Farmhouse Coffee and Ice Cream, 32644 Franklin Rd, Franklin, MI

This charming, old-fashioned  shop with an actual white picket fence is exactly the kind of place that you'd expect to be non-accessible because it's an old building (over 100 years, according to the Main Street Franklin website) and independent (not part of a chain).  I have heard stories of frustration from business owners striving to renovate historical buildings to make them accessible without sacrificing their character, but this independent business has accomplished it.  The building is a few steps up from ground level, but the owners have added a brick ramp with a wide hairpin curve so the ascent is nice and gradual.  I hate it when the person pushing me starts grunting with effort.  Once inside, you can relax because the bathrooms are completely accessible single-person rooms large enough to accommodate a wheelchair.  In addition to the coffee and ice cream in their name, they also serve breakfast, lunch and baked goods, so it's a perfect relaxing place to spend an hour or two without any worries.

China Gate, 1201 South University Avenue, Ann Arbor

A couple of problems here, though I hate to cross this place off my list because they have the most inexpensive and delicious Peking Duck anywhere.  One problem is the door-vestibule-door arrangement at the entrance, which is not unusual, but this one requires a sharp left in the vestibule, which isn't exactly large enough to do the 3-point turn you learned in drivers' ed.  Once you get through the doors, the tables are accessible but the bathroom is down the basement.  Unless you're a complete Thimblebladder, you can probably get by using the facilities in the nearby University buildings or the Starbucks across the street before entering.  Bottom line: some difficulties, but doable.

Ajishin, 42270 Grand River Avenue Novi, MI

Ajishin, our family's favorite Japanese noodle and sushi restaurant, shows that a small, independent establishment can still be perfectly handicapped-accessible.  There are no steps anywhere and the bathrooms in the back on the main floor are large enough to enter by wheelchair.  If you're using a wheelchair, you'll need help getting through the two front doors with a vestibule in between them, but this place is so busy, there's sure to be someone there to lend a hand.  The food is delicious and inexpensive, making this place a winner for accessibility and quality.

Totoro Noodle Shop, 215 S. State Street, Ann Arbor

Back in my college days, and I realize I'm showing my age here, this building housed about four different shops that sold black-light posters, Indian-print clothing and drug paraphernalia.  Ah nostalgia.  These days, there are still a few different establishments in this building, and unfortunately, Totoro Noodle Shop got the location at the top of the stairway. No ramp, no elevator, not even a handrail to hoist yourself up with. To compound the problem, if you do manage to scrape your way up the steps and make it into the restaurant, the restroom is down another step, as the dining room is a few inches below the entrance/sushi bar level.  All in all an accessibility disaster.

Princess Cruises, Crown Princess

Okay, this was only my second cruise, but the accessibility level was just about equal to my previous trip on the Norwegian Jewel, so I'm starting to suspect that they're all pretty similar.  Again, the stateroom was so small that I was able to walk around without a walker by grabbing onto furniture, which gave me a little "intimations of normality" thrill.  We did not ask for a handicapped accessible room, but I understand that they are bigger, which, ironically, would have made things more difficult for me.  All showers have grab bars, and so do the public restrooms, handicapped and non-handicapped, which are located all throughout the ship.  As far as disembarkation to ports, which was a problem on my last cruise, I did not even try getting on the tender to their private island, which they said was accessible only for handicapped passengers who could get up out of their wheelchairs; after my frightening experience being borne above the stairway on the Norwegian Jewel.  They assured us that there wouldn't be a problem with accessibility at the ports where the ship could dock, but I don't know, their ramp had a series of speed bumps, I guess to prevent runaway wheelchairs from careering down.  It worked pretty well on the way down, but on the return trip, wouldn't you know it, the cruise employees pretty much had to lift me and my wheelchair to get me up the ramp.  Which was, again, scary and also their grunting was a blow to my ego, but it's their own fault for feeding me so much delicious food and then trying to hoist me up.

Norwegian Cruise Line, Norwegian Jewel

In general, cruising is a great choice for handicapped travelers.  Everything on the ship is uber-accessible, all the showers have grab bars and there are clean handicapped-accessible bathrooms everywhere.  On the first day, before you leave port, they have what they call a "fire drill" where all passengers have to report to a certain spot, and I'm pretty sure it's just so staff can keep track of who would need special assistance in an emergency if the elevators stopped working, which is reassuring.  If you are unable to transfer out of a wheelchair and walk a few steps you can get a handicapped-accessible stateroom, but I found the regular stateroom even better, because it was so small, there was always something to hold onto.

My trip on the Norwegian Jewel was my first cruise, and I was not brave enough to try the land excursions (although I did get off the ship and look around the ports), but they give you a list of which ones are possible for handicapped travelers.  Be careful about what they consider "possible," though.  At one port (Belize, I think), passengers had to take a tender (a much smaller passenger ship) between the cruise ship and land.  When we asked about accessibility, staff said there were stairs between the ship and the tender, but promised in a vague way that they would "help me" get down them.  Turns out what they meant was that two crew members lifted the wheelchair with me in it, a la a Jewish wedding but maybe not quite so high, and with much grunting and puffing, carried me down the stairs.  If I had known what they meant by "help," I think I would have just skipped it, because it was very scary, plus an ego buster to be loaded onto a ship like heavy cargo. But, I survived and lived to tell about it.  And, the main thing, I ate three gourmet meals a day and spent the winter solstice soaking up the Caribbean sun, which is the beautiful thing about a cruise vacation.

Mee Noodle Shop, 795 9th Avenue (SW corner of 53rd), New York City

Picture this: a family of four wakes up in a Detroit suburb, loads up the minivan, drives the 600 miles through Ohio, Pennsylvania and the George Washington Bridge, and checks into a Manhattan hotel, all for a food craving.  True story.  Of course, NYC has other attractions, but the curry soup at Mee Noodle Shop is the siren song that calls to my husband, a call that he succumbs to about once a year.

Now picture the family walking up to Mee Noodle Shop (well, three walking, one rolling) for a late dinner.  Who would have thought the hardest part of the trip would be the last 0.001%?  True again, because you have to climb up two steps to enter the restaurant. No railing, no grab bar, just three scared family members trying to keep you from falling.  So far I've always managed it, but it's getting scary.  Once you're inside, if you can walk a little holding on to chairs and tables, you'll be all right, because the place is so tiny there's always something to grab.  If you have a lightweight wheelchair that someone can carry in, you still might have a hard time getting around because it's so cramped, but it might be useful if you need to use the bathroom, which is on the main floor.  In summary, good food, but a challenge for the disabled.