanied by a Joan Rivers impersonator.

Table decorations for our dinner inside the Globe Theater.

The entertainment for the night was this band accompanying Rat Pack
impersonators of  Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis Jr.

The Oticon motto as projected on the hotel's lobby wall.

Thanks once more to Oticon which made this wonderful experience possible. I have an appointment September 29 with my new audiologist who will fit me with the pair of hearing aids from Oticon. With fingers crossed, I'm hoping to hear better than I have for a long time.

My LA Story - Part 2

On Friday morning, we had a delicious breakfast at the hotel and then I had a video interview with Oticon. In front of a professional cameraman and sound person, I was asked questions about my blog. I was not given the questions in advance so I had to think quickly to express myself clearly. I was very pleased when my interviewer told me I was articulate. She told me that portions of the interview might be used as cutaways in the official Oticon video of the event. [I was sent a copy of the raw footage, so if any of you would like to see the interview, let me know and I will post it.]

There was some open time between the interviews and the awards luncheon, so my husband and I took a walk in the area of our hotel. We were on a mission to obtain a disposable camera. Can you believe that I forgot to  pack my camera? For our first day in LA, we got by using our cell phones to take photos, but I wanted to have a camera. We were directed by the hotel staff to go to a little grocery store in the area. Sure enough we found a camera there. I took this photo of an artsy LA building. Are you beginning to see a pattern in my impressions of LA?

When we got back to the hotel, it was time to meet the other award winners at the luncheon ballroom so we could find our seats at the reserved tables and practice walking up on stage. After mistakenly going to the Gold Ballroom, we found the right location for the banquet in the Diamond Ballroom. The room lived up to its name as the table setting, floral arrangement, and desserts at each place looked so elegant, I had to snap this photo. I was seated next to Stig Seitzberg, West Coast Regional Manager who gave my introduction at the podium. On the other side of my husband sat Don Sims, the winner for Hearing Care Practitioner. As fate would have it, he knew some of my fellow travelers on the Discovering Deaf Worlds trip to Costa Rica. Small world, isn't it?

The speeches started with the Adult winner and the Student winner. Then it was my turn. Here's my speech (captioned by me) from video provided by Oticon. There were 450 hearing care professionals in attendance at this luncheon. I enjoyed the opportunity to talk to them and didn't feel nervous because I had prepared ahead of time. You can tell me how you think I did.

 

In the next installment, My LA Story - Part 3, I will share my photos from the Hollywood Walk of Fame and our tour of Universal Studios.

My LA Story - Part 1

Winning the Focus on People Awards included an all expense paid trip to Los Angeles for 2 days courtesy of Oticon. Although I didn't know it beforehand, the awards luncheon I was invited to was part of a West Coast product launch event for Oticon. As I got packed, I thought that going to Hollywood was exciting enough, but even better was the chance to interact with hearing care professionals. I couldn't wait to talk to them about ALDA, the Association for Late Deafened Adults and Discovering Deaf Worlds. Both organizations mailed me items I could distribute while I was there.

My husband came to California with me. We arrived Thursday afternoon, in time to attend a pool side reception at the hotel. Seeing this girl with purple hair performing inside a giant transparent beach ball was our introduction to artsy LA. While I was chatting with Donna, an audiologist from Oregon, my husband was wondering how long the air would last inside that ball. Sure enough, before too long, another ball was launched with a different girl inside, and the first girl was released.

I had the chance to talk with a few others before Jennifer Alberstadt, another winner, found me and introduced me to her husband, Joe. Then it was time to go in for dinner. We sat at the same table with the Alberstadts and compared notes on our experiences with hearing loss and with the Oticon contest.

Jennifer has had a bilateral hearing loss since childhood and was just recently fitted with her first pair of hearing aids. She's a kindergarten teacher who lobbies to have children with hearing loss placed in her classroom. I hope to tell more of her story in a future post.

After dinner, we watched as artist Stephen Fishwick splashed paint on a blank canvas as he moved back and forth in frenetic motion using his hands as paintbrushes. We were unable to figure out what he was creating until the very end when he spun his canvas around and a light bulb appeared. While I admired his picture, I didn't understand its meaning until the next day when I visited the Oticon exhibit and saw this promotional display for the new Intiga hearing aid.

By the Now Effect, Oticon means that the Intiga provides "immediate and obvious benefits from the start that motivate rapid acceptance and long term use.” Studies in Maryland and Germany showed that new Intiga users reported experiencing benefits in a variety of key performance areas including comfort in ear, comfort with loud sounds, one-on-one conversation in quiet and speech in noise.

In the next photo, you can see my hearing aid in comparison to the much smaller sized Intiga. It's about the same size as a lady's ring. Can you believe it? I had an audiologist rave to me about how comfortable it is to wear. This hearing aid is designed for mild to moderate hearing loss. As my hearing loss is greater than that, I won't be fitted with the Intiga.

My current audiologist doesn't work with Oticon aids, so I am in the process of finding a new hearing care professional, who will make the decision as to which Oticon aid will work best for me.

In my next post, I will share more about our trip including our visit to the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

DDW's Journey to Cambodia and Thailand

Travelers with Discovering Deaf Worlds recently returned from a trip to Cambodia and Thailand. Here's a report on their adventure courtesy of DDW's Executive Director, Davin Searls:

We had a wonderful group of eight travelers who bonded from day one! Even though we had the full spectrum of signing Deaf people to interpreters to a hearing person who knew no sign language at all, the participants made sure that everyone was included. In fact, by the end of the trip, our one non-signer was having conversations in not only ASL, but Cambodian Sign Language as well!

Our group especially enjoyed their time with the local Deaf community and our visits to DDW partner organizations. We watched a fantastic dance performance by Deaf vocational students at Epic Arts, and even joined the students in a creative dance workshop! For DJ and I, it was an inspiration to see such incredible growth in the Cambodian Deaf community. Four or five years ago, there were very few visible Deaf leaders - and after this visit, we were in awe about the strength of independence behind the local Deaf community to coordinate our visit, lead workshops with our group of mixed hearing and Deaf people, and formally teach us a crash course in Cambodia Sign Language!

We also squeezed in some exciting cultural ventures like Muay Thai (kickboxing), a visit to the Temples of Angkor Wat in Cambodia and the Grand Palace in Thailand, and taste-testing exotic street food like crickets - which surprisingly, weren't half bad!

Without a doubt, this was a memorable Journey for everyone- we have to thank our local cultural representatives for making us all feel at home!

Thanks, Davin for sharing your thoughts on the trip! In the video below, you will see one of the journey participants share her experiences in Cambodia.

To see the group's itinerary in Cambodia and Thailand click here. To learn more about travel opportunities with Discovering Deaf Worlds, click here.

Discovering Deaf Worlds

I still have a follow up post from my trip that needs to be written about ANASCOR, the national deaf organization of Costa Rica. In the meantime, I hope you will take a few moments to watch this new video that explains the mission of Discovering Deaf Worlds. It's very well done and makes me proud to have an association with this organization. Perhaps you'll consider getting involved too.

A Visit to Don Juan's Organic Farm, Costa Rica

Don Juan, Organic Farmer

Don Juan used his hands a lot to while speaking to us.

In the back of this photo, you can see the roof
of the pavilion where we were served our
lunch which featured foods from the farm.

Pineapple
They grow from the ground, not trees.

Don Juan showed us cacao. We
each got to taste a seed from this plant.

The taste is much different than the
familiar processed chocolate.

Don Juan joked that American
footballs are grown on this tree!

This plant can be used to wash your hands if
they get dirty while gardening. The over-
sized leaves naturally catch raindrops.

This unusual shaped plant is poisonous.
I don't know why it's grown there.

These flowers are planted at the ends of

rows to keep bugs away from the plants.

At the end of our tour, Don Juan
gave us these sweet treats to sample.