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Showing posts with the label wheelchair travel

Viana Spa and Dinner with Friends

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I don’t get a lot of relaxing days when I am traveling, but my first full day at the Viana Hotel & Spa in Westbury, New York, was a perfect one.   The best way to start a day is without an alarm clock and that’s what I did. I took my time putting on something comfortable and went down to the Marco Polo restaurant for breakfast. The buffet had a nice assortment of items, and there was a spot to get custom omelets, which I did, as well as pancakes and French toast. It was comforting to be in a place that is wheelchair accessible on all floors. There were wide open hallways and, even though there were stairs in the lobby to go up to the restaurant or down to the spa, you could also take the elevator to both. After breakfast, I caught up with emails and then went downstairs to wait for my daughter. We had a spa date at this Long Island hotel I was looking forward to.   Viana Hotel has a full-service spa that includes massages, treatments, nail, and hair services. There is a

Chelsea Market & Whitney Museum in NYC Before Long Island

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  I woke up in my room at the Hyatt Place Chelsea . It was my first full day in New York City, and I had a lot planned.   I began by finishing the massive chocolate cake from the previous night’s dinner at Hav & Mar . I then got dressed and ready to go to Chelsea Market.   When I first started planning my trip, Like A Local Tours * had approached me about taking one of their tours. The Chelsea one caught my eye and the idea of staying in this emerging neighborhood came about.   It was rainy so I didn’t want to ride my scooter down to the Chelsea Market . It was nice to be somewhere where there were accessible rides available. I took a Lyft and arrived before my cousin, Marissa.   The Like A Local Chelsea Market +Highlands + Yards Food & History Tour * had just started when I arrived. The group was in front of Fat Witch Bakery and the leader, Chris, got me one of the delicious brownies they were eating.   That was just the beginning. We continued with a selec

Arriving in New York for Fun, Family, Friends & Food

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  I am a New Yorker, who didn’t move to the Midwest until my late 40s. I have never regretted the decision. It’s much more affordable here and I prefer the lifestyle. After years of living near the ocean, I’m also more than happy to enjoy beautiful Great Lakes, with no hurricanes, sharks, jellyfish, or Nor’easters.  What I do miss a lot about New York is family and friends. It’s also nice to check out what there is to offer in the big city and my former home of Long Island. I decided to arrange a trip that would encompass all of this: time with loved ones and discovering some of New York I didn’t know before. For the latter, I worked with the ILoveNY team to create an itinerary. The trip did not start off well. American Airlines cancelled my flight from Champaign to Chicago. I didn’t want to delay the trip a day so I had someone take me to Chicago so I could still catch my flight to LaGuardia. Unfortunately, he was late picking me up and I missed my flight! This was made worse by th

Furry Fun at StayPineapple in Chicago

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I've been to many Chicago hotels, but  StayPineapple is one of my best discoveries in years. I love pineapple and was very intrigued about a hotel built around the fruit. When I heard they were very dog friendly, I knew I had to go. I brought my friend Kim and my Yorkie Teddy along to enjoy the fun for a quick trip. Even though Teddy is a service dog and is welcome everywhere, I try to take him to pet friendly places so he gets the dog perks. We received welcome drinks (Sauvignon Blanc for me and pineapple beer for Kim), pineapple shaped cookies, pineapple water, and, of course, dog biscuits for Teddy, as soon as we arrived at the hotel. My corner suite was perfect, with a king bed in the large bedroom, and a couch, chair, and second television in the living room. Kim had the room next door to herself. We had a beautiful view from the window.  Teddy had a bed set up for him and bowls for water and food next to it. In his goodie bag was also a yellow container with a clip,

My Thoughts About My Princess Alaska Cruise

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  I’ve done a CI Living TV segment , three stories, and nine blogs on my Princess cruise and there are a few more articles to come, but I wanted to put together a summary for all of those thinking about going on a cruise to Alaska. Here’s a breakdown of my opinions: The Ship I have always preferred small ships and my previous two cruises on American Cruise Lines and Seabourn were just that. Alaska didn’t work out with those, and I was anxious to give Princess a try. A mega ship was out of the question, but the Royal Princess, a mid-sized ship with about 3,500 guests, seemed doable. It turned out to be just that. The ship was spread out enough that I never felt crowded, and we didn’t really wait for much (except at the Gelato Shop where there was always a big line). The only times I wished I was on a smaller boat was when we were waiting a long time for an elevator. The embarkation and debarkation went better than any of the other large ships I have been on. The Cabin We had cabin

Leaving Our Princess Cruise and Back in Seattle

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After a week on the Royal Princess, it was time to leave. Sometimes I am anxious to get off a ship—especially in hot weather when my only escape is a too cold ship. This was not the case during our voyage to Alaska. Everything had gone pretty much according to plan and Princess Cruises had treated us very well. We had to get up very early to have breakfast and get the last of our carry-on packed up and ready to be off by about 9:00 am. We had decided, instead of rushing to the airport, we’d take an 11:30 pm flight home and explore more of Seattle. The Hilton Motif had generously agreed to let us spend the day and have dinner before heading to the airport. I had taken advantage of Seattle’s excellent Port Valet program , so we didn’t have to worry about our luggage.   Brittany and I went to the dining room for our final breakfast. The food and service were as good as usual, even though it was clear the staff needed to get everything turned around quickly for the arriving passe