Marcia Frost

I almost always use this blog for a story representing each day of a trip. The idea is to be able to talk about all the little things I don’t have a chance to put in published stories. Sometimes I need to break with tradition, and this trip was one of those exceptions. We had so many things to do, and I have so many photos, on day two that it deserves two blogs! One of the things I was told about Butler County before I arrived was that they have a Donut Trail. I’ve never been one to shy away from baked goods so this sounded like a scrumptious addition to the weekend. Heather, Teddy, and I got started with the trail first thing Saturday morning at Holtman’s Donuts in West Chester, just a few miles from the Marriott we were staying at. It became instantly apparent that this was going to be a challenge and I wasn’t backing down. The crew at Holtman’s was waiting for us with a box of donuts. I asked them, as I did on all the following stops, what their most unusual and popular donuts were...

  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...

  Illinois is filled with small towns with their own personality. Even after 17 years of living here, I still have a list of many I have yet to explore. Toward the top of that list was Metropolis , the hometown of the character of Superman. I recently had the opportunity to visit Metropolis, and it met my expectations. I took along my friends, Amanda and Heather, and my service dog, Teddy.   We stayed at Harrah’s Metropolis Hotel & Casino . It’s a large property within walking distance to everything in town. Amanda and Heather shared a room, while Teddy and I had a larger accessible room with two beds and a big bathroom with rails and a chair in the walk-in shower.  After check-in, we headed downtown to the Superman Museum . The entrance to the museum is filled with photos in the window and something you’d expect the Man of Steel to need—a phone booth.  You first walk into the store. I can’t imagine there is anything related to Superman you will not find for ...

We arrived in Milwaukee on the Lake Express Ferry in the evening. It had been a scenic ride across Lake Michigan from Muskegon, Michigan. It was good to be back to in Milwaukee. I had wanted to return for years, and it never worked out. Although this was to be a short trip, I wanted to make it happen. My friend, Lynn, and I were staying at a most unusual hotel. The Brewhouse Inn & Suites has a long history, going all the way back to 1848. It was a brewery, at one point for Pabst Blue Ribbon. It then became a boutique hotel and was put on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001. The current Brewhouse Inn & Suites opened with a remodel in 2013. It is beautifully laid out, with reminiscent brewery tanks and intricate woodwork throughout. Although the front entrance to Brewhouse is not accessible, there is a side door I was able to go in with my power chair. It is right next to the parking lot. They also offer valet parking. We had a large accessible suite with a sitting...

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. ...