TRANSIT REPORT - NEW YORK CITY

UPDATE: For service status following Hurricane Sandy, check this page: MTA Service Advisory

New York is a dizzying, confusing place but, if you do your homework, you can navigate your way through the city in a wheelchair.  Here are your major options.

AIRPORT TRANSPORTATION - The two major New York airports are Kennedy and La Guardia.  Amazingly in this city of subways, neither is connected to that system.  Your best bet is to either request an accessible taxi at the taxi stand, or to book an accessible shuttle from a company such as Supershuttle.  If you're more adventurous, and don't have a lot of luggage, you can catch an MTA bus.  At La Guardia, it's not too far to take the 48 bus to Queen's and catch the 7 subway there into the city at the accessible Flushing-Main St. station.  At Kennedy, you can take the AirTrain to the accessible Sutphin subway station (E line) or to the accessible Howard Beach subway station (A line).  We did try the bus option from La Guardia.   It's doable, but coming back it's very confusing finding the right bus stop when you get off of the subway.  We haven't tried the Kennedy option yet.  There is also train service from Newark airport and nearby the Islip airport, which you'd either have to taxi or bus to...it would be about a mile walk from the airport to the train station.  We did this via a taxi one time...if possible, I'd rather fly into one of the other three airports.

SUBWAY - Let's face it, it's just not New York without the subway.  When possible, it's also the fastest way to get around.  There are currently 33 accessible subway stations in Manhattan listed on the MTA's website.  Some popular locations with accessible stations are Times Square, Herald Square, Penn Station, Grand Central Station, Brooklyn Bridge, Rockefeller Center, Roosevelt Island, and the World Trade Center station.  Outside of Manhattan you have Yankee Stadium, Coney Island, and Flushing Meadows Park.  There are several more non-accessible stations where you can transfer between lines in a wheelchair.  It is very important to study the map and information provided by the MTA's website for particular access information, for example some lines may be accessible in a station while others in the same station are not such as Times Square, where the shuttle (S) is not accessible.

The basic fare for buses or subways is $2.50. A 7-Day pass is $29. (2012)

BUS - All buses in New York are accessible.  We had no problems on any bus or with any drivers while we were there.  The only problem is that they must also sit in traffic, although they have dedicated lanes on the busiest streets.

STATEN ISLAND FERRY - is accessible and a great way to get good views of the city and the Statue of Liberty. The Staten Island Ferry is free.

STATUE OF LIBERTY/ELLIS ISLAND FERRY - is accessible.

ROOSEVELT ISLAND TRAMWAY - is accessible.

TAXIS - Most are not accessible.  You'll usually need to call a dispatcher to have one sent, it is very hard to hail an accessible cab on the street.

LONG ISLAND RAILROAD - In Manhattan, the LIRR uses the accessible Penn Station, underneath Madison Square Garden.  Click the link for a map of accessible stations.

METRO NORTH RAILROAD - For points upstate and Connecticut, the Metro North uses Grand Central Station, which is accessible.  For points across the Hudson, Metro North uses Penn Station, which is also accessible.  Click the link for a map of accessible stations.

-Darryl
Photos courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Diliff and Janke under CC-BY license
Daniel Schwen under CC-BY-SA license
Kris Arnold under CC-BY-SA license

Good Fences Make Good Neighbors...I Need a Better Fence

This is not my garden. It's my neighbor's garden. It is, however, my driveway. Very pretty salvia plants but I wish they'd stay on her side of the fence.

The problem is this is where we park our car. The driver's door ends up right next to these plants, meaning we have to wade through them to open the door not to mention the scraping sounds we hear when we drive up.  Those aren't the biggest problems, though. 

All those pretty flowers attract hordes of bees and wasps. I'm not against bees and wasps in my garden but I do have a problem wading through a cloud of agitated, stinging insects when all I want to do is get into my car. Especially when I'm on my side of the fence.

 

I don't want to sound like I don't like my neighbor. I do. She's a nice lady but she's like a pirate...property boundaries are more like "guidelines" to her. I'm constantly pushing her stuff back over the line when she stores her junk in the crawlway behind my garage and her plants encroach into my space bringing the bees with them.

I've told her my problem with the plants and once in a great while she has her gardener come over and cut them back bu, at least a couple of times a year, I have to take it upon myself.

Luckily, salvia branches snap off rather easily so I can go out and just yank out the branches leaning over my side of the line. Here is the plant by the driver's side door after I did just that.

A cleanup afterward (another chore I shouldn't have to do but I do) and I've got the prettiest yard clipping bin in the neighborhood. What doesn't fit in here I spread over my lawn, then mow it in, and let the grass feast of the finely chopped up organic matter.

Darryl
Copyright 2012 - Darryl Musick
All Rights Reserved

Visitors to the Cheapskate's Garden

One of the benefits of gardening is the visitors it attracts. Here are a few of ours. Above is an acorn woodpecker swooping down from his utility pole to get a drink of water. Fun birds to watch, these characters can also do a lot of damage. We had to replace an entire wall of wood siding that they destroyed.

This lesser goldfinch is another of about 50 species we've seen in or from our backyard. My wife used to hang feeders for them but hasn't for awhile.

An Anna's hummingbird visits one of the four feeders that hang around our garden.

It's not only birds. On rare occasions, we've seen black bears on the hillside behind our house. Coyotes are not uncommon. Mule deer are a very common sight here.

Darryl
Copyright 2012 - Darryl Musick
All Rights Reserved

TRANSIT REPORT - CHICAGO 2010

Picture courtesy of Wikimedia

Rob Pongsajapan under CC-BY license

The main transit agency in Chicago is the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA). They run a system of buses and subway trains. Most of the trains run above ground, much of that on elevated tracks so the system is known locally as the "L" (for elevated).

Picture courtesy of Wikimedia

Kelly Martin under CC-BY-SA license

BUSES

Chicago was a bit late to the accessible bus party, but now 100% of their fleets and routes are wheelchair accessible. I remember when we were there in 2001, we were at a bus stop and a bus with a wheelchair lift stopped but because it was not designated as a wheelchair accessible route, the driver would not pick us up.  The new policy opens up vast swaths of the city that were not available to wheelers before.

Buses go just about everywhere here and come by often. You’re never more than a couple of blocks away from a bus line. Normal fare is $2.25 (2012) and a day pass can be had for $5.75. Disabled riders can board for a dollar. An RTA reduced fare is technically required, but in our experience, if you’re obviously disabled, you can ride for this fare.

Illinois residents with disabilities can apply to the RTA for a free ride card.

Picture courtesy of Wikimedia

JeremyA under CC-BY-SA license

THE L

The L serves much of the main corridors of the city. We found we could get to about 90% of the places we wanted to go via accessible L service. First, both airports…O’Hare and Midway…have accessible L stations. The Blue Line serves O’Hare and the Orange Line serves Midway.

Both ballparks are served by the Red Line with Wrigley Field next to the Addison station north of downtown (north side) and US Cellular Field (Comiskey Park) served by the 35th Street station. Each station is less than a block from their respective stadiums.

Soldier Field is served by the accessible Roosevelt Station on the Orange, Green and Red Lines.

The Loop is the downtown area where several L lines go in a circle around the area on elevated tracks…the Blue and Red line go through this area underground. The Pink and Orange lines go in a clockwise direction while the Brown line goes in a counter-clockwise direction. 7 of the 14 Loop stations are accessible.

Chicago can get extremely cold. Each L station has an area where you can press a button and a space heater will run for 15 minutes to keep you warm while you wait for the train.

Fares are the same as for the buses (above).

Click on the link for a route map for the CTA. Wheelchair accessible L stations have the wheelchair symbol next to them.

METRA

METRA is a commuter rail service providing service between Chicago and the suburbs to the North, West, and South. All downtown METRA stations are accessible. You can view a map and get a list of their accessible stations at their website, http://www.metrarail.com/ . It keeps crashing my browser but maybe you’ll have better luck.

One way, full fare tickets run from $2.75 to $9.25 (2012). People with disabilities pay a little less than half price. On weekends, up to 3 children…age 11 and under…can ride free with each paying adult. Adults can get a weekend pass for $7 good for both Saturday and Sunday.

PACE

PACE is a regional bus service that serves Cook, Lake, Will, Kane, McHenry, and DuPage counties. It also serves nearby cities in Indiana. All PACE buses are accessible but their website is in dire need of a makeover. Fares runs from $1.75 to $4.00 (2010) with disabled fares running from 85 cents to $2.00.

-Darryl

The Mother of All Oranges

The Cheapskate and his family are on the road this weekend but found something interesting for us and all you other gardeners out there.

 

  This is the Parent Navel Orange Tree in Riverside, California.

Brought to the city in 1870 from Bahia, Brazil, this is the original seedless wonder. All navel orange trees in California are clones from this original tree.

Propagated by cuttings and grafting, it started a big industry here in the state. One of two original trees, this is the one left standing, the other was transplanted by Teddy Roosevelt at the Mission Inn Hotel but it soon died and was cut up and sold as souvenirs.

Darryl
Copyright 2012 - Darryl Musick
All Rights Reserved

Just Waiting to Go Postal...Taming a Gorgeous Plant that Just Wants to Eat Your House

Bougainvilleas are gorgeous plants. They bring a touch of the islands to your home and are seen throughout the world climbing over tropical ruins (like above), swallowing them up in a riot of color.

That's the problem...it doesn't take but a moment of inattention and they will go wildly out of control. Not far from where I live, the largest of these plants in the United States has established itself over three blocks of residential Glendora, California.

Still, they can be grown and kept under control in containers. I get a lot of compliments from my bougainvilleas...I have four different varieties with four different colors...but I keep a short leash on them.

Originally, I just planted like I did every other plant and then I noticed they will root right through the drain holes in the pot.  Not good...that's how they escape.

My solution was to get plastic pots without drain holes and drill holes in the side of the pot for drainage instead of the bottom to keep the roots contained.

We now have some very beautiful, well mannered bougainvilleas adding tons of color to the Cheapskate's patio.

Darryl
Copyright 2012 - Darryl Musick
All Rights Reserved

No Sex Please...We're Gardeners: Easy Plant Propagation

Yes, we're talking about reproduction here but not of the sexual variety. Gardeners have been cloning plants for centuries. It's a great way to preserve a highly prized specimen. It's also a way to give a friend your prized plants without giving them your plant.

 

There are many ways of asexual plant propagation, or cloning. Some are hard and some are easy. 

Let's start with easy.

Succelent plants are probably easiest plants to reproduce by cloning. You can just find a good one you like and pop off a couple of leaves.

Put in a small pot of mix, bottom down, water in, and put in a shady place.  Water every few days.

In a couple of weeks, the leaflets will sprout roots and you'll have a perfect copy of the mother plant.

Other plants that are easy to reproduce are plumeria, where we just stick a broken branch in the ground. It roots and next summer we have flowers...

...and euphorbia which, just like the plumeria, sprouts very easily when a cut branch is just stuck in the ground.

Darryl
Copyright 2012 - Darryl Musick
All Rights Reserved

Sunday Serenade...

It's the Day of Rest and we're enjoying the fruits of our labors. Garden chores were pretty much limited to mowing the lawn this week. Here's what's happening in our garden today. Mr. Lincoln (above) is giving us one final show before shutting down for winter.

As is Moonstone, not one of my favorite roses but it's looking pretty good today.

The bougainvillea is giving us great splashes of color.

Our hot chiles are loaded with flowers.  Hope to have a lot of spice in our lives soon.

Some can't wait and are ready now.

 

Helping in our goal of having something to eat out of our garden year round, our little citrus grove is getting closer to harvest too. 

The Meyer lemons are starting to show their colors...

...as are our tangelos.

Darryl
Copyright 2012 - Darryl Musick
All Rights Reserved

Recipes for a Cheapskate - Spicy Stuffed Bell Peppers

We're getting a bumper crop of bell peppers this year and they're growing  at a rate that we just have to harvest 5 or 6 a week...then we'll have another half dozen next week. Very tasty, too.

Here's one way I like to cook them. Think of this recipe as poppers that uses bell peppers instead of jalapenos.

First, bell peppers taste great but they need a little help with the spiciness (you may disagree...you can skip this step if you do). These chiles from the plant next to it will help with that component.

I cut up the peppers as fine as I can. I up the spiciness a little more with a couple of these dried chiles that our aunt grew.  I have some left over bacon that I cooked with some eggs yesterday, so I take half a slice of cooked bacon and dice it up.

Next, I take one pound of cream cheese, that I left soften up to room temperature, and fold in the chile and bacon bits.

I cut open the bell peppers, remove the seeds, and place a dollop of my cream cheese, bacon, and chile mixture. The cream cheese blend also makes a good glue to keep the pepper shut so make sure you coat the knife slit with it.

We're using this as a side dish for our smoked tri tip roast, which we are cooking very slowly at a low temperature, and we add the peppers about an hour before it's done.

Let smoke for an hour.

This is what it looks like when it's done.

All that's left to do is put in on a plate and enjoy!
(Note: If you'd like the tri tip roast recipe, you can find it on our Facebook page)

Darryl
Copyright 2012 - Darryl Musick
All Rights Reserved

TRANSIT REPORT - Seattle

Transit in Seattle got a huge boost when the Link light rail opened up to the SEA-TAC airport. No longer are wheelchairs at the mercy of taxi companies or have to find an accessible bus, this is a huge leap forward for visitors to the Emerald City.

The Link runs from Tukwila…just a bit north of the airport…to Westlake. That’s the downtown mall where the monorail runs from the Seattle Center (Space Needle).

When we went to Seattle in 2009, one of the things we noticed is that the transportation from the airport was OK, but could be a lot better…we saw the Link under construction and thought of how convenient that would be. Going back to the airport, this will be a godsend. I remember being left high and dry when the taxi I reserved to go back never showed up…I’ll be glad never to have to use them again.

We also went to a Mariners game and noticed the atrocious lack of public transportation from the stadium (there was limited train service during weekend games but none during the week). After the game, thousands of fans would be elbowing for a spot on the one bus that came by every 20 minutes or so to go back downtown (a transfer was also required). The Link service would be much nicer.

The Link joins the Sounder Commuter Rail service, which really only helps the rush-hour 
passengers, and the mostly excellent King Country Metro Transit bus service.

One thing we really liked about Seattle is that the Metro bus service went nearly everywhere, with multiple lines, frequent accessible service during the day, and some of the friendliest transit workers we’ve ever encountered. We took the power chair to Seattle and had virtually no problems getting around.

Another great feature of the Metro service is that trips beginning and ending in the downtown zone are free during the day.

Another unique transit option here are the Washington State Ferries that shuttle commuters along the Puget Sound to destinations like Bainbridge Island and even Victoria in British Columbia.

Seattle is famous for its monorail service, built in 1962 for the World’s Fair. It is still in service and is accessible but seems unreliable. After about 3 tries, we finally got to ride it but most of the time we were there it was broke down. One time, we saw the fire department evacuating the trains with ladder trucks due to another breakdown. I don’t recommend it at this time.

All services listed above are wheelchair accessible.

-Darryl
Pictures courtesy of Wikimedia
Atomic Taco under CC-SA license
Joe Mabel under CC-SA license
Klaus with K under CC-SA license