SF/ Final Day& Thoughts of the town

[shaggy Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close shaggy]

Ate a leisurly breakfast & after hugging the emplyees goodbye hopped on the shuttle to the airport. Altho I enjoyed myself I was ready to go home!! No problem on the flight from SF to Charlotte but had to go out on the tarmac to get the connection on to GSO. I had no problem going up the steps (just took my time) but wondered what would happen if you were completely wheelchair dependent. Again, just another observation of people more mobility challenged than me. Once in we were stuck on the tarmac for about an hour as there were thunderstorms around Greensboro. One guy started talking loudly & cursing about not leaving and just behaving like an ass.He was opposite me & I calmly turned to him and asked him kindly to be quiet, I'd rather not risk a crash in a thunderstorm. He calmed down (yay) and I took the time to finish my book. Other passengers smiled and gave me thumbs up! Some day I'll learn to keep my mouth shut, but probably not if it's something I feel strongly about. Kenny was waiting on us & he was just happy we weren't on the plane coming in from DC. It was due in at 11 but wouldn't get there until 1"30. I'm home & altho the dogs were happy to see us, Monkey was mad and left the bed and hit the couch. I was too tired to pet her as much as she wanted.

[shaggy Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close shaggy]

Inn at the Opera

In all my years of traveling I have never ever met a better staff!! They greeted you by name , always smiling, wanting to know what they could do to help, showed you what bus to take & on & on. The bellhops put the killer scooter apart & put it in the shipping bag and took care of that for me. They made arraingments for a wheelchair for me & they had it ready for me every morning & put it up every night as there was no room in my unit. Kelli made friends with Joseph when she found out he liked wrestling & a desk clerk did an imitation of Rakishi then it was on!! OMG it was hillarious. I had a hard time getting them to call me Leslie instead of Ms Michael as they were sooo professional. You have to understand , the clientel is sophisticated , liking the arts, symphony, ballet, opera (you get the picture) They thought that we were a breath of fresh air & altho Joseph was off Sat morning he came by just to give us a hug and tell us goodbye. What a jewel of an employee he was and I immediatly sent off a note to the manager about Joseph, Rowena & the rest of the staff.

I wish I could rave about the rooms but I have never stayed in a place so small in years. This was not to me a timeshare but a fancy hotel room. The br had a queen bed & a small open closet . The one bathroom had no storage under the sink, very very small, had to keep my makeup in my bag. They had a mirror on one side of the wall to make it appear bigger . There was a sitting room with a couch & the kitchen consisted of one small sink, dorm refrig & microwave with a few plates & utinsils. When they put in a rollaway cot for Kelli there was no room to move. Thank goodness I wasn't in my room except to sleep. This hotel would be good for a romantic getaway or to spend the night while attending the ballet .opera or symphony.

[shaggy Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close shaggy]

Thoughts & things to do or avoid

I loved the architecture of the homes , a lot of Victorian, the quaint neighborhoods that just meld into each other. The locals were very friendly & even the panhandlers were polite with please & thank you. I learned the reason that the reason there were so many homeless (besides the high cost of living) was due to the weather, neither too hot or too cold. Also if you are a registered homeless you get $400/600 a month spending money plus there are lots of places for free food. One area was behind the Opheum theather near city hall.

Another interesting fact: their are more dogs in the city than children & dog walkers make lots of money. It is too expensive to raise a family so the yuppies move out to a more affordable area.

Recomend: Night tour of Alcatraz, a tour with Dylans tours or / and Mr Toads tours. Bay tour is relaxing and get lots of good shots. Cross over the bridge & go to Muir Woods/ Sausilito/ Marin highlands. You also get out of the city for awhile. The Academy of Sciences was also great but go after the school kids have left. Liked the Japanese tea garden but small & not handicapped accesible. Go see BEACH BLANKET BABYLON!!!! I would have liked to do some walking tours but that was impossible for me. The aquarium at the wharf is good but very small.
Day trip to Monterry & Carmel including 17 mile drive. Regret not going to the Monterry Aquarium but would have had I had more time.

Restaurants: Tonys Pizza Neapolitan ( he won the pizza contest in Italy)
Patzis Pizza & The Crepe Place were also great. Tony's joint was fun & very reasonably priced.

DONT'S: Aliotos at FW or probably no where at the wharf.
Don't buy a Go San Francisco card: You spend too much time trying to get your moneys worth & lots of things included that you would never go to. The WAX Museum wasn't very good & I love the one in Las Vegas but this was not much. Don't give the beggars money, if you have to do something give them a slice of pizza or something to eat.
Don't use Grayline Hop on & off as a means of transportation to get around as it doesn't stop off but in a couple of places.

Thanks to everyone who helped me plan this trip. Wish we could have gotten together. And one more thing, DON'T RENT FROM SCOOT MOBILITY!!

Well if you have read all about my trip and are still here I hope I've entertained you & made you smile. shaggy

[Fern Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Fern]

Shaggy,
If you have to board on the tarmac and you can't climb stairs they use a forklift with a platform (or something similar) and raise you up to the door on your wheelchair before the stairs are put in place.

Tony's Joint is actually called Tommy's Joynt. Glad to hear you enjoyed it. It was a fave of Jerry's when he was working in the area.

Homeless (single) people don't get checks of $400-600. a month. Don't know where you got that idea. General Relief, or whatever it is called now pays somewhere in the neighborhood of $250-300. a month. Perhaps you were talking about people collecting SSI or SSD?

If you really think you need a scooter to get around, you should rent one at home for a week or so and get instruction from a local medical supply house in person before you use it. I used one for four months last year, so I know what I am talking about. When I broke my foot I wasn't able to place any weight on it for months. It isn't the simplest thing in the world, and you really need to go fairly slow. Wven if the scooter goes 7 mph (mine does), that is too fast in most circumstances.

Hope you are feeling better.

Fern

[shaggy Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close shaggy]

Fern, you are right it is Tommy's Joynt. Whatever it's called I call it yummy!!
Glad to know about the tarmac lift.
Igor, the tour guide on the 2hr Grayline tour spewed those facts. I think he has a real problem with handouts to anyone as he came here from Russia and made it on his own. He doesn't like the way Arnold runs the state. He mentioned it a couple of times. You have to take some of the "facts" with a grain of salt. I found it interesting to hear the different takes on things from the different tour guides.

I have no room for a scooter at home but I have never had trouble with any other scooter I rented other than the one in Orlando that the battery failed going up a hill. I have used them at Disney, Seaworld & Vegas without any trouble. I have also learned not to rent a scooter & an ordinary car as they are too heavy for Kelli & me to lift. I can still walk, but slower than some, faster than others Ex: I could come to your house, have a wonderful time, help you bring out the food, set the table, etc and you'd probably never know I had a problem other than a limp. If you let me out at the back of a casino & I was going to meet you at the front I'd be worn out by the time I got there. I don't do stairs well but I can do them altho I have to use the stair railing to pull myself up. It hurts. It's not that I'm so fat that I can't walk or catch my breath. It's the fact that I have no ankle motion in my rt foot and it throws my whole body out of kilter, esp if I'm not on a flat surface. I have to confess that I catch myself getting depressed when I physically can't do what I want. Luckily I can smack myself upside the head and say "Get a grip" There's some who can't walk at all!!

I am now having to rethink how I travel and that bugs the devil out of me. I will probably be doing more beach vacations where I can just relax, or going on trips that I can see nature & waterfalls from the road or walk just a short way.

Give Jerry a hug and a kiss from me & Kelli. shaggy

[Marti Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Marti]

San Franciso Trip

Shaggy

Did you see the

Wyndham Canterbury
San Francisco - C113
750 Sutter Street
San Francisco, CA 94109

[Marti Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Marti]

California


General Relief

Instead of getting $221 a month in county-funded general relief....

L.A. County to pursue more federal aid for poorest residents | L.A. NOW | Los Angeles Times

[Marti Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Marti]

Travel Tales and Photos

What an exciting Shaggy Travel Tale
Looking forward to seeing your photos

[shaggy Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close shaggy]

Marti, didn't see that or any other ts while there. shaggy

[MargeS Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close MargeS]

Thanks for the travel reports Shaggy! I always enjoy hearing the tales...
sorry that mobility has become such an issue for you. My bad knee puts me in a similar situation at times.

[RESORT2ME Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close RESORT2ME]

... I have also learned not to rent a scooter & an ordinary car as they are too heavy for Kelli & me to lift. I can still walk, but slower than some, faster than others Ex: I could come to your house, have a wonderful time, help you bring out the food, set the table, etc and you'd probably never know I had a problem other than a limp. If you let me out at the back of a casino & I was going to meet you at the front I'd be worn out by the time I got there. I don't do stairs well but I can do them altho I have to use the stair railing to pull myself up. It hurts. It's not that I'm so fat that I can't walk or catch my breath. It's the fact that I have no ankle motion in my rt foot and it throws my whole body out of kilter, esp if I'm not on a flat surface. I have to confess that I catch myself getting depressed when I physically can't do what I want. Luckily I can smack myself upside the head and say "Get a grip" There's some who can't walk at all!!

I am now having to rethink how I travel and that bugs the devil out of me. I will probably be doing more beach vacations where I can just relax, or going on trips that I can see nature & waterfalls from the road or walk just a short way. ... shaggy

Thanks Shaggy.
May we all listen and GO while we still are able!!!