Catalina Island is 22 miles off the coast of Long Beach, California, the island is 75 square miles and the only city located on the island is Avalon. The only Light folding electric wheelchair vehicle allowed on the streets of Avalon is golf carts, and that works just fine as most restaurants, shops and attractions are within what are considered walking distance.
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As always there are exceptions to every rule and that is good for wheelchair users as there are wheelchair accessible cabs and the Island Hopper tram. Located around town there are several courtesy taxi phones and the tram has regular routes through town.
Arranging your travel to the island you want to take Catalina Channel Express and it runs out of Long Beach and San Pedro. There is handicap parking available at both locations and boarding is also accessible, the newer boats are VERY accessible, and all boats are accessible. As with all travel these days there are luggage requirements so be sure and get acquainted with those when you make your travel reservations. This is where a personal travel website agent becomes valuable, as they will be able to handle these fine details for you. There is also a service to the island from Newport Beach, however, there isn't handicap parking and the ramp to and from the boat is very steep, so this service is basically un-accessible for wheelchairs or challenged walkers.
Where to stay on the island, Pavillion Lodge is just 14 steps from the beach and really close to the boat pier, and located close to the downtown area of Avalon. It has a large courtyard for relaxing and sunning. There are wheelchair accessible rooms on the ground floor with roll in showers. I have stayed here and it is very convenient and works very well.
This is a quaint pedestrian style island and it is basically handicap/accessible friendly which is wonderful as when towns and areas tend to be quaint, it restricts mobility drastically for the physically challenged. If you can get in a golf cart, they are rented by the hour(s) and the day and that will make the island even more accessible for you. Most of the tours are not accessible so that is why a golf cart would work the best if you can use one.
Wrigley Memorial and Botanical Garden is accessible, with assistance, as it is sloping and rocky, so you may want to check this out to see if it would be accessible for you. The Art Deco Casino Theatre has a ramp. The Casino Ballroom has an elevator. Catalina Museum is accessible.
Events that happen on the island are accessible: The Catalina Festival of Art (September) is on Crescent Street along the beach. The Catalina Jazz Trax Festival (Fall) is in the Casino Ballroom. The News Eve Gala is in the Casino Ballroom. So make your reservations with your Travelling with Disabilities Travel Agent, pack your bags for an adventure of fun and relaxation, not to mention the clean air and marvellous weather.
Wheelchairs are a boon to the physically disabled people who cannot walk or move. With the help of these wheelchairs they can move around anywhere and everywhere. They are free to go wherever they want with the support of wheelchairs. The wheelchair is a chair like thing with wheels under it which helps the movement of the chair when the gear is moved. But today the movement of wheelchairs has been made easier by the manufacturing of electric wheelchairs. These electric wheelchairs are powered by electricity and hydraulic power and have a power button. By pressing the power button one can move around easily.
Electric wheelchairs can be purchased from any showroom selling such wheelchairs. Electric wheelchairs also come with a wheelchair lift which is also powered with the similar mechanism as the wheelchair itself. This wheelchair lift allows the disabled person to rise above the surface of the ground. The person places the wheelchair on the platform of the wheelchair lift and then by pressing the power button raises the wheelchair above the surface. This is very helpful in going up in elevated places. The only factor about the electric wheelchair which acts as a negative point is that is far too costly and most of the people are unable to afford it.
Electric wheelchair might cost up to a few thousands of dollars. So it is not so easy for a middle class man to buy the electric wheelchair which is otherwise so much advantageous. But a solution to this problem is purchasing used electric wheelchairs. There are showrooms which sell used electric wheelchair but in good condition.
It is seen that used electric wheelchairs are bought to save money; similarly used electric wheelchair can be sold to have a money return. People can sell their electric wheelchairs once they have finished with the use of it. Electric wheelchairs cost more so to get back at least the half price of the wheelchair will be enough. If the electric wheelchair is almost new and is in a very good condition then the price given may rise up. There are many showrooms and places where they buy the electric wheelchairs. The condition for selling these used wheelchairs is that it must be in excellent condition to be most of the showrooms do not buy wheelchairs which are more than three years old. But the prices given by different showrooms vary; the prices also vary on the condition in which the wheelchair is.
To sell the wheelchair one must take few steps. To initiate the selling process the person concerned might give advertisements in the classified pages of a daily newspaper or at the bulletin boards of a supermarket. One might also try the website for featuring the advertisement, but these unprofessional methods must be avoided as much as possible because these companies seldom match the proper equipment with the user.
The reliable resources for selling used wheelchairs are the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) which will match the equipment with the needy through newsletters, word of mouth or notices. The state rehabilitation department can be contacted to see whether they can connect the seller with a therapist who can help him finding a new user.