Supernatural

 Supernatural is an exercise program that is available for the Oculus Quest Virtual Reality headset.  It is a little difficult to explain it with words, so here is a short video to show you how the workouts are done with the Oculus Quest.

The workouts are divided into 3 levels, low, medium, and high.  They have recently added a boxing component also.  The low-level workouts are slower and almost all of them stay within a 180-degree area, which I can easily reach in my wheelchair.  When I first started using Supernatural, all that was fine.  A low-level workout was plenty challenging for me.  After I had been working out for several months, I was ready for something more challenging.  I tried a few mid-level workouts, but they all had 360-degree rotation.  I tried to just ignore the targets that were coming at me from behind and wait for them to come back around to the front, but that meant I sat for half the workout at times.  I sent several email requests to the Supernatural team requesting at least a few higher-level workouts that were not 360-degrees.  Each time, I was told there all the lower-level workouts were limited to 180 - degrees or less (that wasn't even true.  There are lower-level workouts that were 360-degrees).  I even posted on their Facebook page requesting higher-level workouts that were not 360-degrees.  Each time I explained my reason for wanting this.

Finally, my request was addressed.  I got a Facebook message in the middle of December that the newest update had added Front Facing mode and they would like me to try it out and fill out a survey.  This was a setting in the settings menu that would turn every workout into front-facing only.   For the squats and lunges shown in the video above, you set your own height settings within the app.  They even tell you how to set it for seated, which is what you need to do when using it from a wheelchair.  This allows the game to take your specific height into consideration when sending the triangles for the squats.  It is a very individualized program.  They requested I do specific workouts and then fill out the survey.  There were 1 of each level of the "flow" workouts ( the flow workouts are the ones shown in the video above) and 1 of each level of the boxing workouts.  The workouts were all 10-13 minutes long.  I was able to do all of the flow workouts, even the high-intensity workouts.  You have to sometimes ignore the coach's instructions as they say so turn or move into a different position for the boxing stances.  They don't pertain to someone doing the workout in forward-facing mode, but there is no way to turn off the coach.  I wish there was.  Finally, I had the challenge I had been wanting for the last 6 months.  The low-intensity boxing was great, but I need a lot more practice with boxing before I do the boxing at higher levels routinely.  The movements are just different, so I need to practice more at it.  I was sure sweating a lot when I was finished and it definitely got my heart rate up.  I could feel it through my arms, shoulders, back, and core.  I was sore the next day.

Getting a good cardio workout from a wheelchair can be a challenge.  Generally, upper body-only workouts don't get your heart rate elevated very much.  Supernatural for the Oculus Quest is a really good total body workout for the able-bodied individual and a really good upper-body/core workout for those of us in wheelchairs.  There is a subscription fee for the program, but it is well worth it.  The subscription fee of $19/month or $179/year allows up to 4 users to use the program and have their own user profile so they can have their own settings since the workouts and stats are so individualized.  

Southside Market BBQ

 Southside Market BBQ is a BBQ restaurant in the central Texas area, with locations in Elgin, Bastrop, and Hutto, which are all small towns not far from Austin.  I believe they originated in Elgin.  Their sausages can be purchased in most of the HEB grocery stores in Austin and surrounding areas.

Parking - There is a lot of accessible parking and it is all right in front of the door.  In addition to the accessible parking, there is just a lot of parking in general.  I find this helpful to know also.  Since I have a wheelchair ramp, when I can't get a van-accessible parking spot, a nice big parking lot means I can park away from the main parking area so I can take up 2 spots so I have room to deploy my ramp.  People are less likely to be enraged by someone taking up 2 spots if they are doing it in a far-off spot.

Once inside, you get in line to order your food.  The line is made by the rope barricades to form a queue.  I frequently have trouble moving through those ropes because there usually isn't enough room, but not here.  There is plenty of room between the ropes to move through easily in a wheelchair all the way until I'm to the front of the line.  Once you order and they get your food together, you have to carry it on a tray into the dining room.  I had my husband with me, so he carried our tray.  Had I been alone, the tray was small enough it would have fit on my lap, even with my short legs, or I'm sure a staff member would have helped me to the table with the tray. 

Dining room: I was a bit nervous when I first went into the dining room.  The tables are picnic-style tables.  The first ones you come across have benches at them, with inadequate room at the ends for a wheelchair,  A wheelchair would block the aisle and access to the other tables.  However,  a few of the tables farther into the dining room had chairs at them rather than benches.  Drinks were self-serve fountain drinks.  The fountains were not too high and everything was within reaching distance.  The BBQ sauce was right on the table, so it was right within reach.

Bathrooms: The bathrooms were great.  I frequently have problems in bathrooms that the soap or the paper towels are difficult to reach, so there is a baby changer in the accessible stall.  This bathroom had none of that.  The accessible stall was nice and big and didn't have a baby changer in it.  The soap dispenser was easily reachable as were the paper towels.

Southside Market BBQ was one of the most accessible restaurants we have been to.  There wasn't a single thing I had difficulty with during our dinner there.  I could have easily eaten there by myself without any problems at all.  I wish more establishments were like this.

Slaughter Lane Chiropractic

 I started seeing Dr. David Wagner at Slaughter Lane Chiropractic about 5 years ago when I was unhappy with my previous chiropractor.  I was suffering from a pretty significant head tilt at the time, known as torticollis.  I was also over 100 pounds overweight.  Dr. Wagner was able to fix my head tilt.  Through the office, I was introduced to the Ideal Protein weight loss program.  Once I decided to go on the weight loss program, I lost 100 pounds over the next 18 months and have now kept it off for over 3 years.  Dr. Wagner and his office staff are wonderful.  They are extremely professional, kind, and caring.  The office feels like home.  

Having said that, the purpose of this blog is to review the accessibility of the office.  In that regard, the office has a few issues.  The staff does everything possible to make things as easy for me though.  

Parking:  There is 1 accessible parking spot and the stripped area is on the wrong side for most vans' ramps.  It isn't an issue though because the accessible spot is right next to their back porch and there is a large open area next to the spot so there is plenty of room for my ramp.  Because of this, if there is someone in the accessible spot, I can park in the spot next to it and use the stripped area for my ramp.  There is also a stripped area a few spots down that is used for a walkway that can be used for my ramp. Sometimes parking can still be a problem.  It is a very small parking lot that is not only served by the chiropractor's office but 2 other small businesses.  At times, the parking lot is very full and I've had to park in the grass and deploy my ramp there.  That only happens rarely.

The office is located in an old, converted home.  This comes with a few issues.  There are 2 exam rooms.  Exam room 1 is easily accessible for my wheelchair and I have no problem getting in there.  Exam room 2 is more difficult.  I can't be adjusted in that room for several reasons.  The room is down a narrow hallway and the door is very narrow, so my chair barely fits.  It is also a smaller room, so it is difficult to maneuver in there.  Lastly, the table is just too long for my 5' tall body, but that has nothing to do with accessibility.  The room for the Ideal Protein appointments also has a narrow door.  My chair will fit through it, but I have to go very slow and be very careful so I don't mess up the door.  Since the pandemic started, I haven't needed to go into that room as my Ideal Protein appointments have all been over the phone and my weigh-ins have been done at home via a Bluetooth scale.

Bathroom:  This is the room I have the most problem with.  The bathroom is actually a nice, big accessible bathroom.  There are bars next to the toilet and there is an accessible sink and toilet in there.  However, they ruin all of that by pulling a long, decorative table in there that really serves no purpose except to be a decoration.  When I need to use the bathroom, the staff has to take the table out of the bathroom and move it into the hall.  I've complained about that over and over.  Dr. Wagner told me that his wife, who is in charge of decorations, put that table in there.  She is aware it causes problems and she wants the staff to just take the table out when someone with a wheelchair needs to use it.  She was my first weight loss coach, so as a person, I really like her, but I really dislike that she chooses her decorative aesthetics over the accessibility of their clients.

Back in the treatment room, there are multiple tables for various treatments after adjustments.  There were fewer tables in there when I first started seeing Dr. Wagner.  When his son graduated and joined the practice, they added more tables.  When I need therapy, they have to move a table in order for me to fit into the room.  I have to do the therapy from my chair since the tables don't adjust and I can't transfer onto them when I can't stand.  It isn't difficult to do therapy from my chair though.

If you live in the Austin area and need a chiropractor, I recommend Slaughter Lane Chiropractic despite the accessibility issues with the office.  The staff works very hard to overcome these issues and make things go smoothly for me when I am in the office.

United Access

 United Access is a "car dealership" exclusively for accessible vehicles.  My first accessible van was inherited from my mother-in-law when she passed away.  I was very grateful for that van.  It had some issues though.   The model I had was pre-automatic doors, so it had to be retro-fit with a wire pully that opened my door automatically, then deployed my ramp.  The wire used to snap or come off the pully all the time, necessitating a trip into United Access.  They were always wonderful and got my van in as soon as they could.

I have unfortunately have 2 car accidents since being in a wheelchair, both minor, but requiring body work on my van.  You cannot rent an accessible van from a normal car rental place.  I had to arrange to rent the van from United Access.  Of course, they don't have a rental contract with any insurance companies, but the insurance companies all agreed to pay for the van through United Access.  United Access agreed to take payment directly from the insurance company rather than have me pay for the van, then get reimbursed by the insurance company.  I was very grateful for this since accessible van rental is very expensive.  

I am fortunate to have a United Access location only 30 minutes from my home.  United Access also has other stores like Mobility works.  There may be other, but that is the one I know about.  If there isn't a store in your city, contact them and they can still work with you on purchasing a vehicle and getting it delivered to your location.  

Texas State Railroad, Palestine, Texas

 We went to Palestine, Texas at the end of September to ride on the Texas State Railroad, a historic train ride through the area around Palestine.  As we were planning our trip, I called the train office as we couldn't find anything on their website about accessibility.  I was told that the train could not handle any power chairs because they weighed too much and the isles were too narrow.  I don't own a manual chair, but I was told the Texas State Railroad had one we could borrow for the day.  I was not ready to make reservations, so she told me I could either make them online or call back when I was ready.  FYI, you cannot make ADA reservations online.  They must be made over the phone.  ADA reservations can only be made for the First-class car.

Parking:  There is plenty of parking there, with lots of van accessible parking too.  If you need parking that is close, you won't find it.  All of the accessible parking is quite a distance from the depot.  I'm not really sure why that is.  You also have to cross over the train tracks, but they do put something over the tracks so you don't have to step over the elevated tracks or worry about tripping over any of the tracks or slats or anything like that.  It is perfectly safe, even for someone not that stable.  

Bathrooms:  I used the bathroom at the depot prior to us checking in so I could still use my power chair.  With the number of people there, the line into the bathroom was rather long, so I'm glad I did this.  The accessible stall was difficult to use.  It was a big stall, but only because it was long.  It was no wider than the regular stalls.  It wasn't wide enough for my chair to turn around it.  I could stand at this time, so I didn't have to slide over to the toilet, but that would have been a challenge.  Getting out of the stall was a huge challenge though.  I had to open the door from behind me since I had to back out of the stall, and try to maneuver the door while backing out of the stall, and all the way past the other stalls in a crowded bathroom.  Thankfully people are usually very accommodating of me in my wheelchair and will move out of the way.

The train:  We checked in at the train depot and were directed to the office to get the manual wheelchair.  They brought out a manual wheelchair with only one foot rest, left it and said we could just leave my power chair right there in the hall.  I was not comfortable just leaving my power chair just sitting in the hall since it is basically my legs, and it costs the same amount as a small car, so I had my husband take it to our van after I transferred into the manual chair.  As I was sitting there, I caught the person who brought out the chair and asked if they had another wheelchair.  She said they didn't.  I told her that a manual chair with a broken foot rest was unacceptable.  It was dangerous for a person to sit without a foot rest on one side because they either had to sit with their leg dangling for extended periods of time, or they had to put both of their feet on one foot rest, which causes back pain from sitting off to the side that way.  She shrugged her shoulders and said "sorry".  It obviously wasn't her job and she didn't care.

Once on the train, we were taken to "first class".  First class was a joke.  It was a room with a bunch of mismatched, old, wooden table and chairs.  We were the only ones in the car.  We could see in the car ahead of us.  There was nice couches and tables in that car.  There was one worse though.  They have an open air car.  As we got onto the train, there is a large open space, then a snack bar off to the right that we had to pass to get to our car.  My chair would have fit down the isle in the "First class" car.  I'm pretty sure it would have fit past the snack bar too.  That is the only place it would have been tight.  If there had been fitting issued, I think it would have been feasible to load my chair on the train, then transfer me over to the manual at this point for the trip.  This way I could have my power chair for the stop over depot at the half-way point of the trip.  I really don't buy their excuse that a power chair weighs too much.  This is a train people.  It was designed to carry both people and frieght, even in the 1860s.  Plus, if weight was truly a concern, they would have to ask the weight of the passengers prior to boarding.  There was a man on our train that probably weighed just as much as my power chair, and was just as wide as it was (I am not body shaming here, just using it as a point that if he could be on this train, then so could my power chair)  

The stop over was a big problem for me.  My husband was able to push me around most of the time, but the bathroom was an issue.  I was all on my own here.  I have upper body weakness, which is why I have a power chair and not a manual chair in the 1st place.  In addition to the weakness, I am very petite, being only 5' tall, so the manual chair was really too big for me too, meaning I could only move it a little bit at a time.  It took me forever to get down the bathroom stall, and no one was willing to help me.  I got stuck going over the threshold into the bathroom as it has a really big bump at the entrance.  Thankfully someone helped me there.  As just a general review of the stop-over, it was boring.  We were there for 90 minutes.  There was a small gift shop, a continuous running video about the train,  a bunch of pictures and stories on the wall that was their "museum", and a box lunch caboose.  You are not allowed to bring your own food so that you can have an "authentic experience", yet the only food offered are hardly authentic 1860s food.  They are things like hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken tenders, fries, served in a box, and eaten on benches outside the depot.  There is a picnic area, but it was not accessible on that particular day.  It was raining and the area was not covered.  It was muddy and would have been difficult to get to in a power chair, let alone in a manual chair.  The lunch experience was anything but authentic.  I think being allowed to bring a picnic lunch would  have been much more romantic and authentic.  Their rules were not about being authentic, they were about making money.  The food was not even that good.

I have fibromyalgia and arthritis.  The train ride in the manual wheelchair with all the bumping and jaring was not good for my body.  By the time we got back to our van, I was in a lot of pain.

Overall, I would not recommend this train ride for someone in a wheelchair, or someone with chronic pain.  It was obvious to me that the people in charge of the train made no effort to make sure the disabled people riding the train had an enjoyable time too.  Better effort could have been made to make things accessible without ruining an antique train in the process.  

La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham Palestine, Texas

 We stayed at the La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham in Palestine, Texas at the end of September when we went to Palestine as part of a vacation trip.  We went to Palestine for the purpose to ride the train there.  I will review the train in another post.  As always, we reserved an accessible room.  We checked into the room and I stayed in the room while my husband went down to the van to get the rest of our things.  I went to the bathroom where I discovered the first major problem with this room.  The bathroom door was located right by the room door.  It opened out into the hall of the room.  Because it is an accessible room, which requires a wider doorway/door,  the door took up most of the room in the hall.  My wheelchair didn't fit between the wall and the door.  If I did a lot of maneuvering, I could manage to get past the door eventually, but I did damage the wall with my chair.  It might have been possible for a smaller chair to get past, but my chair is an average size, so it would have had to be a really small chair.  Getting out of the bathroom was even more difficult than getting into the bathroom.  

My husband went downstairs to complain to the clerk about the room.  He came up to the room to see the door.  He commented, and I quote "other people have complained, but I didn't know what they were talking about".  There had been other complaints about this door!!.  Nothing had been done!!.  There were no other rooms available as all the accessible rooms were just like this one.  We asked about taking the door off, but he said there was no on sight maintenance.  My husband said he would do it himself.  The clerk said we could do what we needed to.  There was no manager on sight now, so we would have to speak with her tomorrow.

Bathroom: the rest of the bathroom was barely accessible.  There was a toilet with bars around it.  There was a regular tub, although it did have bars inside it.  There was no shower bench in the tub.  We had to ask for one.  The shower had a regular shower head in it, not a hose at all.  There was no way to direct the water onto my body except to move the shower chair, but each time you move the shower chair, the legs that are inside the shower have to be adjusted to keep the chair level.  My husband was with me, so he was able to adjust it for me.  

The room: The bed was too high.  This seems to be a common problem with hotel rooms.  I was able to stand on this trip, so not as big of an issue for me this time, but if you cannot stand, this may be an issue.  I am never fond of the height of hotel beds in general though because even when I can stand, I am only 5' tall, so they can be challenging for me.  The rest of the room was spacious.  There was a table, a couch, and 2 TVs.  From an accessible point of view,  the table was a problem.  There was a power strip between the table and the couch that was ideal for plugging in a laptop while using it at the table, but it was unreachable from my chair.  The  only plugs I could reach from my chair were the ones on the night stands, and on the left side of the bed (as you lay in the bed)

Parking: There were 3 accessible parking spots, with 2 of them being van accessible.  There weren't a lot of people using them so we never had too much competition for them.

Pool:  They had an outdoor pool.  We noticed there was a chair lift from the parking lot, so we inquired at the front desk to see how to use it.  We were told the battery was in place and it should be working.  We went down to the pool only to find out the lift didn't work at all.  There was no controller at all.  We reported it to the front desk, but she didn't know anything about it.

Now, back to the issue about the door.  After my  husband and I returned from our train trip, I asked to speak with the manager.  I reported to her the problem I had with the bathroom door, along with the issue of the shower not having a hose.  The manager told me the hotel was like that when the owners bought it and there was nothing they could do about it.  She was not apologitic at all.  She was actually rather rude about it.  She did say she would report to the owners about the shower head and see about getting it replaced.  I told her I thought it was pretty disgraceful that a hotel that had had many different complaints about an accessible room had done nothing to try to fix it.  At this point she sort of gave me an apology, but it came with an eye roll.

I would not recommend this hotel for someone in a wheelchair due to the problem with the bathroom door alone.  Add in the problem with the tub/shower, and this makes this hotel's accessible rooms not accessible at all as far as I'm concerned.  They definitely are not accessible for someone in a wheelchair who is by themselves.  Our stay would have been a nightmare had my husband not removed the bathroom door.

A Quilter's Folly

 My husband calls A Quilter's Folly my second home, especially prior to the pandemic when I would spend hours and hours there.  I have been a customer there for many, many years, pre-wheelchair.  The staff all know me well. This makes A Quilter's Folly one of the most accessible fabric stores I have ever been in.

Parking:  There is 1 accessible parking spot right in front of the entrance to the store.  It is a van-accessible spot, although the striped area is a bit on the small side.  If you only need parking in close proximity, there is a lot of parking spots in close proximity to the entrance.  When the only accessible spot has been occupied, since I do require the room for my ramp to deploy, I am able to parallel park directly across from the entrance, along the curb.  There are rarely any cars parked there, so I can just pull up along the curb.

The store:  Despite this being a store full of fabric, there is always plenty of room down the isles.  When they rearrange the shelves, the owner always does so with my wheelchair in mind.  The first thing she tells me when I come in after a rearrangement is "tell me if there is something you can't get to."  There are things in the notions area that are out of my reach, but there is always a staff member available to get things down for me.  When I am there to shop, the staff will help me get the fabric bolts off the shelves for me too as they can be difficult for me to manage depending upon my upper body strength.

The Classroom:  A Quilter's Folly offers all kinds of classes, both for sewing and embroidery (although not as many as they did prior to the pandemic.  Hopefully they will start to come back soon).  The classroom area is a bit tight, but when I am signed up for a class, they reserved the spot for me that provides the most room for my chair and set up an ironing board that is accessible for me.

Bathroom:  There is a clear, open path back to the bathroom, which is in the storage area of the store.  The bathroom is large enough that my chair can easily fit in there and rotate 360 degrees.  It is a standard accessible bathroom.

I know some of you may be thinking that this store does all of this because I have been such a long-time customer.  That may be true, but I am sure the owner would do this for anyone.  She was a hospice nurse prior to retiring to run her store full time.  She and her staff would go out of their way to help anyone in need in the store, including making the store more accessible if someone with a different chair style than mine was having a hard time getting around.