Written by John Morris, WheelchairTravel.org, January 10, 2025
“I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant.”
— Martin Luther King, Jr.
Hello and Happy New Year!
Each year, I look forward to the holiday season as an opportunity to take a break and look back on the year — 2024 was a marvelous one that saw me travel more than 100,000 miles (4 trips around the Earth) across 100+ flights, visit 13 countries (including two new ones — Monaco and Liechtenstein!), and survive a robbery in New York, the first such experience in all my years of accessible travel.
I was also blessed to lead multiple group trips with Wheelchair Travel readers, including my first group tour in Spain, which was one of the best yet! I hope you will join me on a future group tour — you can be the first to know about group trips by upgrading to a paid newsletter subscription.
My 2024 travels took me to many places around the world, where I advocated for increased accessibility and opportunities for disabled travelers. To read more about my past year of travel, check out my new article, 2024 Accessible Travel Year in Review: Top 10 Trips to Remember. I hope you will find inspiration there for your travels in 2025 and beyond!
Opening 2025 at a Wheelchair Basketball Tournament
I did not waste time in tipping-off the new year of accessible travel — I took flight on January 2 (okay, maybe I wasted one day), traveling to Knoxville, Tennessee, followed by a road trip to Georgia for the 2025 Big Peach Slam Jam, the country’s second largest wheelchair basketball tournament behind the NWBA’s National Championship Series in Richmond, Virginia.
Young people from across the country (I saw a license plate from Washington state!) gathered to compete in a friendly tournament that presented countless exciting moments and opportunities for players to shine. It was the first time I had seen so many wheelchair users (hundreds!) gather to compete in sport, and I loved every minute of it. Congratulations to the organizers for hosting an exceptional event.