Despite his pain, exhaustion and increasing difficulty walking, he and my mom have repeatedly driven to California \u2014 more than 20 hours on Interstate 40 by pickup truck \u2014 because he didn\u2019t like people\u2019s stares on airplanes and because we stubborn Middle America types don\u2019t balk at cross-country road trips.<\/p>\n
He recently began using a wheelchair.<\/p>\n
Sidewalks, elevators and frustration<\/p>\n
This spring, he quietly fumed as my mom had to push him all the way around the block<\/a> to reach a middle school field in the South Bay for my daughter\u2019s soccer practice because the sidewalks were obstructed<\/a> by telephone poles and No Parking signs.<\/p>\n The author\u2019s father and daughter near Moe\u2019s Tavern at Universal Studios Hollywood. <\/p>\n (Hailey Branson-Potts \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n A trip this month to the Del Amo Fashion Center in Torrance to take my kids to watch \u201cMinions & Monsters\u201d included an agonizing walk because of a set of broken elevators. His legs ached for days.<\/p>\n When he said he wanted to take us to Universal Studios Hollywood for my son\u2019s birthday, I fretted. Could he do it?<\/p>\n My fears were for naught. <\/p>\n Mario, magic and mobility<\/p>\n My Mario-obsessed son has been begging to go to Universal ever since its Super Nintendo World opened in 2023<\/a>, and his 8th birthday trip with his doting grandparents was a surprise.<\/p>\n My dad wore a T-shirt poking fun at his own disability \u2014 a parody of the New Balance athletic-wear logo that read \u201cNo Balance\u201d \u2014 and beamed as he easily zipped through the park with his mechanized chair, my kids clamoring to ride on his lap.<\/p>\n The author\u2019s father, in wheelchair, outside Hogwarts Castle at Universal Studios Hollywood. <\/p>\n (Hailey Branson-Potts \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n We rushed to Mario Kart: Bowser\u2019s Challenge<\/a>, an augmented-reality-enhanced ride<\/a>, and were met at the entrance by a staffer who helped park my dad\u2019s electric chair, brought him a manual one, and cheerfully guided him to the front of the queue, where, after a short wait, he had to take only a few steps to board.<\/p>\n In the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, a staffer guided us through Hogwarts Castle to a dedicated transfer platform where my dad could take a manual chair right up to the ride car and take his time getting in. He laughed with delight, legs dangling just like everyone else\u2019s, as we flew through a Quidditch match<\/a> and escaped Dementors and the Whomping Willow.<\/p>\n Frankenstein, his bride and my dad<\/p>\n While we waited for the kids to get painted \u2014 my son posed for a caricature sketch depicting him fighting a Minions monster and my daughter got a pink butterfly painted onto her face \u2014 a costumed Frankenstein and his bride approached my parents.<\/p>\n The bride, in character, played with my mom\u2019s long human hair in faux wonder, and Frankenstein reached out with his huge green hand to shake my dad\u2019s hand. When an excitable teenager cut in front of my dad, Frankenstein \u2014 without saying a word \u2014 gestured for the kid to be patient and wait, patted my dad on the back and posed for a picture.<\/p>\n Dad said it felt good, knowing Frankenstein had his back. <\/p>\n It also was nice knowing this theme park has the back of guests with disabilities. We stayed for 10 hours. He rode every ride and said it was just the deliriously joyful day he needed.<\/p>\n A spokeswoman for the park told me that accessibility information for guests with special needs can be found here: https:\/\/www.universalstudioshollywood.com\/web\/en\/us\/accessibility-information<\/a> <\/p>\n Today\u2019s top stories Union Station in Los Angeles in February. The city would see its latest sunrise of the year at 8 a.m. under a House-approved bill.<\/p>\n (Michael Blackshire\/Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n The dark side of making daylight saving time permanent in CaliforniaWhat we know about filling the massive hole on the Sunset StripOfficials have made progress in fixing the massive water system rupture that shut down the iconic Sunset Strip. But six days later, there\u2019s still no word on when it might reopen<\/a>. Currently, Sunset Boulevard is closed between Sherbourne Drive and San Vicente Boulevard. Officials have urged residents to avoid the area. LAUSD\u2019s new superintendent trades Carvalho\u2019s flash for a quieter toneSupt. Andr\u00e9s Chait\u2019s calm demeanor during the first \u201cstate of the district speech\u201d <\/a>was a change of pace from Chait\u2019s predecessor Alberto Carvalho\u2019s showmanship.The school district currently faces a projected financial crisis, declining enrollment and legal attacks from the Trump administration.Western reservoirs that supply California fall to record low levelsThe Colorado River\u2019s largest reservoirs, Lake Mead and Lake Powell, have declined to their lowest combined levels<\/a> on record.Researchers say the new low underscores the urgent need to cut water use in the seven states that depend on the river.What else is going onCommentary and opinionsThis morning\u2019s must-readOther must-readsFor your downtime A fishing boat leaves Channel Islands Harbor.<\/p>\n (Paul Harris \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n Going outPlaces: 10 things to do, see and eat right now in Southern California\u2019s most underrated beach town<\/a>.Theme Parks: Of all SoCal\u2019s theme park attractions, this one<\/a> feels most personal. Catch it before it ends.Things to Do: Love finding underrated gems at the bookstore? Here\u2019s the full guide to L.A.\u2019s Indie Book Crawl<\/a>.Staying inA question for you: As temperatures rise in SoCal, how do you stay cool?<\/p>\n Email us at essentialcalifornia@latimes.com<\/a>, and your response might appear in the newsletter this week.<\/p>\n And finally … your photo of the day Crowds hike up the Mist Trail, one of the more popular trails in Yosemite National Park, in June.<\/p>\n (William Hale Irwin \/ For The Times)<\/p>\n Today\u2019s great photo is from William Hale Irwin at Yosemite National Park, a popular natural destination some visitors are dubbing \u201cthe new Disneyland<\/a>.\u201d <\/p>\n Have a great day, from the Essential California team<\/p>\n Hailey Branson-Potts, staff writer How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com<\/a>. Check our top stories<\/a>, topics<\/a> and the latest articles<\/a> on latimes.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"My parents\u2019 visits from Oklahoma to Southern California to see my children, their only grandchildren, have gotten harder.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":407964,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7,9,8,2299,1085,891,2300,2297,340,2303,63,2302,1086,1459,2301,2298,74,225,315,688],"class_list":["post-407963","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-california","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news","tag-civic-revolt","tag-covid","tag-covid-19","tag-days","tag-essential-california","tag-israel","tag-l-a","tag-los-angeles-times","tag-may","tag-pandemic","tag-part","tag-president-biden","tag-red-county","tag-san-diego","tag-state","tag-time","tag-years"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/407963","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=407963"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/407963\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/407964"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=407963"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=407963"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=407963"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1784728518_361_.jpeg\")
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Hugo Mart\u00edn, assistant editor, fast break desk
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Andrew Campa, weekend writer
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters
Shi Bradley, audience intern<\/p>\n