Last week, my parents and I flew to Portland, Oregon to visit my younger (and only sister). This was my first time visiting the city and I couldn’t wait to experience the place my only sibling now calls home.

We stayed in an Airbnb close to where my sister is staying. My whole family loved it! It was a small two-story house that was surrounded by tall trees. I ended up sleeping on the couch in the living room and loved waking up and looking out the highlight windows while laying in my makeshift bed.

Pro Tip: If it is important to you, double-check that the place you are staying in has all the accessibility features that are important to you, such as a bedroom and walk-in shower on the first floor. Although, having the shower on the second floor was a bit of a blessing in disguise because it forced me to get a bit of a workout after being in my wheelchair for most of the day.

The weather was cool and rainy for the first few days, giving me a good excuse to try out my wheelchair poncho that I bought specifically for the trip. During that time, we went to the Portland Art Museum, a Trailblazers Game, and the Evergreen Air & Space Museum. Once the rain started to clear up for the last few days, my family got out of the city to enjoy Canon Beach, Multnomah Falls, the Columbia Gorge and Hood River

By the end of the trip, I was fantasizing moving there in the future. The people are friendly; the surrounding nature and mountain views are gorgeous – plus Portland’s commitment to making their city accessible as possible was evident everywhere we went.

Stay tuned for in-depth accessibility reviews of the places we went on this trip.