The dry (ish) weather today made rolling around Chicago much more enjoyable. The primary plan was to head up the other famous observation deck in the city, the Willis (Sears) Tower. Coincidentally, said tower is located in the vicinity of Union Station hence it seemed appropriate to go for a peek. American stations always surprise one in terms of every detail of the architecture as opposed to British train stations…
The famous Route 66 begins in the area also…
Now, The Willis Tower claims to be one of the worlds tallest buildings, however, it is 262 Michael Jordan’s high!
Akin to The John Hancock Tower, the Willis is also fully ADA compliant meaning that one can roll around in a wheelchair without any issues! The Willis Tower is also home to a glass box which overhangs the structure. This was an opportunity that one couldn’t refuse…
As sky was becoming darker and darker, we resorted to returning back to the hotel where Stuart, the wheelchair engineer came to Superbunny’s rescue with a new joystick, at the expense of O’Hare Airport.
Tomorrow, we plan to cruise The Chicago River on a specialised architecture tour with the hope of learning more about the multitude of skyscrapers!
Unfortunately the weather in Chicago today hasn’t been too kind with the rain getting heavier and heavier as the day went on. Despite being unsure about whether we would see anything up The John Hancock Tower, one pressed on. Said building turned out to be pretty impressive standing proud through the mist…
The John Hancock Tower i.e. 360 Chicago is fully ADA compliant meaning that all parts are wheelchair accessible. However, to experience the ‘TILT’ (where one gets to look face down over the Magnificent Mile), wheelchair users must be able to stand up. Despite this, the rest of the observation deck is accessible and provides panoramic views over Chicago (albeit through the mist)…
N.B. During our stay in Chicago, one discovered that you can head up to the bar on the 96th floor for FREE.
As the weather seemed to clear by the evening, one thought it a good idea to go for a roll through Millennium Park which is only a few blocks away in search for The Giant Bean. What we did not see was the giant black cloud over yonder. Needless to say, one got a soaking,..
Tomorrow, we plan to head up to the city’s other famous observation deck, the Willis (Sears) Tower which is, coincidentally in the vicinity of Union Station!
Due to the fiasco with VIA Rail i.e. no wheelchair spaces being available on the intended train back to Toronto, one decided to rebook the flights to Chicago allowing us to fly from London (Ontario) instead.
After a short stay at ones cousins, an accessible taxi took us to London (Ontario) International Airport. The staff seemed really helpful for such a small airport and quickly came up with a solution as to how to get Superbunny onto the aircraft unlike the drama we had at JFK. The flight was delayed around an hour due to bad weather conditions and busy airspace in Chicago meaning one thing, Tim Hortons!
Once one had boarded the plane and started taxing, we we informed that we couldn’t take off for around another 25 minutes due to staffing issues at Toronto Air Management. After an hours flight, we landed at we landed at O’hare where the drama began!
One asked for Superbunny to be brought to the aircraft door, however, the ground crew went and found a manual wheelchair, one asked again for said wheelchair for which the manual wheelchair then showed up.
After finally being reunited with Superbunny, the thing wouldn’t turn on. This time we assumed that London had disconnected the battery after specifically told them not to as we have an inhibitor plug.
This resulted in us getting down on the apron on one of the worlds busiest airfield whilst 5 guys baggage handers standing around looking as we tried to reconnect the battery. After a short while, the ground staff saw us struggling and offered to help.
When we reconnected the battery, one realised that the joystick had lost it’s resistance rendering it undrivable! As such, one went on a mission to complain and file a damage report and attempt to receive some compensation for the inconvenience and cab fares that we had missed at both airports.
After the claim was filed and O’Hare had figured out how to use their computer system, one was escorted out to the taxi rank. An accessible taxi showed up around 9:45pm, we were on the homestretch or so we thought!
We arrived at The River Hotel, went to check in and, as we found in Ireland, they didn’t read the notes on the booking confirmation regarding an accessible room for which they had none. The only way around it was for them to transfer 2 of us to another hotel which one were reluctant to do. Out of the blue, a Canadian woman (who was slightly drunk!) overheard our conversation and realised that her friends were staying in an accessible room and kindly volunteered them to move rooms for which we accepted.
Tomorrow, we plan to explore the John Hancock Tower!
For ease, we ordered an accessible taxi this morning to transport us and Superbunny to Union station. Unbeknown to me, unlike the UK, the various train companies in Canada have different procedures regarding accessibility. As opposed to GO transit which we used to visit Niagara Falls where level boarding was possible at the majority of stations, VIA Rail requires you to book assistance in advance. As a result, when one went to buy tickets, we discovered that the wheelchair spaces were already occupied for the return trip. It transpires that, as of 2014, there is only one wheelchair space per train, hopefully this will increase in the future.
The method of boarding wheelchairs comes in the form of a portable lift as seen in a few European countries, simple yet effective…
Once inside, the carriage layout resembles the greatly missed HSTs in the UK. Although the wheelchair space has ample turning space, the trickiest part is navigating through the vestibules to reach said location. It is also necessary for the staff to strap down wheelchairs using tie down points for the duration of the journey which is different to many countries. It is debatable whether one would feel comfortable traveling alone like this…
Another downside of these trains is that the luggage area is rather small. This meant that Superbunnys had to be in the fridge!
After the 2 hour train journey to London (Ontario), we were greeted by ones cousins, who we are staying with until Monday. One will therefore continue this blog the day after tomorrow when we fly to Chicago.
After 10 non-stop days exploring America and Canada, a day of rest was well deserved! A little shopping was done in one of Torontos largest shopping centres, The Eaton Centre before heading back for R+R.
Unfortunately, the rooftop sunbeds and jacuzzi are not wheelchair friendly, however, they provide spectacular views of the cityscape…
For ones last night in the city of Toronto, it was decided that Hooters needed to be visited. Bear in mind that this was ones first trip to such restaurant, certainly an experience…
Tomorrow, we head down to London, Ontario on the train yet again to spend the weekend at ones cousins.
As I mentioned, the transport from Toronto to Niagara Falls (as of 2014) isn’t great hence one had an early start, probably the earliest since the day of our flight to New York. As one decided to take the manual wheelchair, we were able to take the free hotel shuttle (or car) to Union station to catch the train to Burlington.
Compared the British railway network, the Canadians put us to shame in terms of accessibility as, at many stations on the GO Transit network including Union and Burlington, there is a designated wheelchair section of the platform which is raised to the height of the train. In addition, the conductor puts out a ramp out at every station even if no wheelchairs are getting on or off.
We left the train at Burlington to catch the bus to Niagara Falls. As in New York, the buses have an automatic ramp which comes out as well as a designated area to strap a wheelchair down although one has to sit side on which is an odd sensation.
The bus dropped us off in Niagara Falls slightly outside the main tourist area meaning that navigation skills were necessary to locate said Falls.
The main ‘promenade’ on the Canadian side is mostly accessible for wheelchairs making for an easy roll whilst taking in the epic views…
A trip to Niagara Falls isn’t complete without boarding The Maid of The Mist. After a zig zag walk down to the docking area, we boarded the boat (which is wheelchair accessible) and donned some fetching red rain ponchos…
In order to get the full Falls experience, one must sit outside. However, it is worth noting that one does get a drenching hence it is not recommended to do this in an electric wheelchair that isn’t waterproof!
Tomorrow, we plan to have a slow wander around Toronto (including a trip to the famous Hooters restaurant) before catching the train down to London, Ontario on Saturday morning to see ones cousins.
Today, we headed down to the Jack Layton Ferry Terminal (located in the Harbourfront area) to catch the ferry over to the Toronto Islands. Although one took the manual wheelchair (as Superbunny is still broken), the ferry over to the islands is very accessible with ramped access, perfect for an electric wheelchair…
Akin to the Staten Island ferry in New York, the ferry crossing provides panoramic views of the Toronto skyline…
As soon as one steps off the ferry, the noise of the city is replaced by the sounds of birds etc. It’s definitely worth visiting if you are looking for a break from the hustle and bustle of Toronto…
Near to the main island ferry port is the Centreville Amusement Park containing a few attractions including a miniature train and a log flume if that is your thing…
Due to the size of Toronto islands, its possible to do a circular loop in a short space of time whilst taking in the breeze of Lake Ontario…
Tomorrow, we head to one of Canada’s most famous sights, Niagara Falls. Unfortunately, the transport to said location from Toronto isn’t great meaning that both a train and a bus are necessary!
For any tourist visiting Toronto, it is likely that a visit to the CN Tower will be on the cards. The plan for today was to catch the subway to said structure, but after several attempts to find the lift, one gave up and decided to walk as it was only a few blocks away…
The benefit of visiting the CN Tower is that disabled individuals can enter for FREE! The majority of the attraction is wheelchair accessible bar the very top level. As soon as one saw that the glass floor was present, it just had to be knelt upon…
One can also access an outside observatory, however be prepared to get a little windswept…
After a meal at the famous Hard Rock Cafe, it was time for a little R+R after a hectic few days. Luckily, the hotel has a jacuzzi which hit the spot…
Currently, we are trying to discover where Superbunny has gone as it has been fixed and left the airport 5 hours ago!
Tomorrow, we are planning to visit the Toronto Islands and see what we can stumble across!
We began the day by taking a walk around a Central Park finding The Alice in Wonderland Statue for which a group of kids were playing upon and wouldn’t even let one in for a photo!
As one had time to waste before the flight, we decided to simply chill around the lakes until it was time to head to JFK.
It was then that the fiasco began! Check in at JFK didn’t seem to have any record of Superbunny and subsequently were worried that the wheelchair wouldn’t fit on the small plane. As a result, the idea was floated around about potentially having to transfer us to another airport where there was a larger aircraft. Luckily, they managed to sort something out and everything was fine. Now, one would have thought that JFK being one of the busiest airports in the world would be wheelchair accessible. However, there was still steps to get down to the gate resulting in me having to be escorted by security round the back of the airport to get onto the airfield.
The flight took around 50 minutes, however, when Toronto Pearson brought Superbunny up onto the bridge, it seemed not to want to turn on, even after fiddling around with all the cables. After pushing said wheelchair to the terminal, one had the idea of finding a plug socket to see if the battery would charge…
Of course, this failed also! The airport staff were extremely helpful and offered to store the wheelchair until we fly to Chicago on Monday in addition to getting an engineer to look at it. By this time, it was 9pm and our wheelchair accessible taxi driver seemed to have gone hence we decided to jump in a normal taxi given that one only had the manual wheelchair.
Tomorrow, we plan to visit one of Torontos top attractions, the CN Tower.
Today, we hopped on the subway to Chambers Street which is near South Ferry but this time to a station with an elevator hence we had no dramas like yesterday. One of the things to do in NYC is to take the ferry over to Staten Island. Of course, this is completely wheelchair accessible and the crossing provides stunning views of the skyline and Statue of Liberty…
Due to time constraints, one only spent a short time on Staten Island, however, it does provide a great vantage point to admire the New York skyline…
On the way back to the hotel, one took a walk around the Freedom Tower and the 9/11 Memorial for which the foundations of the twin towers have been replaced by waterfalls that seemed to be ever deeper…
Tomorrow, we head back to JFK to travel to our next destination, Toronto in Canada. However, before we do so, we must head back to Central Park to try and find the Alice and Wonderland Statue.
