Sunday, October 23, 2011

Frank's "Ferrari"


Frank is a new TravelScoot owner.  He's just returned home from an adventure and has comments and questions.  If you can answer these questions, please post them in the comment section or send them to me at elizabeth@ifisher.com. Thanks!


From Frank in Melbourne, Australia

Well I am home again, after a most interesting trip to Los Angeles, San Francisco and a cruise down to Mexico etc. and through the Panama Canal to Miami, taking in the Everglades, then back to Oz again.

‘twas a really delightful 3 ½ weeks of brilliant sunshine and not too hot weather, although in some places it was very humid.  But to wrap it all up, it was a lovely holiday I could, most certainly, have not done without my trusty Travelscoot, aka my “Ferrari”   by various waiters and coach drivers.  Especially the Yosemite Valley and Muir Woods were fantastic.

I now have my eyes set on further trips overseas.  I am especially interested to know whether any of your Travelscooters have ever been on a cruise up the Rhine or similar Rivers in Germany.  There are some trips from Amsterdam to Budapest, for example,  which I would love to go on, but I am wondering whether the many beautiful old towns and villages where one pulls in are Travelscoot friendly, or whether they are too rough (cobblestones) for my scooter to handle.  I have travelled along some of this route many years ago when I was fit and healthy but my dim memories recall them as being fairly tough on legs and possibly even worse on small wheels, but things may have changed in the past 50 or so years.  Or have they?
Could you please find out if anyone has traversed this part of Europe?

I have another question.  I notice that you, Rhonda and Elizabeth have treated yourself to a new padded seat. (For the Travelscoot, I mean).  Not only do I think that this was a great idea, given that I had quite a “numb bum” after spending countless hours in Disneyland, Paramount Studios and the aforementioned sites in California, but I am wondering whether the new comfort (thickness) of the seat compromises my ability to pack the scooter in its canvas carry-bag, as I always travel with it “packed”.  I prefer to be escorted through the tremendous air terminals by wheelchair.

As a point of interest, I had so many people stop me and ask me about the scooter in America (I referred them to Tony)—from Americans, Canadians, British and other parts of the world—
that I was most surprised that this product was not more widely advertised.  In one instance a whole group of Japanese tourists crowded around me and through an interpreter was asked a lot about it and photographs were taken.

I was very deeply impressed by the care and attention  given to the disabled in your country, and yet I found it interesting that your street corners had very narrow gradients to the roadway, so one had to be extremely careful when crossing, lest one may accidentally run into the back of another pedestrian when crossing.

Hoping for some helpful comments re the cruising in Europe and with kind regards from Oz,

Sincerely,

Frank

4 comments:

  1. hi frank, it's me, bee. we did a river cruise from nuremberg to budapest on viking river cruises. it was before i got my scooter but i am familiar with the stops. each day was another lovely adventure but i would say it would be very difficult on the scooter. the streets are narrow and cobblestones and curbs, narrow alleyways. as far as the ship we were on there were steps also. please try cruise critic.com and there are boards there that might be helpful to you, also there is a disabled board with lots of information.

    my seat was recovered but not as thick as elizabeth's. he just took the existing seat and put another layer of padding and new leather and it's not much bigger and fits in the carrier. also i don't use the back on mine so i didn't have that done.

    happy scooting!

    smiles, bee
    xoxo

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  2. Hi Frank, we like to live vicariously though fellow TravelScooters, so please send pictures of you and your TravelScoot on your many adventures.

    About the seat, since having it re-upholstered, my seat thickness measures evenly around, 4 1/2 inches (11.5 cm), if that helps. I've had the opportunity to use both my seat and Elizabeth's and find them both extremely comfortable. Elizabeth's seat has a plush, comfortable feel and my seat is firmer, although still comfortable just not as plush feeling, but absorbs the shock of uneven surfaces a little better.

    Rhonda

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  3. We cruised from Budapest to Amsterdam with Vantage before I owned a scoot. I don't think the scoot could navigate much of the terrain but Vantage was good about getting us to some destinations by taxi so those of us with limited mobility could participate in things like the organ concert. Our boat also had interior steps but the river boats are not nearly as big as cruise ships so I was able to walk to dinner and entertainment on it.

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  4. Frank, both mine and Rhonda's TravelScoot cases are packed away in storage. We've never used them so can't say if the new seat would fit or not. Sorry!

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