Kingston Plantation- "Indoor Spaces"

Being "active" outdoors need not always be associated with specific
 activities... A stroll on a nature trail, beach front boardwalk, or 
along a neighborhood side walk can do wonders for some wheelers. Fresh 
air, open spaces, and free vitamin D sure helps me clear my mind, relax,
 and broaden my outlook. If you've followed any of ROARs blogs on 
travel, you would have noted that I preface many of them with "I am a 
very blessed man, and on occasion I get to travel with my wife's company
 to places that far exceed our personal budget". One of our favorite 
conference locations is Kingston Plantation in North Myrtle Beach South 
Carolina.

 The hotel is always clean, accommodating, and handicap 
friendly. The staff goes above and beyond to make us feel welcome, and 
they even offer free wheelchair accessible shuttle services to nearby 
eateries and shopping locations. .. Ask for "Jim" and tell him we sent 
you. 

      

The rooms are spacious, with double balcony entrance doors (see below for
pics of the bump ups)and king size beds. 

      

The bathrooms have an open floor 
plan with roll under sinks in all disability rooms, and easy access roll
 in showers in rooms 309 and 409, and transfer benches into "step ins" 
from rooms 509-1609. 

The "den/dinning" area is like wise spacious with a
 large pull out couch, deep set sink, tv, microwave, and dinning room 
table.

    

There are 3 elevators to help keep wait times down to a minimum, 
and the lobby area is massive with numerous check in stations, 
Starbucks, sports bar, and not one but two fantastic restaurants... The 
Coastal Grill and Vintage Twelve, both excellent in their own right with
 Vintage Twelve being a bit more "high end" with fancy dishes, quaint 
ambiance, and cozy seating...but who comes to the beach to stay 
inside?!? See Kingston Blog II for "outdoor spaces"...

A gem in the mountains...

For all you wheelers looking for a fun/accessible place to visit, 

check out The Hilton off I-26 North Exit 37 at Biltmore Park just 

South of Asheville NC.

The location is prime, just 14 minutes from the Biltmore Estate 

without staying right downtown, but far enough North to see some 

great Fall leaves and within "walking" distance of several great 

restaurants. Our room (301) was the ADA room with standard tub and 

roll under sink, (not what we had originally booked seeing as how a 

deep set standard tub is useless to a lot of folks with spinal cord

injuries) but the staff did great at thinking outside the box in an 

attempt to remedy the situation offering the roll in shower located

in the hotels spa as an option.

This Hilton only has two wheelchair accessible rooms with roll in showers 

(both were already occupied regardless that we had written confirmation 

of "wheelchair" booking status) but I must say their manager and staff 

worked hard to make our stay enjoyable despite the check-in blunder. The 

room was clean and very spacious with a fairly large bathroom, roll under 

sink with lots of leg room, king size bed, and amazing views from all the 

large windows... Plus a huge bonus, an accessible balcony overlooking the 

"town square"... Beautiful!! 

If you're ever in the Blue Ridge area, and want a friendly place to stay,

stop in to the Hilton, tell the management ROAR sent you, and enjoy... 

Oh, "skip" across the street to restaurant 131 Main and try their skillet 

cornbread while you're there...Delicious!!

Side note, we were impressed with their having chairs at the pool and 

hot tub...

   

Road Trip!

There is a beautiful Hotel/Spa/Winery tucked into the country side of Georgia just outside Atlanta on I-85 South- Chateau Elan!! 

It is a great "accessible"get away that most simply drive past. The wheelchair rooms are accessible, clean, and very spacious, the country views are amazing, and while the swimming pool has no lift chair, the staff is extremely accommodating... 

       

       

The grounds are meticulously landscaped with rolling hills laden with row after row of grape wines. The "inn" if you will is beautifully designed with perfectly manicured flower beds and shrubs, and the grand entry that is just that- grand.

 The views, spectacular food, spa, wine, and luxurious country feel are definitely worth the trip.

       

Guest Blogger- Blakely Martin

 Hey, my name is Blakely Martin. I have been a C-5 quadriplegic for 18 years. I took up painting as a hobby after my diving accident. I have to paint with a brush in my mouth because I've lost hand function.

After some investigation, I have found several pieces of equipment that make it easier for me to paint. My work can be seen in several business offices, homes, and galleries around the state.

               

 Painting has opened a lot of doors for me and I have made a lot of friends along the way.

(Side note: What Blakely "forgo"t to mention is that he used to be a state championship bowler and at the ROAR 1 year anniversary party, he showed us all his skills)

              

Guest Blogger-Chad Foster

Hey guys! This is Chad Foster. The newest member of R.O.A.R.  I am extremely excited to be a part of such an adventurous organization.  I am a C-6,7 quadriplegic from an accident that happened during my birth.  

 

I have never been one to let my disability stop me from enjoying life.  I am a substitute teacher.  I love working with kids and the questions they have for me.  In my spare time I enjoy quad rugby, hunting, fishing, water sports, traveling, target shooting, church, spending time with family, and just being outside, admiring God’s creation.

   

 One of the activities I have enjoyed the most is quad rugby. It is four-on-four game, played with a volleyball, on a gym floor. It is a full, contact sport. Quad rugby has given me the opportunity to meet and befriend other quadriplegics, as well as, the chance to travel across our beautiful country.  To learn more about this great sport, please visit www.usqra.org.  

         

 Thank you for reading my blog.  I look forward to sharing more of my quadriplegic adventures and other exciting experiences with R.O.A.R.

           

Leg 3- Finally posted!!!

By now I'm sure many of you are trying to figure out how I endure such "hardship and ho-hum travel", but our third destination, Orlando Florida, just may have all the bells and whistles to make the journey worth all the "struggle".

 

The beautiful skyline, rodent and whale themed amusement parks, fancy eateries, tropical palms, and "sunshiney" vibe are everything one could ask for in a working vacation...well work for my wife anyway. Our domicile, The Rosen Centre is a luxurious hotel to say the least with level after level of spacious guest rooms and over 33 conference areas, and is even attached to a massive 150,000 square foot grand ballroom via a catwalk.

 The handicap rooms are nice and clean, nothing super elaborate, but definitely all that a wheeler could ask for with tile roll in shower, wide doorways, and pull under sink. The beds were an easy transfer being that they were the same height as my wheelchair, but we requested a king when booking, yet all the handicapped kings were already full upon arrival and guest services was less than helpful so we made due with two doubles (not the best accommodations for a newly married couple).

 Parking was a delight in that there were numerous handicapped spaces and complimentary valet parking was offered at no cost with a placard , and other parking varied with rates for daily and self parking ranging from $15.00 to $20.00 dollars respectively.

 Our stay was nice, not top notch due to inconsistencies with overbooking and hamstringed check in employees, but a solid 3.5, however our extra curricular activities in Orlando definitely made up for the mileage. Sea World is more than handicapped friendly and their staff goes out of their way to be helpful with ticket prices being reduced by 50% for disabled patrons entering the park and one companion. The walkways, animal exhibits, restaurants, and rides are accessible, they even have an enclosed rotating observation deck that rises hundreds of feet above the park giving you a 360 degree, birds eye view of the entire layout and much of downtown Orlando. On hot days, such as our visit, the penguin habitat is a must see ...with dozens of tuxedoed swimmers, cooler temps, and feeding events scheduled sporadically throughout the day to not only cool you down but allows for Interaction with the animals and staff. The dolphins, whales, sharks, and other aquatic wildlife make for a fin family  adventure not soon forgotten, topped with great food, and hours of water filled exhibits make for a 5 star vacay I would gladly repeat anytime.

 

 Disney, however refuses to reduce their pricing despite having very few rides I could get close to or enjoy, I guess The "Magic Kingdom" is not the happiest place on earth, but we did attend a private event at Universal Studio's "City Walk" and The Wizzarding World of Harry Potter that had amazing food, life like village, train station, pub,  and restaurants,  and their staff was more than accommodating... but I cannot speak for the daily operations of Universal but the private event was fantastic. I guess that means road trip for educational purposes...who's in?