Hello Everyone, I just returned from a 4-day mini vacation to Seattle, Washington.
I planned my entire sightseeing excursions using the Google Trips app. In addition, I used the Apple Maps transit directions and walking directions the entire time. All of this via VoiceOver. Oh, yes, I used Yelp, extensively, also. Seattle has a mono-rail, a light rail system, and several bus systems. It is truly a metropolitan destination. I stayed at a hotel in downtown Seattle. So, for example, I took the light rail to the downtown area and then walked about 20 minutes to my hotel. The Apple Maps directions were perfect. I really liked the fact that I could easily track each train stop along the way so that I knew exactly where to exit the coach. I did not realize, until this trip that one can use swiping gestures to navigate along any transit route in order to monitor one's progress along the route. Very, very impressive. I won't bore you with the details but I will tell you that, thanks to the Google Trips app, along with Apple Maps, and Yelp, I toured the Space Needle, went to the Waterfall Garden Park, home of the original UPS store, took an underground city tour, took a 1-hour harbor crews tour, explored Pike Square, Pioneer Square, Bell Town, the Market Square, went to the original Starbucks, took a ride on the largest Ferris Wheel on the west coast, shopped at the new Amazon Go store (an absolutely amazing experience, to say the least), and ate at some marvelous restaurants. My point? I used public transportation, only. No Uber, Lift, or taxis. Also, I decided what I was going to do, mostly on the fly, using the Google Trips app. Now I'm not saying that the trip didn't have its challenges, for example, there is a lot of construction going on in downtown Seattle and I needed a lot of sighted assistance in order to navigate around it, but I am saying that I am certain I would not have had as much fun without my beloved iPHone 8 Plus and several very crucial apps such as Yelp, Apple Maps, the Amazon Go app, and of course, Google Trips for iOS. Now I am not suggesting that a blind or low vision person can rely on any technology, alone, in order to explore a major city. After all, at this point in history, technology is far from perfect. And, when it's all said and done, what really made my vacation possible, was good old fashion people skills as sighted assistance was absolutely necessary for many of the activities described above. Be that as it may, with the help of technology, I was able to independently explore the major city attractions and decide how I wanted to spend my time. Let me add that, while I had a backup battery with me, I did not use it. The battery life on my 8 Plus was beyond amazing. Even after over 12 hours of use, I didn't run out of juice. Regardless, I was glad to have a mobile charging source with me, just in case. While I had a lot of fun, I am delightfully exhausted and glad to be back. For, as the saying goes, "there's no place like home." (smile) Mark -- The following information is important for all members of the V iPhone list. If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself. Your V iPhone list moderator is Mark Taylor. Mark can be reached at: [email protected]. Your list owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at [email protected] The archives for this list can be searched at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "VIPhone" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/viphone. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
