CrimsonGuard87

Since I knew I was going to have today off of work (I work part time at the moment), I figured that it would be a perfect day to go for a roll in my chair. My first stop was the Mall of America. This is the third time I've gone to the MoA in my chair, and there's a very good reason I'll keep doing so: pushing myself around the mall is so effing easy (keep this in mind for later). The smooth floors make getting around a breeze and with all of the stores, there's plenty to keep you occupied. I also love this place for just how accessible it is. There are multiple elevators all around the mall, so changing floors is no problem. The only place that might give someone in a chair a bit of a challenge is Camp Snoopy (I realize that this absolutely dates me and that the place is now Nickelodeon Universe, but screw it. It will ALWAYS be Camp Snoopy to me.) The floor is uneven, which means one arm will be doing more work than the other to keep you going straight, but I say it's definitely worth checking out.

Stop #2 today was the Como Zoo in St. Paul. I've been here dozens of times before, so I didn't think about it much at the time, but visiting with my chair, I couldn't help but notice the lack of ADOs (Automatic Door Openers) in some places, especially the Conservatory. While it's annoying and kinda awkward opening the doors manually, it is doable, though someone with less upper body strength might have issues. All the other times, I had no issues opening any of the doors, but that was while visiting on my feet. Interesting how easily one's perspective can change. I also noticed the lack of an ADO on the front entrance to the primate building, but I found a back way in that had automatic doors. As much as I love this zoo, and I do love it, I found the outdoor paths to be a bit annoying. I've no doubt been spoiled by the MoA's smooth floors, so the rougher paved surfaces of the walking paths gave me more resistance than I had expected. Yet the choice of surfacing was nothing compared to the small hills that the paths go up and down. The reason I like the MoA so much is because it's flat and smooth. Going up hills can be a serious workout, especially if you have to go up more than one hill.

If I come off as a bit harsh on the Como, I apologize. Other than the lack of ADOs and the hills (a pain to go up, a breeze to go down, literally in both cases), I would absolutely recommend checking this place out, and not just because it's entrance fee is just a suggested donation. I would have loved to see the big cat building, but there was some construction going on that blocked one of the ways to the chair friendly entrance and the only other way had a hill that I took one look at and turned around.

Final verdicts:

Mall Of America - Bloomington, MN: 5/5 Great accessibility, smooth floors, plenty of ways to spend your time and money

Como Zoo - St. Paul, MN: 3.5/5 -1 for lack of ADOs, -0.5 for hills, otherwise a great place to relax and see some animals

Como Zoo Conservatory: 4/5 Smooth floors and awesome plants, but could use a few door openers

I used my chair out in public for the first time today at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. After parking at a nearby parking ramp, I pulled my chair out of my car's trunk and assembled it. One thing that I learned very quickly is that hills and inclines suck (at least when going up them; going down is another matter entirely). Before I went to the MIA, I adjusted my chair's center of gravity, and I'm glad I did. Going down my first hill on my way to the front entrance, I tried to pop my front castors over a raised section of sidewalk. I failed the first time and came close to doing a face plant.

Once inside, this became probably the best visit I've ever had. Moving around was smooth, easy and extremely enjoyable. It was nice to slowly roll around the different galleries, looking at the art. I even had two people compliment my shirt. That usually doesn't happen. I don't know if it was because of the chair or not, but if anything else, they were nice bonuses.

Going back to my car a couple hours later, I took a different route and enjoyed a nearly completely down hill ride. Overall, other than a few spots along the sidewalk around the building, the MIA is a great place to go for a roll.

TL;DR Went to an art museum for my first time using a wheelchair in public and other than a few minor annoyances, loved it.

I present unto thee, my new ride for when I'm out and about on my own and lots of walking on hard surfaces is required:

(admittedly not my best when it comes to photography, but I didn't have my DSLR with me).

Anywho, this is a pretty standard Tilite ZRA, standard black accents and matte finish. The backpack is one I've had for a while. Once I got it out of the box and put together (I swear half of the stuff in the box was foam padding), the first thing I noticed while rolling around was that the brakes were too far forward. A couple minutes with an allen wrench fixed that, so now they are super easy to engage. I also added some velcro to the bottom of the cushion so it shouldn't go anywhere. I plan to take this out for its first public appearance at the Minneapolis Institute of Art tomorrow. I figure a nice quiet, low-key place is best, at least until I get the center of gravity properly adjusted and I figure out how to pop my front castors up. Once that happens, I think a trip to the Mall of America is in order...

If you have any suggestions on what I can do to improve my new ride or my skills, send me a note.