Destinations

Well, we've made it all the way to Oklahoma City on our grand road trip, and I have to say that I am quite impressed with what I've found here. It's a very walk able city, and there are lots of attractions in the downtown area. It's one of those places you can drive to, park your car at the hotel and then pretty much get around on foot for most of your stay. Additionally, access is pretty good in the downtown area, with lots of curb-cuts and nice wide sidewalks.

I've discovered a lot of things here in Oklahoma, but so far my best find is the Chihuly collection at the Oklahoma City Art Museum. I spent the afternoon there, and as a diehard Chihuly fan, I can say it's magnificent. It's a permanent exhibition so unlike most of his other installations, it will be here for many years to come. I've heard that it's the only other permanent collection of his work outside of Tacoma, but I will have to check on that.

Still, no mater how you describe it, it's great. There are some very large installations featuring some of his favorite shapes, along with some smaller pieces and even one of his famous glass ceilings. And of course there's a chandelier - probably the largest one I've ever seen.

And you'll be happy to know that the museum features good access, with accessible parking in front, a level entrance, ramps to all of the raised areas and elevator access to all floors.

It's a fun (and very accessible) way to spend an afternoon, so be sure and put it on your list next time you visit Oklahoma City. In a small way it kind of makes up for my missing the press preiew of his new installation at the Legion of Honor; but I'll make sure and catch that exhibition as soon as I get home.

It seems I spend a lot of time in restrooms. Not personal time, but as part of my work. Restrooms are very important, as everybody needs them, and I check to make sure they are accessible. Sure, I know most folks think that in this day and age, everything is accessible, but unfortunately that's just not true. That's pretty much why I travel with a tape measure.

But I digress.

Earlier this week I had the opportunity to see the fifth place winner in the 2007 America's Best Restroom contest. It was quite attractive, complete with lots of artwork, a chandelier, a valance over each stall and even an autographed photo of Joan Rivers in one stall. And best of all, it was accessible, with a very spacious accessible stall, grab bars in the stall and a roll-under sink.

It's nice to see a restroom (or anything) that is both accessible and attractive.

And if you want to see it too, then wander by Fandangles' restaurant in (and I'm not kidding) Flushing, Michigan.

Form and function.

Oh yes, and some really good food too!

That's right I said "Michigan's Thumb".

OK for those of you who are geographically challenged, hold out your right hand, palm up. Now imagine your whole hand is the state of Michigan. Well, I'm going to the "thumb" area. And if you take out a real map you'll see that's the Flint and Saginaw region.

I've got a pretty busy schedule that includes cultural attractions, some outdoor activities and even a pontoon boat trip out to Charity Island. And a bevy of accessible sites and properties to investigate.

And a very interesting stop at a unique restroom in Flushing. More on that in a few days.

 

Although I'm technically on holiday, I just can't resist blogging. It's somewhat addictive; plus I've received quite a lot of mail asking me to post my impressions about access in Ireland.

And to be honest, it's hard for me to go anywhere and not take note of the access. Such was the case when we landed at Belfast City Airport and noticed accessible taxi cabs at the taxi queue. And I have to say that I'd recommend that airport as an entry point, as it's easy to navigate and nicely accessible. Plus the employees were quite punctual at providing assistance - wheelers weren't left waiting (and waiting) on planes to disembark.

As far as physical access in the cities goes, well it's pretty typical of Europe - meaning that curb cuts are not ubiquitous and steps up to shops are found - but with a little planning it's possible to navigate. I'm in Westport today and certainly the city has a few hills, so it wouldn't be the best choice for wheelchair-users; however Belfast was pretty level and parts of it made for a nice walk. In fact, walking in Belfast is much easier than driving.

As far as the attractions go, a good lot of them feature accessible parking and ramped entrances, although the accessible entrance may not always be in the front, especially at historic attractions.

Contemporary attractions are a mixed bag. At Bushmills Distillery there are many steps and steep inclines on the tour, so it's really not doable for wheelers or even slow walkers. But Belleek Pottery offers great access. They have accessible parking near the entrance, a barrier-free pathway to the visitors center and level access throughout the factory tour. And if you can't manage distances, they have a free loaner wheelchair on hand. I highly recommend the tour as it allows you to get up close and personal (and even talk to) the craftsmen.

So if Ireland is on your wish list, I encourage you to pursue it. Like many other destinations these days, it's most certainly very doable.

Well, we're off to Ireland tomorrow. Technically this is a vacation, however no doubt I'll run across some accessible finds along the way. And even though I'm on holiday I'll still blog here and there. After all, I love to blog; and I don't want to miss out on doing something I love when I'm on vacation.

Ireland is really making great strides in access, but to be honest I'm just looking forward to the holiday. And part of looking forward to it was doing almost zero planning. After all, I spend a lot of time planning my editorial research trips so I didn't want to have to do that for a vacation too. I just bought the plane ticket and then called my friend Ann at Undiscovered Britain and told her to book a rental car and find us some nice places (manor homes and castles) to stay. And she did it all.

Charles wants to visit Bushmills Distillery (he loves their whiskey) and I want to visit Belleek (I collect china tea sets, so guess what I'm buying there), but other than that we don't have any must-sees. I pretty much just gave Ann free reign.

So when people ask me what I'm going to do in Ireland I reply with a very intelligent, "I don't know." But I don't.

And playing it all by ear will be half the fun - and so very opposite of what we do on our editorial research trips. I'm really looking forward to it.

Oh, and no; I'm not flying Ryanair. For those of you new to my blog or my writing, do a search about Ryanair or the evil Michael O'Leary on my blog. Truth be told, after all I've said about his airline, I don't think Michael would let me aboard!! But then again, I wouldn't want to give hiim my money either!