Revisiting Boston After Many Years

One good thing came out of my fall last year. It certainly wasn’t the broken (in two places) humerus or the nerve damage in my arm. It was finding a wonderful surgeon at Tufts University and giving me lots of opportunities to explore Boston.

I had spent a lot of time in Boston as a child. It wasn’t far from my New York home and my parents loved showing us the history of the city. I went a few more times in adulthood but had not been in many years. I decided to take advantage of my trips to the Massachusetts city by revisiting the city I had seen in the past and learning about what was new.

What was definitely new about going to Boston this time around is that I am now in a wheelchair. I would be looking at everything from a different position and my arrangements needed to be much more carefully planned.

I asked for help from the Meet Boston tourism board, and they were extremely helpful in planning what would be the first of many trips to the city, each focusing on a different area.

My first appointment with Dr. Charles Cassidy was on a Monday and I decided to fly into Boston early Saturday, so I’d have plenty of time to see the city.

Travel did not go as I would have liked, with delays in planes and longer waits than expected to get my wheelchair at the airports. Fortunately, the transportation to the hotel went well. Meet Boston had arranged for an accessible van with RMA Transportation and my driver was waiting to take me to the Hilton Downtown.

I had made arrangements with Old Towne Trolley in Boston to do their hop on, hop off tour around downtown for two days. They have buses with ramps so it would be good transportation for me between attractions. The delays had me at the starting point (by the Paul Revere statue) later than expected and I had to wait a while for an accessible bus to come.

The trolley was finishing for the day in less than two hours. I decided to go down to the harbor. My original plan was to start with the New England Aquarium, but I realized I didn’t really have enough time to do that.

I wheeled around the harbor for a while and then crossed the street and went to the Rose Kennedy Greenway. The dedication to the Kennedy matriarch is a beautifully manicured park with fountains, a carousel, and special events.

I realized I had been going all day without any food beyond the Biscoff Cookies and pretzels on the plane. I headed toward Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market to have dinner. I was thinking about a noodle bowl at Wagamama when I looked down at my power chair.

After the long day of delays, my wheelchair was running out of power. I called for an Uber WAV and there was a long wait. I was afraid to use up my power getting something to eat and knew I would have the chair charging when I get back. This is not unusual in the life of a wheelchair user.

I used the time I was waiting for my ride to peruse Grubhub. I wanted local food to have waiting for me when I returned to the hotel. Based on the reviews and menu, I went for Sal’s Pizza. I was very hungry at this point and ordered an eggplant parmesan hero and French fries. It was all good and I finished every bit.

I took a shower and unpacked and was soon out for the night. I was going to have a full day around Boston, and I needed my rest.