links in post are green
My longtime friend, Susan, is the VP at Panama City Beach CVBureau. I took her up on her invitation to come visit. Not knowing northwest Florida
That is the basic truth, but what you need to add are the details of why this town has grow in size and drawn so much praise. A (reeeally) beautiful pristine beach with a beckoning jewel-tone surf, blue drinks and bright blue skies, board shorts and bikinis, warm sunshine and cool mini-racecars buzzing by in a blur. Add to that: great weather and welcoming, friendly locals who are ready to show visitors what a good time they can have while in town. Name your pleasure….anything
Oh, let’s not forget the view from those condos. (Ahhhh, life is good)
Panama City Beach is southwest of Tallahassee and about half way down Florida’s panhandle coastline. It is also on the north coastline of the Gulf of Mexico . The aptly named Emerald coast was declared “the best beach in the US
Since before the 1950’s this area was a local beach vacation secret.
True, the panhandle is not undiscovered, but it is a place that has a history of protecting the natural beauty (40% of the gulf coast is preserved) while coexisting well with providing for our specialized needs
As a wheelchair user, my biggest fear when I travel is to be on the outside looking in. (‘Aint it annoying when you want to go somewhere and there is a barrier that reminds you about your limitations)
It’s a good thing my travel interests are the areas where inclusion is first to show itself.
Eco-tourism, museums, galleries, gardens, restaurants are all making a serious move toward welcoming everyone
The further west you travel in this state you are among primitive landscapes of Saw Palmetto and skyward reaching pines with lots of green space that is comfortably developed.
Susan and I visited a Panama City Beach
Leeann is a sweetheart of a woman, who deals with the souvenir tee-shirts and all the crazy tourists and keeps a sincere, sweet smile.
We were taken by Mary Pat Zebroski, a local advocate for inclusion of the disabled and a teacher at a local Charter school, on a pontoon boat tour of St. Andrew’s Bay and the Grand Lagoon. We needed to find a rental company that used beach shore loading because of my wheelchair; Scotty boat rental on Highway 98 at the east end of the Hathaway Bridge Gulf of Mexico training the newborn pups in deep water.
Jay, Mary Pat’s husband, gave me a tour down highway 30A that had us passing the towns of Cape Cod inspired Watercolor and the pastel houses of Seaside. This town was the first example of new urbanist design in the area and started a trend. Caribbean and Dutch colonial inspired architecture predominates in Rosemary Beach (the most picture perfect town EVER). With 30A lined by a procession of Canary date palms, all the buildings in Alys Beach are a hybrid of Bermudan, Mediterranean and Guatemalan influences. White stucco and a repeated ziggurat detail had a striking effect.
I also talked with Tracy Louthain at South Walton TDC- The Beaches of South Walton County website and it became clear that part of South Walton TDC mission was disability awareness.
.
The Florida State Park system is leading the way by continually improving access to their parks and making provisions to have ADA cabins in many of their parks.
Mitch Fenton, Accessibility and Inclusion/Safety Coordinator for Florida’s SP system, is committed to improving services system wide. It felt great to have people ask for and sincerely listen to personal observations that could help future guests be more comfortable.
Just off long, flat, tree lined highway 98 and along scenic highway 30A west of
Defuniak Rd.is Grayton BeachState Park, where I stayed.
Defuniak Rd.is Grayton Beach
Older homes and mature trees are all well kept and residents really value their ‘small town’ feel.
There are popular + accessible restaurants, shops of all types, Nouveau florist (a very pleasant woman, Marja, made the most me the most beautiful non-flower, native foliage arrangements for my cabin) all are able to answer your needs.
Sure, there are a few beautiful home rentals to be had that have varying degree of accessibility (to what degree, depends on your specific questions.)(So ask for details and avoid disappointment later).
‘Down ‘th road apiece’ on 30A, I found heaven.
I went with a house set in a gated, wooded park, ADA
The cabins were built on land that was slated to be a beach side development.
Thankfully, only the roads were installed. Because most of the land has been left undisturbed I saw the natural Florida
The changing light throughout the day is an endless gift.
Jody Goulden , my go-to-gal Dale Singler, park manager and Matt Allen, assistant park manager did an above and beyond job of answering my questions, calming my worries and even supervised receiving my hospital bed and Hoyer rental before my arrival. (in order to accommodate the hospital bed, Matt had the existing queen sized bed in one of the two bedrooms disassembled and removed)
Our home was one side of a bungalow duplex where I never saw, let alone heard the neighbors. Silver standing seam metal roofs, louvered window sun shades, ceiling fans along with simple furnishings and a screened in porch through double wide French doors from the living room helped to foster that ‘old Florida’ feeling.
Nostalgic feel does not mean one must forsake accessibility.
Low thresholds, wider doors and hallways, only lower kitchen cabinets, cool-to-the-touch tile floors with no area rugs to catch/trip-on, air-conditioning (it can get so very hot in summer) and a roll-in shower were some design considerations that helped make my stay more comfortable.
A short walk/roll down the 15mph road is a cul-de-sac ends with a raw wood bike rack, an accessible rinse shower and ramp to climb over the 30’ natural dune that acts as a buffer to protect the land from wind, tidal surges and September’s hurricane season. From a still, verdant, evergreen field you crest the hill to see a wide expanse of shallow light green, gentle waves and then with a little depth the water becomes emerald green then deep blue.
The wind, at the top of the ramp is constant and warm.
You can’t help but rush down the switchback on the beach side of the ramp.
It feels like you’re dreaming and you need to prove to you’re self it’s real.
Unasked, Matt also set up three or four Mobi-mats to elicit my ‘end-user’ opinion on how they help to make a beach wheelchair accessible. They did help quite a bit.
He explained any written feedback helps him with funding requests.
One of my plans was to rent a beach scooter; The Beachscoot was the idea of Tom and John Swett (native PCB residents). I found that my condition (quad) paired with my 6’ frame made getting aboard not possible (drat!). Tom immediately started brainstorming to conquer the issue.
My friend Emily, a smaller framed paraplegic, was able to transfer easily. Emily enjoyed the freedom of being able to fly a kite. I look forward to once again meander up and down a beach
I arranged for beach umbrellas and chairs; we had days of beautiful, calm, emerald Gulf seas, uncrowded (almost private) beaches and glowing orange sunsets.
One night we went to Bayou Bill’s (6 mi. west of Grayton Beach on 98) for dinner (super place, well prepared seafood, nice waitress, VERY clean…….anyway, there is this guy, who has sold his glass art from a tiny one man palapa out in front of the restaurant for many years. No sign, no business card,… great guy. He even offered a free repair if anything broke on the way home. A wide mix of prices and styles. My favorites combined a found piece of nature complimented by his artistry*. I bought all my souvenirs here.
Any traveler that uses a computer (that’s most of us) can make plans to provide whatever you could need.
It’s been said often (+ it’s true), few obstacles can’t be overcome with proper planning.
It helps to be ready to improvise when your plans fall through. (TRUST me; it will happen)
The happy medium you aim for is the good times outweighing any last minute emergencies.
This was my first trip where I did all the prep work.
There are a few things I learned;
* Continental Airlines has a first rate disability desk to answer all your questions and can even help with reservations
*Fly direct flights and avoid connecting flights
*Although 50% of wheelchairs are damaged by flight crews (and they will replace them…..later); secure the joystick, wrap, protect, and tag your wheelchair. Renting a chair doesn’t work
*Use your wheelchair cushion on the airplane and use the seatbelt extension
*Under federal law: You are not required to get in an ‘aisle chair’ (AKA instrument of torture) until your chair is at the door of the plane and wheelchair users are permitted one carry-on plus one bag of exclusively medical supplies(i.e., medication, chair charger, portable shower/commode chair…)
* arrive as close to your destination as possible. Road trips can be stressful.
*Accessible rental vans from a company such as Wheelchair vans of America can make for a schedule free and more comfortable trip. Katie Muise, a manager at WCVA in the main Orlando
* If you’re not renting a van, research accessible public transportation in that area
*Don’t be shy, call ahead to ask questions to see if a location is able to serve you well.
Florida has guite a few resources that can help. (The more you look, the more you’ll find)
Link glossary (some load slowly)
