[Ohio-talk] Highbrook Lodge

[mzavoli at roadrunner.com]

To Highbrook Lodge Inquirers,

I attended Highbrook Lodge in one of their winter sessions.  The residential rooms were dirty and cold.  I had to find a broom to sweep away all the floor dust.  The shower and bathroom stall were also filthy and not designed for adults.  The shower stalls were too small, but I managed to take a shower nonetheless, even though I had very little room to move around.  The bathroom stalls had no doors but only flimsy curtains for privacy.  Why?  Is the staff that afraid that blind people will lock themselves in and are too mentally challenged to fiddle with a simple locking device?  Sliding-door showers would have been nicer.

Another thing:  What's with all the rails and ropes to guide the blind?  That is not necessary.  All you need is either a cement or a gravel path.  I suppose you could place Braille signs on poles to indicate the buildings' purpose--cottage 1, cottage 2, and so on, and one sign for the main lodge, but this rail and rope system is not the way a blind person usually travels.  There are no guide rails or ropes in the ordinary travel environment and having such contrivances set up at a camp for the blind doesn't encourage use of proper cane skills.

As far as activities, 
more should be done to deepen and enlarge the swimming pool.  From my understanding, the pool is only four-feet deep, but I'm not sure about the length.  It would be nice if it were at least 25 yards long, giving people the ability to swim longer distances.

Secondly, instead of playing games at the camp that only require sitting, more should be done with ball games, biking, and hiking.  

Lastly, how about more field trips?  Mostly, residents go to Amish Country, and that's great.  Even then, they just go shopping and to the restaurant.  They don't do much touring of the houses or farm facilities.  When they do tour a house, the staff doesn't want anyone to use the stairs for fear of injuries.  That's ridiculous because I use stairs all the time.  I don't have a leg problem and my coordination is fine.  That has nothing to do with my eyes.

Another suggestion is a field trip to a chocolate factory, Cedar Point, Wildwater Kingdom and other similar places. Field trips are great at encouraging cane use, building camaraderie, and providing education about the world around you..

Just my thoughts.

Milena Zavoli