You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike

Opened in 1946 Bellevue Square has over 185 shops and restaurants - none of which can be accessed without extensive backtracking for someone in a wheelchair.

A couple weekends ago, we went to the mall to buy our oldest grandson a new skateboard and a pocket knife. It had been quite a while since I'd been to Bellevue Square, the last time, I was walking with only the aid of a cane. 

This time, I wheeled my way around in my trusty chair. At least I attempted to.

Bellevue Square is like a spider web, with many of the "strands" connected by stairs. This is not to say that they don't have ramps to connect these paths, but there is no discernible method to their placement. Compounding the frustration is the fact that there is enough of a slope on each path so that you can't tell if the path leads to a ramp or a stair before you're on top of it. Several times we headed down one path, sure we would reach our destination, only to have to backtrack a fair distance to find one of the ramps.

A low-cost suggestion: Place signs at the start of each path. Have an arrow with the ADA wheelchair logo pointing to where the ramps are or a sign where the paths diverge that tells you stairs are ahead. 

It didn't help matters that the exercise and frustration had caused my blood sugar to drop. Purchases made, we set off to find one of the sit-down restaurants. This was also frustrating as Bellevue Square lacks a central food court. Restaurants are adjacent to retail shops, unless you venture to the streets outside the mall. 

So, after what seemed like endless wanderings, we made our way out of Macy's to the street. By now, I'm past the stammer and shake phase of low blood sugar and into the VERY drowsy phase. Yes, I know. I really should carry some glucose tablets or at least some candy. 

Normally, I avoid places like Red Robin. I find the  food much too salty for my diet. But, it was close and not crowded.

Lori told the young lady serving our table I was a diabetic and badly needed to get something in me quickly. Bless her heart, she raced off and brought me back a small juice and a plate of fries. She said that since they come with the meal anyway, no sense in waiting.

I'm still not fond of the food, but the service was spectacular!

A 'walk' on the not-so-wild side

Back when the weather was more conducive to such outdoors activities, Lori and I decided to scope out a couple of places to get some outdoor exercise.  One of these was the High Point Trailhead and W Tiger Natural Resource Conservation Area. From Issaquah, go E on I-90 to exit 20. Turn right and go to the end of road. Go past gate on gravel road for 0.5 mi to site on left.

The trail is mostly gravel and dirt but a wheelchair can navigate fairly well, for bout the 1st mile. It's rather steep in places but there are plenty of benches for those who are on foot. We packed a picnic lunch of salads and sparkling water (Thanks Trader Joes) and made our way up the trail. It was a good workout and I was happy to have my gloves on to avoid blisters.  I enjoyed getting out in the fresh air and the exercise. Lori enjoyed being able to get to the little lake near the summit and our huge dog, Gracie, enjoyed chasing after her and helping pull my chair on some of the steeper parts.

Another great spot for wheeling around is Crossroads park in Bellevue. There is a nicely paved trail with enough inclines to make it a decent workout. There are tennis courts, playgrounds and a 9-hole golf-course nearby. The restroom is fully accessible.

Community events occur almost every weekend in the spring and summer.

It's a great place for a picnic, bring the whole family!

Fine Irish Pub food and a mediocre fish fry

A couple of weeks or so, Lori and I were in the mood for something different.  So I fired up the Random Restaurant Piker and let it suggest something in my vicinity and price range.

After a few spins with such stellar choices as Azteca and Burger King, the slot machine finally showed me Paddy Coynes Irish Pub.

We went to the Lincoln Square, Bellevue location. Unfortunately, we arrived - it seemed - right between showtimes at the nearby cinema. While there was plenty of handicapped parking in the garage, it was very congested and drivers were not very inclined towards patience with a wheelchair pedestrian.

Paddy Coynes is a small place, a bar and maybe 10 tables. Since it was a Friday night, we did have to wait a bit before a table was ready. Once that detail was taken care of, the waitress was very helpful in clearing a path.

Our drinks were delivered quickly and our orders taken. Lori ordered a Shepherd's Pie (Braised ground beef, garlic, onions, carrots, celery and peas. Served en casserole, topped with mashed potatoes and browned to a golden crisp) and I had the Dublin Coddle (bangers, Irish rashers, onions, garlic and potatoes).

The food arrived piping hot in very generous portions. Each was accompanied with 2 types of soda bread.

Ratings:

to

Food:

Service:

Accessibility:

Ambiance: 

The lower score in Accessibility is mostly based on the size of the restaurant and the difficulty in maneuvering. On the positive side, the restroom was nicely accessible and the waitress eve held the door for me.

Ambiance suffered because we were seated next to the over-loud speakers us4ed by the band. Conversation was impossible.

Despite those complaints,  the food and service were good enough to bring us back.

Feeling in the mood for some really good fish and chips the other day, I went to the Market Fish Fry at the Crossroads mall in Bellevue.

You have your choice there of prawns, chicken strips or cod. For each order of fish & chips, you choose from 5 types of batter (beer/buffalo/jalapeno/curry/coconut) and pick 2 sides from 6 selections of different varieties of fries and coleslaw.

I had the beer batter cod with tater tots and what was described as "tangy mustard coleslaw."

It's a sad thing when the best part of your meal are the tater tots. The fish was unevenly cooked with the batter over-cooked in places and still doughy in others. The coleslaw had no "tang" nor was there the slightest taste of mustard. For all I knew, it was plain mayo and vinegar slaw.

The different flavors of tarter sauce were nice, but getting to them from my wheelchair was very difficult.

Service was very poor. The young man who delivered my food actually dropped the tray on my table, knocking my napkins to the floor. Then he simply walked away and ignored me for the remainder of my time there.

Food: The tater tots save this from a 1 chair rating.

Service:

Accessibility:

All-in-all and unrepeatable experience.

Partying at Vasa Park and a great place for pho

Vasa Park - http://www.vasaparkresort.com/ - is a pay-per-use resort/Park located on Lake Sammamish in Bellevue Washington. It is a popular Park for individuals, families and for corporations wishing to hold company picnics and other events. It's also a very good spot for birthday parties - provided the weather holds up.

There's a lot at Vasa Park to attract the average partygoer. There are covered and open picnic areas, concession stands and several full hook up camp sites.

The owners/caretakers are very helpful and really do their best to make your experience pleasurable. That being said, however, the Park leaves much to be desired to someone in a wheelchair. Pathways are uneven and bumpy at best. At one point, I barely avoided taking a spill when going over a particularly large bump. Worst was the handicap accessible restroom. The path leading up to it was quite steep and the doorway to the restroom itself was very narrow. Once in the restroom the placement of grip bars and necessities such as toilet paper dispenser, trash bin, sanitary napkin disposal made maneuvering in and out of the chair somewhat difficult.

All-in-all,Vasa Park is a great location for a party provided all partygoers are able-bodied and free of mobility issues.

Saigon City

15045 Bel Red Road, Bellevue, WA 98007

if you've never had the Vietnamese soup known as pho or if it's one of your favorite dishes, you owe it to yourself to go to Saigon City. Our family has been going there for around eight years. From the first time we went we have been treated like family. We are warmly greeted at the door, quickly and efficiently ushered to our table, kids and grandkids are asked after, our order taken,and the food brought piping hot to our table. And they remember the personal touches: they know I can't use chopsticks so they always quietly give me a fork, they know my oldest grandson can out eat me so they make sure he doesn't run out of noodles before he finally gives up.

As fantastic as the service is, the food is also great. Unfortunately,my sodium-low diet prohibits me from eating pho very often. But if Vietnamese noodle soup isn't your bag… Err…bowl, there are plenty of alternative choices on the menu. They have a large selection of hot teas as well as bubble-tea.

There is ample handicap parking as well as a gently sloping ramp leading to the entrance. Once inside, the owners are quick to make sure there is no difficulty in getting to the table.

So whether it's beef, chicken, seafood or some combination; go to Saigon city for warm bowl of love. Oh, and go hungry!

Wolf Creek Oregon

As promised, albeit somewhat later than I had hoped, this blog entry is going to concentrate on Wolf Creek Oregon and the historic Wolf Creek inn. You get to Wolf Creek off of I-5 on exit 76. It's a small town, two or three gas station/mini – marts, a small campground and the historic Wolf Creek Inn.
First, the campground. When we stopped there in July, the campground had only recently been reopened. As such, we had the place mostly to ourselves. We picked a spot not far from the stream and set up camp. Our site had a pull through with with power and water hookups. The campground is a little rough around the edges but the caretakers have great plans for the place. Speaking of the caretakers, unfortunately my memory for names isn't what it used to be which is really sad since the caretakers were exceptionally nice people. Both are emergency medical technicians and probably one of the friendliest couples I never met-without being invasive.
One thing that impressed me about the town of Wolf Creek was how many wheelchair ramps I saw. Just about every business had a wheelchair ramp for easy access.
By the time we had checked in and set up camp all that remained open for the minimart's. So we decided to go to the Wolf Creek inn for breakfast the next morning.
The Wolf Creek Inn is the oldest continuous use hotel in the state of Oregon. They have nine guestrooms and-if breakfast is any indication-a really top-notch restaurant. The menu is limited, that means they concentrate on what they do well. I had the biscuits and gravy. Others in our party had the Wolf Creek breakfast which consists of eggs, meat and hashbrowns. Everything was served with fresh fruit and choice of beverage.
The food was quite good but what impressed me the most was the hospitality. Now remember, this is a functioning inn; they rent out the guestrooms, the caretakers were very informal about letting the grandkids runaround, look into the ballroom explore, so long as an adult was watching. Also those of you in wheelchairs might be familiar with the wheelchair stare - that long look some business owners give you when you first wheel into their establishment. I did not receive the wheelchair stare atthe Wolf Creek inn. What I did receive was a warm welcome and people going out of their way to make sure I had a clear path to the dining room.
As much as we would've love to spend more time there we had a very long road trip ahead of us so it was back to the campsite, hook up the trailer and get back on I-5.

as this blog post is fairly short I will follow-up soon with some of my observations a little closer to home. Thank you for your comments please keep them coming and thank you for clicking on the advertiser links on the site. And as ever, if you have someplace you'd like me to review submitted in the comment the worst that can happen is I can say no not in my general area or not something I'm interested in seeing but who knows I may go out of my way and take a look it can never hurt to try.

Along the Oregon Coast

As promised, this post is about our recent camping trip along the Oregon coast. We traveled with friends Wendy and her delightful daughters: Melissa, Maggie and Hope. We had a full van-load; my wife, Lori was driving, my daughter Melissa and her kids: Jesse, Anna, and Leah were with us as was another grandson Caidin .

We had hooked up our trusty T@B trailer and departed Bellevue only an hour or two behind schedule. Our destination for day one was Fort Stevens state park in Seaside Oregon.

Previously, the majority of our camping had been in Washington state campgrounds. Washington can be hit or miss especially in regards to accessibility – you never know, for example, if you're going to be able to get your wheelchair into a bathroom and once you do, will there be a stall wide enough or a shower with grab bars.

Oregon State campgrounds however, all seem to have separate bathrooms for handicap patrons with extrawide doors, free hot showers and ample grab bars. Fort Stevens was no exception.

What was also nice was the fact that we only were only charged for one campsite which kept our cost down. Paths were paved but needed a bit of work. More than once, I nearly tumbled from my chair going over uneven pavement

But overall Fort Stevens was a pleasant experience, not too noisy and the ocean air was nice.

Our next night we made it to Devils Lake campground near Lincoln City. Probably my least favorite spot of the entire trip. Our campsite was tiny and very difficult to maneuver in. Additionally, the rangers that we encountered there were rude. When asked about accessible sites, they said all sites were more or less accessible and if not, I could just stay in my trailer.

Since we didn't get much rest that night our next stop wasn't very far along the road., Newport, OR South Beach state park. This was a major change from the previous night's camp ground! The rangers were helpful going as far as to help push me to  the handicap bathroom and chasing out a non-handicap person who seemed to be using it at his own personal, sauna. There was a great path to a well constructed lookout to the beach. It was a bit steep but my dog, Gracie,(who must've been a sled-dog in a previous life) greatly enjoyed helping pull me up the trail. Had it not been so windy there we might stay an extra day.

We made good time the next day, getting all the way down to Brookings to what I think was Harris beach state park.. We arrived rather late but fortunately the handicap spot had not been taken. We set up camp and drove to Brookings to get our first meal of the trip that wasn't either fast food or prepared at the campsite. Wendy used her phone to Google restaurants in Brookings and we came up with the place by the name of the Hungry Clam. We were served Promptly and courteously despite the fact that we were a very large party and the place was pretty busy. We loaded up on fresh seafood – most of it deep fried – and sat outside to enjoy it. I had the combo platter which included cod, oysters,, calamari, clam strips shrimp, scallops and hush puppies. By far the star of the platter was the clam strips. These were not the tiny clam crumbs you get it someplace like Ivars. No, these were big tender chunks of clam. We left feeling satisfied albeit somewhat greasy.

The next morning an ocean view spot at the camp ground opened up so we decided to stay an extra day. This enabled us to play on the beach, rest and even get someone laundry done at the laundromat there in the park.

I was quite taken by the paved path down to the beach. There were several switchbacks and it was rather steep in places but I was able to actually get to the beach itself, something I haven't been able to do in a very long time.

The next day it was off to the Redwood forest. While this leg of the trip was lovely; due to a lack of cell phone reception we lost our traveling companion Wendy and her girls. By the time we finally had a signal they were already miles ahead of us and had decided to push on home. We made it to a little town called Wolf's Creek where we camped in a newly reopened camp ground but that and the restaurant we ate breakfast at will be the subject of my next entry.

And now a request, if you've been reading this blog and enjoyed it or even if you have not enjoyed it I would still like your comments. Please take a minute, find the comment link and leave me a note. I appreciate the feedback

Two very different restaurants

There's a lot I like about the 12'th Ave Cafe in Issaquah, Wa. It's the sort of place you would expect to find on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. The food is good , portions are generous and I felt comfortable bringing my children and grandchildren there. If you go, order breakfast; it's served all day and it really is one of the best places for breakfast I've ever tried. I suggest the Trucker's Combo: biscuit and gravy, an egg, meat and their famous grilled spuds.

All this makes me sad because I cannot eat there. I was told TWICE that they don't serve people in wheelchairs.

Shortly after acquiring this delightful mode of transportation, i convinced my lovely wife, Lori, to split a breakfast with me at the 12th Ave. OK, being totally honest, I wanted to eat an entire breakfast (enough calories for a small town) but Lori STRONGLY suggested we split one.

When we arrived, I was encouraged by the 3 separate handicapped parking stalls. Upon wheeling inside, however, I remembered that it isn't the most spacious establishment, and it was busy. The waitress approached and pointed to a table "This one is open, but I don't think he can get to it," she said. "We can wait for a different table, closer to the door," I answered. "Then we would have to move a table so people can get around the wheelchair. We're really not set up here to serve people in wheelchairs. Sorry."

We left with me sputtering indignantly and ended up eating someplace forgettable.

Before posting this blog, I called the 12th Ave and asked if they would have any problem seating someone in a wheelchair. "Not if they don't mind sitting outside on the sidewalk."

On the flip side of the coin is Ricardo's A Mexican restaurant located in Factoria, Wa. I've been there 5 or 6 times and enjoyed myself each time. The food is good and fairly priced, margaritas are huge and not at all watered down.

But what set's this place apart is the wait staff. From the front door to my table, they never fail to make me feel welcome. They open the doors for me, make sure there is enough room down the aisle to get to my table and they somehow manage to do this without making me feel like a burden.

I'd recommend a menu item, but I honestly have enough trouble deciding for myself.

Next time: Camping and dining on the Oregon Coast