Travels on Wheels

Welcome to 2026! While in New York, my sister, daughter, and I met up with my uncle who lives in The Bronx. My uncle is a true city native- he walks everywhere and knows all the train lines and subways. Just listening to him describe how to get to Lincoln Center makes me tired from all the movement!

My uncle is 88 years old and walks faster than I do. He knows about my diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis. He is also aware of the difficulties I have with walking. He was the first to look up accommodations for disabilities at the Botanical Gardens. He found out that there were wheelchairs available to rent, if needed. That gave me a little peace of mind. You never know how you are going to be day to day.

We get up early on New Year’s Day and head out. NO traffic ANYWHERE! It was amazing. We made it to the city from eastern Long Island in 50 minutes. When we arrived at the Botanical Gardens, I noticed that parking to the right was reserved for the disabled. Unfortunately, I had forgotten my handicapped parking placard. Not to fear, we found a spot to the left that was very walkable. What wasn’t walkable was the wind…it was about 15 degrees out and windy like crazy. My daughter from Chicago was even suffering with the blistering cold.

We met up with my uncle. We began the walk to the entrance of the train display. It was a chilly and windy walk. The entrance was all the way around on the other side of the exit. It was a lot of walking. Then, the staircase to get down to the trains was the next endeavor. The trains were magnificent. The displays, made from twigs, branches, leaves, moss, and other natural botanics, were beyond impressive. As we walked, my legs started to get worse. Unfortunately, there was nowhere to sit except by the bathroom or when we got back outside towards the benches.

A Chilly New Year’s Adventure at the Botanical Gardens

I was looking for the wheelchair rentals but did not see any. I just kept walking and stopped to stretch every now and again in hopes of it helping. It didn’t help then. We went to the cafeteria. We sat down for a while to warm up. We had some soup. That helped. All in all, it is an impressive place. There are so many varieties of fauna. You will spend days looking at everything. However, I recommend bringing your own walker or chair if needed, as well as mapping out your trip in advance. Decide what you would like to see. Create a loose map to reserve some energy. Limit how much time you spend walking. It is such a vast property, so you must plan carefully. One room leads to another, and then another, and so on. If you aren’t sure where the next area leads, you find yourself walking excessively. This will help you enjoy everything there is to offer.