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Memoir by Cary D. LoweReviewed by Pennell Paugh
April 30,2025 (San Diego) -- On Two Legs and Three Wheels, by San Diego writer Cary Lowe, gives an emphatically positive answer to the question of whether readers can continue traveling as they get older or become disabled.
Lowe describes his trips with his multiple-sclerosis-disabled wife to sites in the United States and more than 20 countries.
In On Two Legs and Three Wheels, Lowe shares their visits from the Arctic Ocean to tropical islands, from deserts and mountains to urban centers, via planes, trains, cars, buses and ships. They even do a cruise in San Diego’s waters.
The couple, who now are in their seventies, plan to continue to overcome difficulties to enjoy traveling wherever they wish to go.
Through the author’s wonderful descriptions of sites, flora and fauna, views, accommodations and restaurants, the reader vicariously enjoys each trip.
Whether you intend to travel or not, the book is uplifting. It’s a pleasure to read.
Below is an excerpt from the memoir:
“Travel can be as exhilarating as falling in love, as exciting as winning a lottery, as satisfying as dinner at a great restaurant. Not always, but even if it fails to reach those heights, it’s usually an enjoyable experience. For most people, it just requires picking a destination or an itinerary, booking transportation, making hotel reservations, and maybe arranging for a rental car. But not for everyone.
“For disabled travelers, especially those with limited mobility, the joys of travel are tempered by special needs and by the knowledge that obstacles abound, often at inconvenient times and in unexpected places. A single high step blocking a wheelchair from reaching a spectacular viewpoint. A highly recommended restaurant turning out to be located on the second floor of a building without an elevator. A jetway out of service at a destination airport. A ramp that won’t deploy on a city bus. A hotel room billed as accessible but lacking a roll-in shower.
“The world has become far more user-friendly for disabled travelers in recent years, though that varies considerably from country to country and even within individual countries. Such obstacles can be especially frustrating for travelers who once were fully ambulatory and now must deal with limitations on their mobility. Also, for their spouses and other traveling companions, who must learn to join in finding solutions to these problems.
“Yet, once it becomes clear that nearly all such problems can be resolved and that most obstacles can be overcome, the world of travel reopens. Perseverance and ingenuity, combined with equal measures of patience and flexibility, are miracle cures for most of the travel ailments associated with reduced mobility.
"The Rolling Stones said it well: 'You can’t always get what you want, but if you try… you’ll get what you need.'
“Personally, I’ve been lucky. My legs have carried me around much of the world. Early in life, I hiked Swiss Alpine trails, climbed to the top of the Statue of Liberty in New York, and walked narrow lanes in Venice and boulevards in London. As an adult, I hiked switchbacks to the peak of Mt. Whitney and stone steps up Mayan pyramids, wandered sunbaked trails through the Grand Canyon, ran a marathon in the crowd-lined streets of San Diego, and walked around cities from bustling Tokyo to luminescent Paris. Now in my seventies, my legs have held up well, allowing me to keep walking in fresh places.
“But what if my legs had quit working at some point? How could I have kept traveling? To answer that question, I only need to look at my wife, Trish, who lost her personal mobility to multiple sclerosis but has continued to travel with me to far flung places.”
Mr. Lowe is a retired California attorney and college professor. Becoming American, his previous novel, is a memoir that has won awards. He also has published over eighty articles in leading newspapers and in business periodicals.
He holds both a law degree and a Ph.D. from the University of Southern California and has taught at USC UCLA, and UCSD. In addition, he has served as an advisor to state and local governments and on the boards of numerous civic organizations.
Comments
Good for them and . .memories of when my wife and I