KEY WEST BY WHEELCHAIR - 3

KEY WEST BY WHEELCHAIR

When we are home in Miami, Heidi enjoys a high level of independence afforded by her power wheelchair and lift-equipped accessible van.

But we've learned that the heavy power chair limits us on the road, because Steve can't lift it through a challenging threshold, bump it over a rampless curb or walk it up a few steps.

Because Heidi's manual chair is light, Steve can perform those tricky maneuvers with Heidi in it.

Thus, Heidi sacrifices the independence of a power chair and relies on Steve-power to push her in her manual wheelchair when we visit a city known for its narrow sidewalks, small inns and historic structures.

We meander along historic streets to get to the fabled city cemetery and other points of interest.

We could take a wheelchair-accessible ride on the open-air Old Town Trolley, which features stops at Mallory Square, Historic Key West Seaport, Duval Street and the southernmost point in the continental United States, with its outsized black, red and yellow stone buoy.