travel – Page 4 – in thriver words

Travel Tip #7 – Ship it!

Planning a trip, want to make sure you have your favorite gluten-free snacks on hand, but don’t want to pay for extra baggage – ship it!

If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you probably already know that for me to feel my best, I have to eat at very regular intervals. In order to make sure I have something gluten-free available on the road, I have to prepare in advance.

I’m planning a more lengthy trip than usual and I just don’t want to deal with the hassle of calling every health food store in the area in advance to see if they carry my favorite snacks. I certainly don’t want to carry a week’s worth of food and have to wrestle heavy bags through the airport and into my rental car.

I tried talking myself into the idea that I can always eat the salty, oily peanuts available at every convenience store, but I’d really rather have raw almonds. More gas stations now have bananas or apples available, but it’s never guaranteed. And, of course, I’ll be meeting up with some other folks on totally different schedules. The required timing of a 10-mile trip to the grocery store may prove to be inconvenient either for them or for me.

So, I’m going to do the easy thing. When I do my regular shopping, I’m going to grab an extra bag of raw almonds, some gluten-free pretzels, some dates or golden raisins, and ingredients for orange chocolate or carrot muffins. I may also grab some protein bars.

At home, I’ll make the muffins and package everything in small, easy to carry containers that I can grab and throw in a backpack each morning while I’m traveling. Of course, I’ll carry some of these on the plane for immediate consumption, but I’m going to pack the bulk of these snacks in a box and ship them in advance to arrive just before I do.

While I’m at it, I’ll probably ship some extras shoes so that I’m prepared for all the possibilities that may arise.

Whew! I don’t know about you, but I always feel better when I have a plan in place that makes my life seem easier. From now on, when destination resources are in doubt, I think I’ll just ship it!

Take Candy from Strangers, then Why Not Juice?

Since we’ve broached the subject of taking food from strangers, I’d like to share another recent travel moment. Two weeks ago, I traveled to Raleigh, North Carolina where I took these photos of Historic Oakwood Cemetery.

My flights in both directions were rescheduled, rerouted, and delayed by several hours. As you may have guessed from reading our Travel Tips, for convenience I always carry gluten-free food with me when I fly.

Over the past couple of years, I’ve had to move my meals closer and closer together in order to keep my hypoglycemia in check. I can no longer wait until I feel hungry to eat, but have to consume at regular intervals in order to maintain my energy level and feel my best. This requires that in addition to carrying food, I must look at the schedule in advance so I’ll know if I need to eat a snack on the plane in order to keep my blood sugar level even.

On this trip, I followed my normal procedure and arrived at the airport feeling prepared. I sailed through security with my plastic containers of food and headed for the gate. As a flight delay led to late boarding, followed by sitting on the tarmac for an hour, followed by taxiing back for more fuel, I found myself captive on the plane without enough food to last until we reached the next destination.

As we began our descent, I was hoping to avoid the point at which my blood sugar drops so low that my hand starts to tingle, my lips get numb, and I feel overwhelmed and groggy. I started a mental inventory of my options. Was there time to investigate and consume the $11 snack boxes sold on the plane? Should I ask for a coke? I could already feel the anxious tension creeping from my shoulder blade to my neck. My mind was whirling.

About that time, a young man sitting across the aisle and one row in front of me opened the can of apple juice he’d been staring at for almost an hour. He filled his plastic glass then looked at me with a knowing look and asked if I wanted the rest. His offer was unexpected and the perfect solution at the perfect time. I accepted with a nod and a smile. He smiled back. I quietly offered a thank you.

That was the extent of our interaction. We had not been conversing and we didn’t begin to at that point. This man was simply attuned enough to recognize my need and I was willing to accept his gift. It was the kind of powerful everyday moment that can feed our hearts, mind, and spirits when we allow our minds to be open and our hearts willing to receive.

Taking the apple juice from a stranger allowed me to finish the flight with no ill effects. For that stranger, I am grateful. For that juice, I am grateful. For that moment, I am grateful.

Travel Tip #6 – Go Ahead…Take Candy From Strangers!

So how many of you tell your children to never take candy, or food, from strangers? I’ve said the same thing…many times. The thing is, when I’ve said it, I wasn’t really thinking about the food. I was concerned about some deviant using food as a bribe to get my child to do something he wouldn’t otherwise do. Now that we’re all adults, I say, “Going on a trip? Forget that old rule. Take food from strangers”!

I realize some of you are thinking I’ve lost my mind, so give me a moment to explain. I am not encouraging you to eat off a stranger’s plate, drink out of the same glass, or consume any item you do not feel complies with your necessary medical restrictions. With that in mind, let’s explore some of the opportunities travel offers for a change in menu.

When traveling to a foreign country, you may have no choice but to vary from your eating norm. If this is the case, there are many treats in store. First there are local people who may want you to sample their dishes. While they may be strangers, please consider the offer. This is the absolute best way to experience local food.

Next are the grocery stores or markets. Shopping in a different environment with unfamiliar products can be an adventure in itself. I often browse the aisles taking in the packaging and shelf arrangement as if perusing an art display. I spend a moment contrasting the number of items that look familiar from the number that seem different. I watch the shoppers. I try to grab a sense of their lives and develop a list of questions I may want to research about local eating habits or food culture.

In Australia, I find the packaged foods more familiar than foreign. Many of the brands are the same as those at home and the boxes vary only slightly. In the Netherlands, I am struck by the abundance of dark, heavy breads and the frequency with which our hosts offer us a stop for food. In New Zealand, I find the roadside fruit and vegetable markets a delight!

Bakeries and restaurants offer yet another view of both food and culture. There is nothing more beautiful than the fruit tarts displayed in the window of a bakery along Champs-Elysées in Paris. Sometimes I browse the shelves of a bakery even though I recognize I probably won’t be able to eat any of the products. I love to see the offerings, take in the aroma of freshly baked bread, and bask in the warmth of the room. When I can do this with a cup of rich, dark coffee in hand, I am happy to wait for my gluten-free snack.

After browsing, you’ll be ready to consume. Here’s another opportunity to engage a stranger. Ask some locals to tell you what or where to eat, then trust your instincts. If you don’t feel comfortable with a particular person’s advice, ask someone else. If two or three people mention the same hole-in-the-wall, it’s probably good.

When traveling closer to home, the same rules apply. Keep in mind that any time you enjoy a meal at a new restaurant in your city, you are accepting food from strangers so there’s no reason to be hesitant to try something new in a neighboring borough. I ate some of the best hummus I’ve ever tasted at a cigarette/gift store/restaurant with a sliding cage door in Memphis. My son recommends tacos served on the porch of a make-shift operation at a man’s house in Little Rock. A friend’s favorite barbecue sandwich ever was sold out of a Hot Springs man’s back door. People drive for an hour or more for a weekly fish fry on the grounds of a Stuttgart farm. None of these locations employ advertising other than word of mouth and none are to be missed.

Search online, look at reviews, and get an eating plan together, but don’t be afraid to ditch the plan on the advice of someone you just met. When you’re wiling to embrace the food offered by a stranger, you increase your chances of being pleasantly surprised.

Have any surprisingly good dining experiences you want to share? We’d love to hear them.

Travel Tip #5 – Preparing for the Unexpected Tummy Ache

I just returned from a business trip. Of course I followed all of my own advice while traveling. I carried food. I asked questions. I read labels. I avoided gluten, or at least I thought I did. And in spite of my best efforts, I got sick. Double sick. Not only did I get a cold that made clearing my ears on the flight back impossible, I also wound up with a whopping tummy ache.

Okay, really it was worse than that. On Wednesday I got a tummy ache – the kind that’s severe and distracting. By Thursday morning, I wasn’t sure if I’d ever be able to leave the bathroom. Worse yet, I was staying with a friend who has slow drains. I must have spent a full two hours locked in the bathroom trying to get rid of the evidence. I had to get through the day and get on a plane the next morning. Yuck!

Luckily, old habits die hard. Once I left the bathroom, I blindly stuck my hand in my purse searching for the familiar blister packs of pink capsules. Yea! I found one with two capsules left. I quickly swallowed one with water and waited to see if it would be sufficient for the rumbling to diminish. Things calmed down enough for me to sleep away most of the day. The final one got me through two airplanes on the way home.

So what were those magic pink pills that I always have with me? CharcoCaps.

While I rarely have to take them anymore, these activated charcoal capsules became my constant companion a few years ago. I am so grateful I still had some with me on this trip. Available over-the-counter at many pharmacies, they are all-natural and can be used to treat stomach pain, excess gas, diarrhea, and indigestion. The best thing about them for me is that they begin to relieve my pain in less than 30 minutes.

As this trip proved to me yet again, you can be very very careful and still end up with a stomachache – especially if you have a food intolerance. From this point forward, I will deliberately carry the activated charcoal capsules I’m so grateful to have had hiding in my purse on this trip. Perhaps you’ll want to carry some too. Then you’ll be prepared for any unexpected tummy ache.