For the first part of my Eastern Washington golf trip. I chose to stay in the town of Moscow. A small college town located just across the Washington/Idaho border. Moscow is the location of the University of Idaho. I chose to stay in Moscow because of its size. The city seemed to have a larger selection of hotel options. Moscow also feels less congested, as compared to Pullman. The golf course I was intending to play was between the two cities. Providing me with the option of staying in either of the two towns. The other factor for me to consider was my previous trip. When venturing out to play Palouse Ridge years ago, I stayed in Moscow. Making me at least somewhat familiar with the hotel. With the physical challenges of cerebral palsy, I’m always looking for anything with familiarity. The other thing I wanted to consider would be my arrival. When driving into a city after darkness has fallen. Having some knowledge of where I am going, always seems helpful. I was thankful to have thought about the trip in preparation. When driving into Moscow, my previous time there came to mind. The city looked familiar from the moment I arrived. I found the hotel in short order, which was larger than I had remembered. Pulling into the Best Western, I found myself parking to one side, instead of pulling into the front entrance. My mistake turned out to be no problem, as I found the front desk, and got checked into the room.
I was hungry from the journey. Having snacked on gas station food that wasn’t going to tide me over until morning, though I considered skipping dinner. Momentarily dreading the thought of getting behind the wheel of my car, again. Going out to hunt for some food also provided the opportunity to see some of Moscow. I drove out of the hotel parking lot hoping to find something familiar to eat. Maybe some kind of comfort food, following the long drive. Starting off on my search, I was genuinely hoping to avoid fast food. The normal thing for me to do would be finding the comfort of an old stand-by, like McDonalds. But with my intention on playing a challenging golf course the following day, I wanted to avoid the golden arches. I drove the main street of Moscow in wonderment of gathering my options. Finding most of the fast-food options open to me, I finally spotted a Mod Pizza, which has my most comforting of foods. Continuing on without having made a decisive decision to select pizza. The road bent slightly to the left, as I ran into a section of town, I didn’t realize existed. All of the sudden, I felt like I was in a historic downtown area. Similar to the streets of an old downtown with wide sidewalks and large trees lining the roads. The area felt comforting and intimate. Like a good place to find a coffee shop or have dinner. I had been to Moscow a handful of times, but never ventured that far into town. Driving back to grab a pizza, I found myself thinking about the town a little differently.
The next morning started with accomplishment on the mind. My first place to visit would be the Palouse Ridge Golf Club in the hopes of booking a time to play in the early afternoon. If all went well, I was planning to drive on into Pullman. Wanting to look around the campus of WSU before playing golf. As the day began unfolding, everything I had in mind, was falling into place. The golf course wouldn’t be busy during the early afternoon. Meaning I could play with ease around the 1:00 hour. The drive into Pullman took only minutes, as I ended up checking out the high school, before finding my way to the Washington State campus. Under sunny skies and warm temperatures, I spent the better part of an hour walking a snippet of the campus. Walking the hills of WSU got a little taxing and I wanted to save my energy for golf. Finding my way back to my car, parked in a public garage, I headed down the main street of campus. Heading back to Moscow and the hotel. My excitement for the afternoon of golf took hold. A quick change at the hotel and I was off to Palouse Ridge. Where I grabbed something quick to eat and headed for the first hole. Standing on the first tee, I was satisfied with my morning accomplishments. Looking forward to playing golf that afternoon and exploring more of Moscow, the following day.
My afternoon of golf at Palouse Ridge was fun. Playing golf in the early fall, as the leaves bordered on the time of change. The sun led my journey through the warm afternoon. I found a local drive-in in Moscow and decided on a burger for dinner. Waking up the following morning to another cloudless sky. It was going to be a day of travel. Moving on from Moscow to the town of Walla Walla. The drive back into the state of Washington would take just over two hours. Waiting on the other end of my journey was another afternoon of golf. Before departing Moscow, I still had some discovering on my agenda. I was up early to get organized and pack the car. The time in my head to be heading down the road was around ten, which would get me into Walla Walla for golf, at about one that afternoon. When I left out of the hotel parking lot, the sun was climbing in the sky. Moscow was up and moving about in the middle of the week. The University of Idaho was just across the main street from the hotel. Over the previous couple days, I had peered into the campus from the road. Though, much of the view was obstructed by trees that seemed to separate the Idaho campus from town. I was looking forward to crossing through the intersection and onto campus. Hoping the morning hour would bring about a subdued campus.
The traffic of campus appeared calm when I crossed through the intersection. The road bending to my right, as I was finally on the University of Idaho campus. When looking around a college campus my thoughts often land on one question. Wondering to myself what might it be like to attend college here? My answer to that question involves my challenges with cerebral palsy. I look at a college campus thinking about how challenging it would be for me to move about. Thinking about attending the university for someone like me, who is challenged with difficulties in mobility. For the first while I was simply trying to get oriented. The campus roads moving in different directions. The landmark I could immediately recognize was the dome. Where the University of Idaho plays their home football games. I chose to find my way toward the structure, thinking I could get oriented to the campus, from that point. I found the dome to be toward the upper portion of the campus. As I found roads climbing higher into the hill, the University of Idaho seemed to be set on. I drove the streets of campus for some time, circling up to the top of campus, where a golf course appeared. Following the road back down, I was still trying to get oriented. Finally, coming across what looked to be the main part of campus. Driving along the street at the base of the hill, I found myself surrounded by college building. Pulling into a parking lot, I decided to get out of the car, and take a short walk around.
I found myself in the parking lot of the recreation center. The building not far from the main road of Moscow. I found a handicap parking space, which allowed me to park without charge. After spending time driving circles around the U of I campus, I had gained some orientation. Getting out of my car I headed toward the entrance of the rec center. Planning on turning left to walk back toward the middle of campus. I crossed one of the main streets and walked into an open area. The space struck me as one of the main quads at the University of Idaho. Providing me with a similar picture to the one I remember from being on campus at UCLA, though on a much smaller scale. The sidewalks crisscrossed each other, as they climbed into the gradually graded slope. Moving up from the flat areas of campus that seemed to be nearest the downtown area. I snapped a couple pictures of the appealing area and started my journey back to my car. The campus remained quite in the middle hours of the morning. Traversing back across the street I started thinking about what life might be like for me, on this particular campus. During my half an hour of time spent driving through and taking the short walk. The Idaho campus felt like a mixture of hilly and flat. Kind of a cross between a flat campus like Oregon State and the hilliness of Washington State, I had experienced the previous day. As I walked, I found myself in contemplation.
My takeaway from spending part of the morning at the University of Idaho was, the campus could have worked. Parts of the campus I walked appeared to be flat. Allowing for the ability to easily move about. I ran into a few dormitories along with buildings housing some lecture halls. As the campus climbed up into the hill, it didn’t do so with any urgency. The climb appearing to be gradual. Leaving me to believe, though it might have been challenging at times, the University could have been navigated without too much trouble. The hills of the University of Idaho seemed insignificant when I thought of other college campuses, I had experienced. The examples of WSU, the University of Washington, UCLA, or Western Washington all have grounds that are challenging to navigate. Those universities are in cities that also have hilly environments. Meaning the challenges of getting around wouldn’t end when my day of classes ended. I would be challenged with roads, sidewalks, and parking lots of undulation no matter where I went around campus. This situation didn’t present itself around the University of Idaho. Moscow is a flat town with one main street running in front of the campus. The gradually sloping hill on the campus appeared the only slope to contend with if attending college in Moscow. I would say the University of Idaho would be a school to consider if like me, there are challenges in mobility. I do think a flat campus in a flat town is probably most advantages for physical challenges, but the gradually sloping campus was cool. Also, the smaller size made it feel appealing, as compared with the large size of the schools I mentioned.
A Journey With Cerebral Palsy 