Nantucket? Most said, "Don't Go, It will be Hard With a Wheelchair..." But I say, "Try it, You'll Like It."

Nantucket: Massachuetts

My friend Charlie makes a yearly sojourn to Great Point in Nantucket, Massachusetts. "History, ?" you might think? No, no, he was going fishing!

But I love history, and I always wanted to see Nantucket. So I tagged along. I had gone previous years to Cape Cod in a wheelchair, and there were many accessible sites on the Cape Cod National Seashore. People told me that Nantucket would be difficult to maneuver around the old streets.

This Fall's trip Nantucket, Massachusett's was planned early in January. I started looking for a wheelchair accessible cottage, since hotels were very expensive. I finally came across a beautiful house right smack in the historic district. What could be better than that for this wheelchair historian?

The cottage was wonderul. The owners, Joan and Curtis Barnes built a ramp for me...and upon arriving I found that the ramps were in place; wood ramps that could be removed for future use. Luckily, Curtis was a contractor, and this kind of thinking came easily to him.

The flower gardens that Joan cared for lovely. We had fresh flowers on the kitchen table greeting us...and lo and behold a half-dozen fresh eggs from the chickens that ran on the property.

Right next door was the Jethro Coffin House, the oldest existing house on the island, built in 1686. You looked out the window and there it was...what a view into another century.

The beaches were not highly accessible in a wheelchair. The weather was great and the wooden platform at Jetty Beach around the wheelchair accessible restrooms provided a nice vista for the ocean. It was beautiful. We toured the island, looking at other beaches, but I did not discover a closer spot. We visited Jetty beach a few times during the week.

Lighthouses, cobblestone streets, and history seeping out of every corner. No McDonalds, no Dunkin Donuts. It was beautiful, quaint, rich. It felt at times like a foreign land. It was so pretty. Believe it or not, I could imagine what Bridgeport, Connecticut was like two hundred years ago. Sailors and little shops, gas lights and tiny streets. Nantucket started out as a town where merchants and sailors gathered, as they did in Bridgeport, Connecticut in the late 18th and 19th century.

I was very happy with the handicapped curbing, the wheelchair accessible public library, the Whaling Museum. We manged to find even wheelchair accessible restaurants, however the bathrooms were not wheelchair accessible (no handicapped accessible handrails). The public restrooms that the city provided were fine.

Riding the streets in an electric wheelchair the bumpity cobblestone streets was a wonderful adventure. The wheelchair curbing on the streets was great! Above is an example...it was just a little recess to the street.

Below, however is a sample of the step on deck of the boat:
The ferry that brings you to the island is wheelchair accessible, although the curbing to go on deck has a steep step. But all the people who worked on the ferry made sure that we got our wheelchair ramp van onboard and placed it in an area where we could put the ramp down. Thanks to everyone who made this trip so pleasant...I can't wait to return!

Eating our Way Through Palm Sunday at Miss Thelma's and the Gallery at Black Rock

We hit two great spots in Bridgeport, Connecticut this morning. At 9 a.m. we met Debbie, Alice and her husband for a great Sunday morning breakfast buffet at Miss Thelma's on Fairfield Avenue in downtown. Oh my goodness. We couldn't decide what not to have. I tried a little of everything. We tried the sausage. Yum. We tried the french toast. Yum. Grits were definitely the southern best, the eggs and coffee made our Sunday morning come alive.

My friends were laughing so hard...and we beat the crowd that started to arrive just as we left at 10:30 ish.

We then travelled cross town to the west on Fairfield Avenue to Black Rock. The latest gallery in town, The Gallery at Black Rock http://www.thegalleryatblackrock.com/ was serving bagels and coffee. More food? Could we do it after that huge buffet?

First I said I couldn't eat a bite, but then when I settled down my $5.00 and had bagels, cream cheese, lox and a tasty beverage, I felt...hey, it's eleven ish and I ate two hours ago...why not enjoy.

A visit to Eileen Walsh's Gallery at Black Rock was like visiting Paris on a sunny Sunday morning.

I bought a great cloth bag from the gallery that was a perfect souvenir of my Sunday morning with friends in Bridgeport.

Thanks Miss Thelma and the Gallery at Black Rock for adding good food, friends and location location location!

Our Lady of Guadalupe travelled home but lives to see more great days!

Broadway Rocks!

I had forgotten how much fun it is to see a Broadway play in New York. Guess what! I thought the being in a wheelchair would be difficult in the City. It was easy.


We arrived near Broadway around 1:30 to see a 3:00 play. The theater was on 45th Street, and we found a very nice parking lot only a couple of blocks away.

It wasn't free...but $25.00 to park so close to our destination eased us into a relaxing afternoon at the theater. Here is the parking lot on the right.


















The Bernard Jacobs Theater, at 242 West 45th Street was wonderful. Our play was "God of Carnage," and at the door it was suggested that since there was no intermission in the one hour and 30 minute play, using the restroom was a good idea before hand.


I was directed to the wheelchair accessible restroom. It was perfect, large, bright and easily accessed with my electric wheelchair.



The theater was packed. My friend and I were directed to my wheelchair accessible seat and his companion seat, which were the first two seats in the tenth row on the left side of the orchestra seats.



I wanted to pull out my camera and take a photograph of the beautiful theater. I didn't get a chance. Luckly a man right in front of me did the same thing, and the theater usher told him that taking photographs inside the theater was forbidden. He was a little upset, but put the camera away.


I questioned the usher, who was standing right in front of me as to why we couldn't take pictures. She nicely explained that since 911, photographs inside the theater were not allowed. Too bad, no photos for my blog, so I instead sat back and looked around the beautiful Shubert theater.


The play starred Hope Davis, Jeff Daniels, Marcia Gay Harden and James Gandolfini. We didn't know what to expect, even though we had read the review in the New York Times. The staging was simple, a couch with chairs, and vases of white tulips.



Was this going to be good? We sat back and the next hour and a half, I looked over at my friend and saw him laughing as hard as I ever saw him laugh. And guess what? I was laughing too. The tulips and the actors were a hit!


Two encores later, we left the theater. We were going to hang out and get some signatures on my program, but we were hungry. We jaunted down the street, and found a Smith's Bar and Grill about a block away where we had beers and hamburgers. The burgers were great, only $8.00!


This was a great experience. I managed to take a few photographs before the rain fell.


People in New York were very accomodating. I spy another trip in the near future!

The Wheelchair Spy Sees Many Adventures in the Future

I spy many adventures in the future! I may be in a wheelchair, but this doesn't keep me from finding accessible and interesting things to do in the world.

Today I'm headed to Manhattan to see the Broadway play "God of Carnage" at the Jacobs Theater. Join me as I explore in a wheelchair.