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.
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!
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!
