Surftides at Lincoln City

We recently spend a fake weekend in Lincoln City (Sun, Mon, Tues) staying at the Surftides Hotel. 

Upon check in Sunday at 6:30 pm, we were told our accessible room had been given away earlier in the day. This struck me as odd since when I booked the room I made certain to specifically reserve the accessible room and had a whole discussion on how we would be arriving later in the evening and wanted to be certain our room would not be given away. The staff at the Surftides was very apologetic and showed me that who ever took my reservation failed to note that we could not be moved to another room. At this point we were offered an upgrade. (?) Our upgrade consisted of the standard room with only a fireplace in it. Once in the room we found our daughter's chair did not fit in the bathroom or on the balcony. 

Room Service was available from 8am to 9pm. This was a bit more like delivered take out as our dinner arrived with only a few plastic forks, no napkins or plates. The menu in the room did not include accurate descriptions of the food offered and my french dip came with cheese even though it was not listed on the menu. We had breakfast in the diner both mornings and found it to be a great value and so tasty that there were no leftovers, even though the portions were quite large. 

  

Stunning views from all rooms!

We chose the Surftides in Lincoln City entirely because they offered wheelchair access to the beach.

(lesson learned, always ask if the hotel staff ensures that the access is clear of drifts)

Aside from the huge sand drift, this accessible ramp was quite steep and someone able to self propel the wheelchair would need assistance getting up and down this ramp. 

We did not let this large sand drift stop us from enjoying some beach time. Our old push chair has been outfitted with mountain bike style tires to navigate the sand. This was our first time using the modified tires and found them to be significantly easier than regular wheels, we still have to do a tip back to push in the sand since we have not made a large front tire yet. (summer project?)

This beach had a large stretch to enjoy but in both directions there was rock barriers impeding us from taking really long walks. 

Off to the Newport Aquarium!

 I just love the Newport Aquarium, we buy a membership each year since it is a tax deduction and if you visit just twice per year it pays for itself. The Newport Aquarium is a fully accessible area with so much to see and do.
Seals and Sea Otters are always active and playful. The staff to feedings and demonstrations at 1030am, 11am and 1130 am. There are many outside areas to explore that are covered with very fine, hard packed gravel  making push chairs and power chairs easy to use. Inside there are a multitude of rooms with varied tanks and ever changing exhibits. One room offers a touch tank, my daughter is not at all interested in touching starfish and other squishy sea life, so we have never spend much time here. This display is accessible for people in chairs to experience but children in lower set chairs would need to be lifted up to reach in.

Making the most of our non-weekend trip, we also headed down to the historic district in Newport to visit Ripley's Believe it or Not! 

This exhibit, like the Wax Museum are both wheelchair friendly activities. There is a second aquarium and admission to all 3 places is discounted, however this aquarium has 40+ stairs to enter so we have never been. 

Ripley's and the Wax Museum both offer one assistant pass to families with a person with a disability to offset the price since purchasing the discount ticket is not an option. 

Lincoln City historic district has a large paved area with some historic information displayed and a semi-accessible pier for viewing the wild life. I say semi-accessible because the pier is very old and in our power chair we were not able to get out to the last stretch of it. However, if we were using a push chair we could have easily navigated the half step to gain access. This areas is full of drift wood and there is a long flat path that at first glance looked like a way to get to the beach. But the farther I walked the more rocks were in the path and the options to the beach became more cluttered with drift wood debris. I would not recommend this area for beach access for people using a mobility device. 

We ended our trip with a visit to the outlet mall, where the Gap outlet always has the best selection and I always buy more than I should.

Surftides Hotel would have gotten far better score from me if we had not been moved from our reserved accessible room. Overall the hotel was clean and offered comfortable beds, the staff we interacted with was super friendly and one particular clerk was passionate about resolving the access barriers for people with mobility issues and was working on getting the parking spaces moved to better areas and was bringing our complaint regarding the sand drift on the ramp to the manager to add clearing it to the jobs list.

I would recommend this hotel, just make sure to check in via phone to ensure your reservation is still intact.

Update...
We could not figure out why our car got such terrible mileage on the trip, well after our recent drive to seattle we have concluded that someone stole gas from us.

Locking gas cap suggested too.

Disneyland from a wheels point of view?

Disney and Fibromyalgia?

As some of you know I recently visited Disneyland with a group of Moms. No Kids.

First...if some of you feel jealous let me assure you that even though it was fun, the thrill of sharing Disneyland with your child is always better than going grown ups only.

Secondly, and on to my actual post....I rented a mobility scooter for my visit to ensure I would be able to get around for the day. Let me tell you, the walk from the car to the rental site was likely close to a mile and that was with accessible parking.

After an additional 30 minutes in line to rent my scooter for the price of $50.00 with an additional $20.00 deposit, I was on my way in to the park.

Let the dirty looks begin..............

I found throughout the day that people were extremely quick to judge. Smirks, passing comments, and the hopping right in my direct path was something I quickly had to ignore in order to enjoy my paid admission.

Daytime at Disneyland was a snap to drive around. While the first few rides we visited received a bit of damage from my inability to turn the scooter around, the park in itself is quite easy to navigate.

Taking the train to get around is not advised, as they only have one space for mobility needs and it was full for 3 trains that passed.
Shopping was a nightmare. I elected to park the scooter and walk in the shops. Prompting more sneers, but there was zero space in the shops. Dining at the Blue Bayou was a bit strange. I was asked to park the scooter outside the restaurant and was not given any assistance navigating the very dark and cramped seating area. Dining options for those with allergies were minimal and is not advisable based on the high price of the food. 
Once we headed over to the area of fireworks, I became quickly trapped. Pinned in and had to wait out the show, once the show began I had to ask repeatedly for taller people to stop stepping in front of me.

For your children's sake...see the fireworks from anywhere but the viewing area.

Once night fell, It became clear that the Disneyland park was not for those in scooters. One way traffic is a mess to drive though but my determination to beat the rush at the return counter for wheelchairs paid off. After a day of bobbing and weaving, I ditched my friends and at a top speed of 3 mph I raced to the return counter with no line at all. By the time I unloaded the basket on the scooter the line was 15 people deep.


Let me assure you I had an absolute blast. Exiting most of the rides would have been safer with a cane, but my peeps were always there to help me balance back to the chair.

Next....Disney Cruise to Alaska with my daughter.

There will be far more photos for that post