Posts

Showing posts from January, 2014

Meeting Butler County, Ohio

Image
  I was invited to spend a long weekend in Butler County, Ohio, just after they became Wheel The World certified for accessibility. The tourism board wanted me to write about how wheelchair accessible the region is. I hadn’t been there before, and it sounded like an interesting area, so I made plans to go. My trip to Butler County turned out to be one of my most unusual adventures, with new experiences, and a lot of donuts!   I brought Teddy and my friend, Heather, along for the ride, about three and a half hours from home. We had a nice welcome basket waiting for us at the hotel. Our home base was the Marriott Cincinnati North in Westerville. I was happy at the start with a flat entrance and automatic doors. They didn’t have any accessible rooms, so we had two connecting rooms. Teddy loved going back and forth between the two rooms. Mine had plenty of space for me to wheel around, a well-equipped desk area I could reach, and a large bathroom with a shower chair. The hand...

Los Cabos From Hilton to El Ganzo

Image
I was up early and walked along the beach in behind of the Hilton Los Cabos while the sun came up over another beautiful day in Los Cabos. My friend Lynn soon joined me at El Mason restaurant, where they have one of the best breakfast buffets I’ve seen at a resort. I ordered an omelet and filled my plate with fruit and chiquillas, a Mexican favorite of mine that’s basically a breakfast casserole of softened tortilla chips with eggs and salsa and cheese. I finished up with some coffee and a cheese and almond filled pastry before we headed down to our last time at the Hilton’s massive infinity pool.  The water was surprisingly cold, but I couldn’t resist taking a little dip while Lynn stuck with the whirlpool. I do have to admit that one of my laps was to the swim-up bar to “warm up” with a mango daiquiri. Rossy Rossier, the Marketing Manager at the Hilton Los Cabos , then met me for a tour of the resort. I was surprised that there was so much more (inclu...

Exploring Los Cabos

Image
It was our first full day in Los Cabos and my friend Lynn and I woke up early enough to see a beautiful sunrise from our balcony at the Hilton Los Cabos. We then went down for breakfast at El Meson, for yet another seaside view before our 9:00 am pickup for A Taste of Los Cabos Tour . When the Los Cabos Tourism Board asked if I was interested in activities, I immediately gravitated to that tour. I wanted to see as much of the area as possible and this seemed to offer the best selection. It was a good choice. Mauro, a biologist who used to work exclusively with dolphins, was our guide for the day. He also told us about the humpback whales that would soon be coming from the sea along Baja, California, Mexico , the second largest peninsula in the world at 1,000 miles. Our first stop was at the brand new shopping mall and port, Puerto Paraiso. It was here that we were to pick up our glass bottom boat tour.  We were warned that the water was a bit choppy and t...

Welcome to Los Cabos, Mexico

Image
It’s no secret that I am a fan of Mexico. In recent years I have traveled to Riviera Maya and Mazatlan , but I have never been to Los Cabos. I was approached by a luxury resort to come visit Los Cabos . Since I had never been there, I was hesitant to just make the trip for a few days. Instead, I worked with the Los Cabos Tourism Board to arrange an entire week full of activities (and three different hotels in unique areas). I had an early morning flight to Dallas, with a long layover there before my trip to Mexico . I decided to use the delay to treat myself to a pedicure at XpresSpa. I’ve seen them in the airports many times and was ready to get back in the flip flop mood. I arrived in Los Cabos just after 4:00 pm and Leonardo from the Tourism Board picked us up and drove us the half hour to the Hilton Los Cabos , our first hotel.  My first thoughts were about how different this part of Mexico looked than any part I had previously been. There were quite a few ...

A Genuine Scottish Send-Off with Royal Salute

Image
Waking up in a castle was certainly not something I’d experienced before and Ballindalloch was all about the royal treatment. I was dressed and ready for breakfast in the formal dining room bright and early. I enjoyed some yogurt with fresh blueberries and pancakes, with a few cups of brewed Earl Grey tea to get me going for a full day in Scotland. Clare Russell took us on a brief tour of the castle, exploring the hidden staircases and beautifully decorated rooms, which included an old nursery with toys that dated back to the 19 th century. We also saw invitations and photos from the royal family at many occasions (like the wedding of Kate and William) she had attended. After the tour we headed into vans and went to the Glenlivet Distillery . It was much more modern than Strathislava had been, even offering spectacular views from the top floor. The new visitor’s center had just opened in 2009 and Prince Charles actually came for the official opening. When we ...