Drift Away Suite at Twillingate & Beyond

Accessible Travel, Accommodations, Beyond the Overpass, Uncategorized / By
A photo of the main bedroom of the suite. There's a queen sized bed with a red headboard and a colourful quilt on it, and in the corner you can see a jacuzzi.

Last summer I headed to Twillingate for a little staycation. I was invited by the owner of Twillingate & Beyond to stay in their gorgeous, wheelchair-friendly Drift Away Suite. I had such a wonderful, comfortable two night stay and was able to provide the owners with some accessibility feedback so they could make some small changes to enhance the experience for other wheelchair users. I call this suite wheelchair-friendly because it met most of my access needs as a wheelchair user, but I did recognize some barriers that might exist for other wheelchair users. The suite was nestled in the back …

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An Accessible Luxury Picnic in the Park with Newfound Picnics

Public Spaces, Restaurants/Bars/Cafes, St. John's & Surrounding Areas, The Great Outdoors / By
A close up photo of a bright blue picnic table with two cushions on the bench. On top of the table is a white linen tablecloth, two bouquets of flowers, several plates of food and drinks, and fancy dinnerware.

Today my husband and I headed to Bowring Park to have a romantic picnic lunch date hosted by an awesome new local business called Newfound Picnics (which is owned by a very nice couple named Heather and Josh). A few months back, Heather reached out to me asking for some ideas for accessible picnic locations in the St. John’s area. She told me that making her business accessible was very important to her, as she also lives with a disability and wants to ensure everyone is able to enjoy the experience. Side note: I am thrilled to be able to …

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Alt Hotel

Accessible Travel, Accommodations, Restaurants/Bars/Cafes, St. John's & Surrounding Areas / By
A photo of the Alt Hotel lobby with lots of very fun, modern couches, chairs and ceiling lights.

Last summer I needed a change of scenery when I was laid up in bed with a really bad back. I decided I would rather spend a night laying in a hotel bed looking out at the harbour, so I headed to Alt Hotel to check it out. I had already heard good things about their accessibility, and the pics I saw online of the lobby and rooms looked so dreamy. I was not disappointed! It was beautiful and cozy, and I had such a relaxing night not very far from home. For anyone interested in going for a (mostly) …

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Social Media Accessibility Guide

Accessibility Advice / By
A banner with white background and two red blocks that say “Social Media Accessibility Guide” on one block and “Do your part to make your online content more accessible” on the other.

1. IMAGE DESCRIPTIONS Whenever you post a photo to Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram you can add image descriptions so those who are blind or have low vision can be a part of the full conversation. There are 2 ways to do this for each social media platform. Facebook: 1. At the end of the actual post that you are drafting you should make a space and then write out a full image description. This is beneficial to people with low vision that do not use screen readers. Your description would look something like this: Image Description: This is where you …

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Creating Accessible Events

Accessibility Advice, Events / By
A white background with coral coloured bold text that says "creating accessible events"

Let’s talk about how you can be a better ally to the disability community when you’re planning public events. ⁣ The first place to start when planning an event should be finding an accessible venue. You should check out the venue in person to see if it’s accessible to your event attendees. Here are some things to keep in mind when checking for accessibility:⁣ – Are there stairs? If so, is there another wheelchair accessible entrance with a ramp or lift?⁣ – Are there automatic doors? If not, can you prop doors open or have someone standing by the door …

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Manuels River Trail

Public Spaces, St. John's & Surrounding Areas, The Great Outdoors / By
A view of Manuels River and the surrounding trees from a bridge above it.

Last fall I went on a very fun adventure to Manuels River to try out an all terrain wheelchair that can be booked out from the Manuels River Interpretation Centre and used on their trails. The chair is called the Grit Freedom Chair and has been available at Manuel’s for the last two years thanks to funding from the Community Healthy Living Fund and the Department of Children, Seniors and Social Development (Government of NL). Since then it has mainly been used during educational programs as students in wheelchairs often visit with their class and are able to participate in the …

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Creating Accessible Accommodations

Accessibility Advice, Accessible Travel, Accommodations / By
A white background with coral bold text that says "creating accessible accommodations"

A message to everyone in the hospitality and tourism industry in NL: One of the hardest parts of planning any vacation when you’re a wheelchair user is actually being able to trust that the place you’re booking your accommodations with is as accessible as it claims to be. A lot of places list themselves as “wheelchair accessible” but upon further investigation there are obvious barriers that would make staying there difficult or impossible. I worry that I’m being misled when I see a place claim to be wheelchair accessible but see no specific details of what makes it accessible, or …

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TimeMasters Comics

Shops, St. John's & Surrounding Areas / By
A photo of the entrance of TimeMasters that shows the automatic front door and the level ground at the entrance.

My husband and I recently visited the new and improved Timemasters Inc. in the Hamlyn Road Plaza. We were very excited for Timemasters to make this move because it’s way closer to our home and we knew it would likely be more accessible for me. And we were right! I loved it and I was so happy with how wheelchair accessible it was. They have an accessible parking spot right by the door with proper curb cuts leading from the spot. There is another accessible spot close by as well. There’s an automatic door at the entrance, very wide aisles …

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Round Da Bay Inn: Bonavista Peninsula

Accessible Travel, Accommodations, Beyond the Overpass / By
A photo of the exterior of Round Da Bay inn, a large two story red inn with white trim and decks, with two wings of single story rooms on either side of the middle two story building.

I want to tell a story about Round da Bay Inn and the owners Karen & Chris Ricketts. When I first set up Access YYT, I think Karen/Round Da Bay Inn was one of my first followers. And as I continued to post accessibility tips and advice on my accounts, I began to notice a trend. Basically everything I shared as suggestions to make a business and their social media presence more accessible was promptly followed by Round Da Bay Inn. If I said that businesses and public figures should use image descriptions for any photos they share across their …

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Harbourside Park

Public Spaces, St. John's & Surrounding Areas, The Great Outdoors / By
A photo taken at the edge of the wharf at Harbourside Park, looking out at the Narrows in the harbour.

Last week I sat with one of my best friends at Harbourside Park while sipping on a latte and taking in the view. I always love getting a drive thru coffee and then heading to Harbourside. There’s an accessible parking spot right in front of the entrance, some nice ramps all the way down to the water, and lots of benches to sit at if you don’t always have a seat under you like I do. There is some gravel on each level of the park which can be hard for some people to push their mobility aids through, but I …

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