Wednesday, August 04, 2010

Is Wellfleet Handicapped-friendly?

I pulled a tendon or something in my leg, which is why there have not been many new beach photos on Chezsven Blog of late. Above, the rest area on the climb up from Cahoon Hollow Beach, empty before the tourists arrived for the summer. Our upgraded beach access gets three stars. Why only three? It's still not handicapped-accessible. I became aware of this problem when my mom needed to get around Wellfleet with a walker ...

This week I've been experiencing what it must be like to be handicapped. I hobble around, eager for Sven’s return from Sweden. Climbing stairs has become an ordeal. I apply regular heat packs to my knee and spend hours in front of the computer. No fun! Then a ray of sunshine brightened my day. Someone called, looking for a room in two weeks, a busy time here, and, to boot, a room that is handicapped-accessible.

Innkeepers are considered instant specialists on all things Wellfleet, at least that must be the way we are perceived, because, in season, I answer half a dozen calls a day. Innkeepers do know a lot, but not everything. People, over the phone, often ask questions that would be better directed to staff at the Chamber of Commerce. But I did speak to this caller for five minutes.  Then she said, "Are you the lady who writes?" Had I been a child, drawing a picture of me at this desk, an enormous sun would have suddenly appeared in a corner of the page.  When I replied to the affirmative, she said, "I knew you would help me …"

I intend to do a post about handicapped-accessible Wellfleet in the future, once this knee is feeling better. Readers, do you know which beaches are handicapped-accessible?