Flamingo Campground, Everglade National Park

Reservation:  www.Recreation.gov

There are several loops and our site was #18. An Electric only site on T-Loop, just next to the bath house where there are 2 spigots and sinks for dish washing as well as a dump station.  All sites in this loop are pull-through and seem quite level but a few Class C motor homes had some little adjustments made with a few level blocks.  Overall very good.   T-loop bath houses do not have any hot water.  Water hook up is not at the site; however, there is a drinking water fill site available at each bath house together with a dump station.  Due to record rainfall in January, contrary to the fact that January is one of the driest months here, there were some puddles of water in driveways; however, they seemed to be dried up by the third day.  Average daytime temperature has been in the low 80s with a nice breeze.

For a hot water shower, one needs to go to a bathhouse in the A, B, or C Loop.  Hot water is provided by solar panels, and the temperature of the hot shower was more than adequate.  (I do take a very hot shower.)  However, I have heard one lady saying that there was not enough hot water on January 31, which was very cloudy and rainy.

There is a picnic table and a fire pit at each site.  At least a few buttonwood trees and Royal Palm trees stand between each site, which also provides a nice shady area.  Unlike commercial RV campgrounds, there is at least 60-70 feet between each site. 

Satellite reception is quite good for DirecTV but we were not able to get any English speaking TV stations by antenna.  For ATT, no LTE; but we were able to get constant 4G. 

There is a shop in the Flamingo area, which is about 1 mile from the RV sites and it is possible to walk there.  Eco Pond, where you can see many types of birds is also nearby. 

The nightly rate is $30 for an electric site.  With the Golden Pass, a 50% discount applies.  There is a charge for park admission.

Helpful tips:

Site T18 is just next to the bath house and is wheelchair accessible.  There are several trails which are completely wheelchair accessible – West Lake Trail, Pa-Hay-Okee Overlook, Mahogany Hammock Trail and Pineland Trail.  Bug spray is highly recommended.  We didn’t do the last one – Pineland Trail is near the park entrance.  A few years ago, we did the Anhinga and Gumbo Limbo Trails which are completely accessible.  Boat tours – both backcountry and Florida Bay – are accessible.  Tour operators are very patient, accommodating and helpful.  Buttonwood Restaurant at the Flaming Visitor Center has 3 – 4 tables that are wheelchair accessible.  Not fabulous food but the service was excellent.  It is nice to get a sit-down meal without driving 38 miles to the nearest town or after cooking at home in the RV every day.

 

Columbus-Belmont State Park, Kentucky

Here we are visiting Columbus-Belmont State Park (http://parks.ky.gov/parks/recreationparks/columbus-belmont/) on the Mississippi River in the western part of Kentucky. We stayed 3 days in the park campground at the site #006, non-handicap site, right next to the campground host's spot.  It seems almost all camp sites are suitable for scooter or wheelchair users.  Passageways to the handicap accessible bathroom are in an excellent condition.  My husband doesn't use a campground shower or bathroom but the shower facility is one of the best we have ever seen including some hotels and cruise ships.  Many grab bars, good sturdy fixed shower bench, shower heads - both fixed and adjustable ones.  The bathroom is designated to a handicap person and one doesn't have to share with any other able campers.

 

Little things such as water access area, driveways, garbage buckets and children's playground are kept so clean and tidy.  It is one of the best campgrounds we have stayed so far in Kentucky.

 

The campground is perched on the bluff overlooking the Mississippi River.  The museum and picnic areas are located about 1,000 feet away.  There are no designated walk-path between the CG and the museum area.  We felt pretty safe walking on the road as most of the drivers were very courteous enough to slow down for you. 

 

Very extensive outdoor info board on the 1861 Battle of Belmont between Gen. Polk and Gen. Grant.  Both sides claimed victory.  Trenches from those days can be easily seen as you walk around the park.

 

 

Rome, Italy

Is Rome wheelchair friendly?

Our experience of Rome is quite limited as we only had about 9 days in and around Rome.  Being a walkable city for regular tourists, Roman roads are wheelchair accessible in a way, if a wheelchair tourist can tolerate those cobblestone roads and if there is somebody who is willing to push the wheelchair.  Luckily, my husband's wheelchair has pneumatic tires and it did fairly well.   We didn't even think about taking his Pride Go Go scooter.  We are so thankful to goodwill Italians who helped us to make our visits easier.   

The Arch of Constantine and Colosseum - Early morning stroll.

Just get out and take a stroll.  At first, the way Romans drive looks scary and chaotic but they definitely know how to share roads with pedestrians.  Additionally, pedestrian ways don't disappear all of a sudden like they do here in Kentucky.   Needless to say, Rome's cafes provide a place to rest, view those magnificent treasures, and drink real espresso.

We stayed at Hotel Mercure Rome Delta Colosseo, claimed to be a 4-star hotel, but our room was slightly worn, but it was just fine.  It is an average hotel with several great things.  Three best things about this hotel are 1)  hotel rates are quite reasonable at around 200+ Euro for a double room, 2) excellent location, 3) accessible room with two bathrooms - one is a large roll-in shower + toilet with very good grab bars, and the other with a shower and toilet with 3-tier large shelves.  For most Americans, room temperature may feel warmer in summer as A/C doesn't work as efficiently.  The location of this hotel can off-set any negative things.  Hotel staff were friendly, polite and helpful.  Oh, by the way, their elevator is very small, enough for one person in a wheelchair and one person or two pettite persons.  It's about 200 meters to Colosseum, and from there Forum and Palatine are so close.  It is convenient to Laterano and Colosseo metro stations.  Right in front of the hotel you can visit San Clemente Church. 

This is a view when you step out of the hotel entrance.

Another good thing about this hotel was a rooftop cafe/bar.  My husband and I didn't like food there but anybody stays in this hotel should get up there to see stunning views.  For some reason, a hotel front desk lady gave me some coupons when I charmingly complained something about the room.  I cannot remember what I complained about but I remember 3 food/drink coupons we got. 

A restaurant we want to go back is Il Templo di Iside (Via Pertro Verri off Via Labicana), only a few minutes walk from this hotel.  It is a rather small seafood restaurant but I was impressed with all the fresh crabs, lobsters, and shrimp dislayed over ice at their vestibule, which reminded me of restaurants in Japan.   The inside is beautifuly decorated with white linen cloth covered.  It is a very narrow and small restaurant but wheelchair accessible with ease.  Waiting staff were very attentive, professional and patient.  They are very willing to give you a hand. Their outside tables are easily accessible by wheelchair.

The owner (Francisco?? I think other local clients called him Francisco.) was so passionate and good at selecting dishes for you from their today's catch.  It was almost like Japanese omakase menu.  (We were lucky to have our daughter's Italian boyfriend with us as well.)  We started with cold and cooked antipasti with shrimp and scallops.  For the first dish, I don't remember what we ate but the secondi was unforgetful...grilled shrimp were so sweet and tender.  It was about 50 Euro per person including wine.  For any physically handicap people, restaurants in Rome are perfect, as nobody in restaurants seem to care how long it takes for clients to enjoy their meals (or coffee, or whatever).

Inside of the restaurant.

Four Roses Distillery

Not because I work at Four Roses Distillery at Lawrenceburg, but I think this distillery tour is quite wheelchair accessible.  It is probably the beautiy of being a small distillery as you could set your pace much easier than other distillery tours.  Everybody is very laid back.  Our distillery is not a mega distillery and produces very small volume of high-quality Bourbon whiskey every day. 

The best thing is to call the distillery visitor center and tell visitor center staff about your mobility condition.  After the video presentation of the Bourbon making processes, a tour guide will lead visitors to a distillery walk through tour.  There is an elevator (rather small - only one wheelchair at a time) that will take a physically disabled visitor to the fermentor room.  Then the visitor will take an elevated walkway to the beer still and the doubler.  Once the visitr exits out of the distillery building, the next stop will be where the tour began.  There will be some product sampling to actually taste Four Roses Bourbon products while a tour guide will explain the characteristics of each product.

It is a great way of spending a few hours, and it takes only about 20 minutes from the Bluegrass Airport.  There won't be any charge for the tour.

If you hit the right time, you will be able see our tanker truck which runs twice daily between the distillery and our warehouse facility in Cox's Creek near Bardstown.

http://fourroses.us/distillery_tour

Chimney Rock Trail - Red River Gorge

Here is a very easy trail for people of all ages.  This trail is 80 to 95% accessible by (manual) wheelchair as well as electric scooter.  If you have a very strong company, he or she can push you all the way to the Chimney Top Overlook area. 

Trail:   Very easy; Trail #235

Distance:  0.3 miles or ~ 500 meters.  (From the trailhead to the Chimney Top Overlook.)
Time required for walking:  30 minutes for healthy person, less than 60 minutes for all others
View:  Excellent
Bonus:  Princess Arch and Little Princess Arch trails can be combined easily
Others:  Great for wildflowers in spring and many rhodedendron and mountain laurel with easy hiking.  There are only 2 picnic tables in the parking area and one is not accessible.  Hope able body people will use the picnic table adjacent to the bathroom. 

For more information, contact USDF office in Winchester, KY  (859) 745- 3100