If I could travel anywhere in the world, where would I go? #India to ride on the back of an elephant like my great-grandmother, and study Buddhism where His Holiness has taken up residence ( I don't even know if that last one is possible, but I'd seek to find out.) However, I was told long ago by he U.S. Navy (since I was married to a Navy man) that with my condition, I should *NEVER* travel outside the country and we would be stationed state-side for the rest of my husband's career. Even the Navy wouldn't let me travel to it's well-provisioned bases world wide. With my health, there was too much of a risk, period. And my dreams of world travel were snuffed out, right then & there.
As it turns out, domestic travel is pretty difficult on my too. I hate planes for two reasons: 1) I am sharing air with how many people? How many of them are sick? How many are sick and don't know it, but are highly contagious? Who is contagious and just doesn't care? I may as well French kiss every one of them, it's the same as taking a long flight. They don't scrub that air they send blasting into your face. That's a blast of virus-filled air soup from the breath of everyone on that plane. And you thought it was the stress of travel that made you sick.... NO! Blame domestic flight regulations & the airlines for that cold.
The other problems for me (and this is how I learned living at a higher elevation would help me), every time the plane went up, my migraine went away. Every time the plane went down, my migraine went to level 10. I can't tell you how many times I've walked on to a flight, and been wheeled away from flight, incapacitated from pain. If I could afford it, I'd travel everywhere by train & ship liner. If I can't open the window for some fresh air, I have no business being there.
I used to LOVE traveling. My father was the son of a diplomat, so he was traveling to a new country every three years. To make it less of a blow on the kids, for the weeks before moving, they would find out all the exciting things they would be able to do in their new home. And my father passed on that tradition to me. We would take long road trips, visit the historical sites, the science & history museums, art & music centers, centers of industry, air show, train shows, boat shows, all sorts of events... It was so much fun to travel with him that the bumps and grinds of being on the road, four people and a dog piled into one car... The bad stuff paled in comparison with all the good stuff, and in pride myself on having visited 40 of the 50 states. Not just touching down in an airport --- actually visiting.
I miss that so much.
Now I only travel for BIG events. The last one was my father's 70th birthday. (Okay, the last one was really the birth of my niece & nephew, but I was persona non grata for that.) Three days at sea level with Spring storms was about enough to cripple me. I was so out of sorts I lost my cell phone and accidentally packed some of my step-mothers clothes thinking they were mine! (We shop at the same places because we both love their styles---she introduced me to a number of them---so it was an easy mistake.) And let's not forget travel is expensive!! I can usually only do it on someone else's dime.
When I think about all the places I won't be able to see, it makes me really sad. I can only be grateful for the people who help document these places for me... The advent of high definition series like EARTH (BBC) have really allowed me to travel the world in the safety of my living room. It's not the same as being there, but it's a solid second place!!
It's an amazing world we live in, and I'm so lucky to have been able to explore it so much in my lifetime. I really wish I had several lifetimes and the health to see it all. That would be truly amazing. But even my own back yard is full of life and wonderment, especially with a garden. Siddhartha was in perfect bliss rowing back and forth every day on the same stretch of river. I could be just as happy doing that too, and in my own way, that's what I do.
It's all good! ^_^
As it turns out, domestic travel is pretty difficult on my too. I hate planes for two reasons: 1) I am sharing air with how many people? How many of them are sick? How many are sick and don't know it, but are highly contagious? Who is contagious and just doesn't care? I may as well French kiss every one of them, it's the same as taking a long flight. They don't scrub that air they send blasting into your face. That's a blast of virus-filled air soup from the breath of everyone on that plane. And you thought it was the stress of travel that made you sick.... NO! Blame domestic flight regulations & the airlines for that cold.
The other problems for me (and this is how I learned living at a higher elevation would help me), every time the plane went up, my migraine went away. Every time the plane went down, my migraine went to level 10. I can't tell you how many times I've walked on to a flight, and been wheeled away from flight, incapacitated from pain. If I could afford it, I'd travel everywhere by train & ship liner. If I can't open the window for some fresh air, I have no business being there.
I used to LOVE traveling. My father was the son of a diplomat, so he was traveling to a new country every three years. To make it less of a blow on the kids, for the weeks before moving, they would find out all the exciting things they would be able to do in their new home. And my father passed on that tradition to me. We would take long road trips, visit the historical sites, the science & history museums, art & music centers, centers of industry, air show, train shows, boat shows, all sorts of events... It was so much fun to travel with him that the bumps and grinds of being on the road, four people and a dog piled into one car... The bad stuff paled in comparison with all the good stuff, and in pride myself on having visited 40 of the 50 states. Not just touching down in an airport --- actually visiting.
I miss that so much.
Now I only travel for BIG events. The last one was my father's 70th birthday. (Okay, the last one was really the birth of my niece & nephew, but I was persona non grata for that.) Three days at sea level with Spring storms was about enough to cripple me. I was so out of sorts I lost my cell phone and accidentally packed some of my step-mothers clothes thinking they were mine! (We shop at the same places because we both love their styles---she introduced me to a number of them---so it was an easy mistake.) And let's not forget travel is expensive!! I can usually only do it on someone else's dime.
When I think about all the places I won't be able to see, it makes me really sad. I can only be grateful for the people who help document these places for me... The advent of high definition series like EARTH (BBC) have really allowed me to travel the world in the safety of my living room. It's not the same as being there, but it's a solid second place!!
It's an amazing world we live in, and I'm so lucky to have been able to explore it so much in my lifetime. I really wish I had several lifetimes and the health to see it all. That would be truly amazing. But even my own back yard is full of life and wonderment, especially with a garden. Siddhartha was in perfect bliss rowing back and forth every day on the same stretch of river. I could be just as happy doing that too, and in my own way, that's what I do.
It's all good! ^_^
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