Search Finds Adventure in Santa Barbara

Through a partnership with Horny Toad, Search offers its consumers vacations through the Search for Adventure (SFA) program. The big idea here is that people with disabilities should have the same opportunities to travel and go on vacation as the rest of us. Search for Adventure steps up by giving people with disabilities experiences, and adventures, of a lifetime.

Sure, I could tell you about how we rendezvoused with our friends and partners at Horny Toad for oceanside breakfasts and trolley tours. I could also relay to you Sean's excitement about riding in a stretch limo for the first time in his life. There is probably also a story about standing on those famous stars outside of the Kodak Theater while waiting for our tour of Los Angeles atop an open air double decker bus. These things are all well and good, but what I really want to share with you is the tale of the epic volleyball game that took place on the sandy beaches of Santa Barbara at dusk.

Each team was an even mix of Toads and Search clients. The rules were deceptively simple: Catch the ball, get a point. It was brutal, folks. It was neck and neck to the final seconds. Stakes were raised when the Toads were ordered to play the rest of the game with one hand behind their back by the bossy referee named Jennifer.

As it turns out, Search folks play to win, and Search staff tends to forget the rules. (Sorry, no points for a spike!) Penalty shots were made. Sand was eaten. In the end, the nail biter ended in a 23-21 victory for the left side of the net. But everyone walked away winners as they marched back to a picnic table full of hot dogs, chips, and chocolate with a stunning sunset in the background, and, best of all, new friends all around.