9 replies to this topic

[Captain Pike]

We are leaving for San Francisco Thursday morning... am I crazy to consider using that power chair? San Francisco is awfully hilly! What do you think? Hopefully , we'll be back next week with lots of good pictures!

Edited by Captain Pike, 25 March 2008 - 10:38 PM.

[longhaul]

Not if you go to fisherman's wharf I can't think of much to see in the hills. If you can do the bay cruise the one that comes in after dark it is something you won't forget. Have fun..............

Edited by longhaul, 26 March 2008 - 06:52 AM.

[Bill Forrester]

I would agree there is not much in the hills. Both Fishermans Wharf and Pier 39 are very well set up. The paths, especially on the Bay side are wide and easy to negotiate and there is a great dining choice at pier 39. If you are into seafood the clam chowder at the Wipe Out Cafe is a must do. The street car transport system running along the Bay and up to Union Square has full wheelchair access via an elevated boarding ramp at each stop. As stated the cruises are relatively accessible although depending on the tide the ramps can be a little steep. The staff however are well trained. The cruises leave from the wharf beside Pier 39

Edited by Bill Forrester, 26 March 2008 - 10:59 PM.

[KarenFerguson]

Gah, San Francisco - I was just there a few months ago and boy did I get a work out. Hubby went too along with my cousin John. We all had a great time, John was able to push hubby up the hills (and brake for him going down) in his manual chair - I was quite impressed. But that left me with the only option to hike up the hills myself. Needless to say my arms were a bit sore.

Anyway, I talked to hubby about power chairs and hills (I was completely in the dark) and he said the scary thing isn't going up the hills it's going down. Which I suppose you know already. I'd say don't let the hillyness of San Francisco stop you from going, it's a great city. All around Union Square is pretty flat - great shopping & the financial district too. Pier 39 is great, except very very touristy. Have fun!

[wbalenov]

Hi there!

I think taking a power chair is a good idea...gives anyone with you a chance if you need help. Also, if you get a day or weekly pass to transit...all the buses are w/c friendly and go all over.

The pier is great...you will spend a day there and the ferry to Alcatraz is OK as well.

SF is a great city for chairs. I stayed at the cheapo backpacker's hostel near the GG Bridge and it was great for chairs too!

[Captain Pike]

[font=Palatino Linotype][size=3] San Francisco was a lot of fun and very accessible. I think the above shot was taken from Sausalito, just north over the Golden Gate. A trendy, artsy little hamlet with a lot of high-end sailboats moored and on slips in the Marina here. Oddly, Sausalito itself not very accessible.

We didn't really stray away from San Francisco proper, except for an excursion to the Muir Woods, just beyond Sausalito, a fascinating place where they have tons of trees over a thousand years old. It was like walking into Tolkien's story, little hobbits, one of them, with his hairy little feet planted on the foot plates on an old Invacare 9000.


Just about everywhere you'd want to go is accessible. We went to a place called the Exploratorim and had fun with some cool hands on learning displays there. For example, those of us who are accustomed to drinking public water might feel reluctant if the fountain looked like this.



I didn't wind up using my power chair. I was afraid of what might happen when we changed planes. I mean, you can't gate check a 350 pound power wheelchair. So, where would I be when everyone else got off the first flight? Somehow, I doubt the airline would let me use their manual chair. I couldn't get anyone on the phone before we flew to explain how that would work. It would have been handy, just getting up and down the hills in the city itself. The top of Haight Street, at Golden gate park, for example, or even worse, Lombard Street. We made good use of the Muni buses.

Here we are at Turk and Market, near our hotel, notice the hill in the distance. This was actually a bad part of town, as we were regularly queried for cash and offered other things.
More to come.

[milosh]

SF is the place to be! i'm heading there again soon.

US is a lot more accessible than UK generally.

[Mike (c4-5) & Lorena]

We are looking to go to San Fran this summer. Can I ask which hotel you stayed at? Was it close to the Metro rail to get to/from the airport? what type of transportation did you use? Did you rent a van?

Wev are trying to find a descent hotel that we can get to different places like the Zoo, the ocean front/Bay but we are not surehow easy/hard it will be to get get around

Any ideas would be great.

L

[KarenFerguson]

Hotels in San Francisco can be a bit tricky. My advice is to pick one of the "big chain" ones - such as Hilton, Marriot, Hyatt ... etc. Older San Francisco hotels usually are converted older buildings or even Victorians, usually not good for wheelchairs. To get around San Fran the easiest way is to talk to the concierge at the hotel to request an accessible taxi, if going a longer distance than you can push (or get pushed - those hills can be a bitch). It might take awhile for the taxi to show up (sometimes 30mins or 45mins) but the taxi's are actually minivans with ramps, tie downs ...etc. Also if you stay at a "big chain" hotel usually sightseeing is right out side of the lobby.

Hope this helps a bit - feel free to PM me anytime. I've been to San Francisco many many times

[Captain Pike]

We stayed in the Whitcomb, which was a great hotel, really nice, great WiFi and there was a Starbucks on the first floor. The concierge services very good. The only trouble I'd say was that it was in the "tenderloin" neighborhood, not necessarily the best place to stay -- loss of junkies and hobos on the street. We made a mistake of walking down Turk Street, it seemed that we are lucky to get out of that area unscathed.

We never used the BART and I never rode an actual cable car. Streetcars are all accessible provided you can get on with a platform -- elevated platforms can be found roughly every fourth stop, or the popular shopping places like Fishermens Warf have more elevated platforms. You can easily find a taxi with the ramp built in. We went on a tour bus, for an excursion, it was completely accessible.

Edited by Captain Pike, 02 May 2008 - 07:15 PM.