A Lovely Afternoon

      On a beautiful Saturday afternoon in April, Elizabeth, Katie and I (Sam) decided to go on our outing. We met at the University of Missouri Student Center.  We had each chosen an aspect of our date to accomplish and work together. We were all super excited to work together and go on our date, we all met dressed for the occasion and looking forward to the day. Katie suggested we purchase a ruler and take notes. So we did.
    Choosing an activity; It took us a little while to land on one that was not a movie. Movies and first dates can be hard, because we would adore getting to know a person, and films are not necessarily conducive to that. We thought through several, and to get some ideas we started reading the blog. Bowling was my first idea, but when I read some of the horrors in NYC, I thought that might not be a ton of fun. Then it hit me, in Columbia several bars in town have billiards tables. Including one just called Billiard's. On campus in Mort's there are several, and pool tables are built to a standard. I put the suggestion out there and... We agreed, Friendly competition is a great way to get to know a person. So Billiard's it was! After we had purchased our ruler it was on to the games! The game went rather well! We measured the pool table first, because we concerned about height, if this was going to be our activity, we needed to make sure someone could reach the table. The table was 32" high, which meant that if the counters of the restroom were to be at that height for accessibility, our table was. There was a variety of stick lengths for people of varying heights, or a wheelchair, as the shorter sticks could be used with a chair with a high back, or a longer for one with a low back. Katie, to test our theory of the sticks sat down in one of the mid-back chairs with a seat height of 18", with a medium stick was not only able to reach the cue ball, but made her shot, and got her target into the far corner pocket! It was beautiful! The space between tables was very wide almost four feet. And she continued game play by moving the chair around until it was over. Another perk of Mort's compared to other Billiard's places, it that for students with an ID it is free.
    After our successful friendly competition of pool, we decided to venture downtown to fulfill our appetite. At first we thought about going to Which Wich because it is close to campus and has a somewhat varied menu. However, when we walked in we found that the half of the bags were too high on the turn display to choose from. This limited our options to vegetarian, Italian, shrimp bahn mi, classics, and breakfast sandwiches. Sadly this made the sandwich shop inaccessible, so we ventured off to Flat Branch Pub and Brewery instead. The bathrooms in Flat Branch were very accessible. The stalls were spacious and the sinks, soap, and towels were all easily accessible. There were many places that we could sit inside by removing one of the chairs and replacing it with a wheelchair. Also on a nice day there is plenty of accommodating outdoor seating. The menu had a wide variety that would suit many dietary needs. The only flaws in the restaurant were the double entry into the restaurant and the height of the bar. If our date had wanted to grab a drink while waiting for a table before dinner then someone else would have had to order it for him or her. However, since we had no wait to be seated that was not an issue that afternoon. 
   After our day of billiards and Flat Branch, we decided to head over to the Katy Trail for some alone time. The wide flat sidewalk is ideal for walking and rolling alike, and the lack of people makes it a great place for conversation and privacy. There are many easily accessible benches on the pavement. When you want to exit the trail, there were both stairs and ramps ready to accommodate our needs. Feeling that the date had gone spectacularly well, we decided to head to the even more private location of Mark Twain Hall. A short walk away from the Katy Trail, the hall was the obvious choice for seclusion. All the doors have automatic opening capabilities when you wave your hand in front of the censor, and elevators are equipped to take us up to our room. The Katy Trail and Mark Twain Hall were great options for ending an accessible date.
   We truly enjoyed our date and were glad that it was a success, even with minor inconveniences it was fun and we had a great opportunity to learn and see the city from a different perspective and allowed us to be more thoughtful of spaces and accessibility in the future.