Haunted locales, whether they be hotels, theaters, ships, restaurants, cemeteries, or abandoned mental hospitals, are so plentiful that it can be difficult to make a case for one place over another. Their existence is so commonplace, in fact, we might even have to amend the phrase to “a nickel a dozen”, purely due to the laws of supply and demand. What’s more, some of these supposedly spirit-riddled hotspots are about as authentic as a three-dollar bill.

When I decided to join my younger brother and his friends for a four-day hike covering 20+ miles on Grand Island in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, there were certainly some known quantities involved. I knew, for example, that spending the night on an island in Lake Superior in October would potentially be a frosty affair, thus packing plenty of layers and proper gear, including a sleeping bag capable of insulating my body in 35- to 40-degree weather, was a must. I knew that it would be extremely dark out there once the sun went down, which could possibly provide awe-inspiring glimpses of starry night skies, but also allow the imagination to run wild…

This was it. We had one shot, one opportunity; we couldn’t miss our chance to blow, to seize everything we ever wanted. So we asked ourselves: would we capture it, or just let it slip? Despite our palms being sweaty, knees weak, arms heavy — maybe even a smidge of evidence of mom’s spaghetti — on the surface we were calm and ready to take on our final full day in France. Yep, that just happened.

For travel enthusiasts with accessibility needs, trip planning can feel like a constant gamble. The details that matter always seem to be missing, “accessible” is used as a loosely-defined term, and one surprise barrier can turn a fun day into stressful reroutes. Planning travel for disabilities often means doing extra work just to confirm basics, while still worrying about safety, comfort, and whether the experience will be welcoming.

That’s right. As the title of this post(card) hints at, we elected to check out the church that sits atop the highest hill in Paris, as well as the area surrounding it, which is known as Montmartre (“Mountain of the Martyr”). The Basilica of the Sacred Heart is considered a “minor basilica” — whatever that means — but try telling that to all of the people that journey there annually, making it one of the city’s most popular tourist destinations.

It may have been Sunday morning, but we had no plans to take it easy. In fact, we instead made our way downtown, walking fast, faces pass(ing) — we were museum-bound. Staring blankly ahead, just making our way, making any way, through the crowd …to get to Musee d’Orsay, another one of Paris’ fine art institutions.