CancerRoadTrip: The Docuseries

CancerRoadTrip: The Docuseries

So much is happening with CancerRoadTrip, ranging from donations to new partners! I thought I’d write a brief post so that everyone is in the know!

As you know, we are giving seven people impacted by cancer an amazing luxury healing retreat. And we’re capturing it on film for education and inspiration for all of us.

Why?

Do you know anyone who’s been through cancer who couldn’t use a healing retreat?

You can help spread the word by simply sharing CancerRoadTrip with your social networks. (The buttons are on the left hand side of the page, in orange. Just click and share!)

Everyone knows someone with cancer.

Let’s do something about this!

 

Tax Deductible Donations

 

CancerRoadTrip is now able to take tax deductible donations through the fiscal sponsorship of the New Mexico Film Foundation.

It’s simple.

There are two ways to donate:

 

An Ongoing Donation

For just $1 a month, you can be part of the project and in the film credits. 

For just $1 a month, you can be part of the film! We have created a special section in the film credits for your words to be heard. Leave an inspirational thought for someone fighting cancer; or leave a thought in memory of a loved one.

CancerRoadTrip donations

I hope you’ll consider supporting this project with a monthly donation.

Click Here To Learn More 

 

A One Time Donation

You rock! You’ll get a thank you from the New Mexico Film Foundation for your generous donation, along with a receipt for tax purposes.

Memory, cancer, wellness, retreat, cancerroadtrip donation

 

 

New Website Features

 

In My Thoughts

Emotions can overwhelm our ability to find the right words. But it doesn’t have to be hard. A few simple thoughts:

 

Love you

Thinking of you

Sending you good energy

 

That’s all it takes.

And your name appears with your good wish, in the film credits.

Check out our new page, In My Thoughts for details.

cancerroadtrip donation

 

Press

Yup. The press has started! And we have more on the way.

Check out what people are saying about CancerRoadTrip!

 

cancerroadtrip donation, CancerRoadTrip news

 

More Behind The Scenes Info on CancerRoadTrip:

 

The Blog: Behind The Scenes

Visiting LA for the NATJA Awards

 

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If you’re interested in learning more about photography (or cooking or film or any number of topics) check out MasterClass All-Access Pass for on-line excellence:

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What is #CancerRoadTrip and how did it come to be? Read this post to get the backstory! 

Follow me on Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and at Anti-Cancer Club.  Connect with me!  I may need a place or two to stay along the way!

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Visiting L.A. For the NATJA Awards

Visiting L.A. For the NATJA Awards

The NATJA Awards in Downtown L.A.

The NATJA  Awards (North American Travel Journalists Association) for travel writing were held on February 15th in L.A. this year. And I am immensely grateful to be one of this year’s award winners.

travel writer, natja, natja awards

CancerRoadTrip: An Award Winning Website

It was a short but fun trip. Here’s the itinerary:

New Mexico to L.A.

I departed from Albuquerque.

NATJA, Grand Central Market, DTLA, LA,

The New Mexico landscape from the air, looking south from Albuquerque

It is always a bit jarring to see the vast, seemingly endless New Mexican desert from the air. The expanse of sand and dust seems interminable. Were this to be my only view of the state, I would be rapidly on my way. Yet I know that just an hour to the north, nestled at the base of the mountains at 7,200 feet is the magic of Santa Fe. And to the south are the majestic landscapes of Bosque del Apache and White Sands.

But today all eyes are on L.A. I’m looking forward to a quick visit for the NATJA Awards and anything else I can conjure up.

The forecast is for rain.

Nearly constant rain.

I check the weather app, looking for windows without precipitation and plan my wanderings accordingly.

NATJA, DTLA, Travel writers award

Downtown LA peaks out from the rainy skies as we approach LAX

And, with a late afternoon arrival, I naturally focus on where to eat.

Little Tokyo

The dark skies have parted and the lights of Little Tokyo beckon. Living in the fabulous but land locked Santa Fe, I am on a quest for fish. For sushi. Or perhaps ramen. I walk, open to what I may find.

I have the name of several places jotted down and I pass Komasa. There is already a line, so I add my name to the list.

NATJA, Little Tokyo, DTLA, LA

Peering through the blinds at Komasa, I watch the sushi being made.

With a 45 minute wait, it’s time to wander a bit.

The crowds are young and lively. Pleasant and polite. But then it is Valentine’s Day and many a couple are out for an evening meal. And I cannot think of a better place to go! My only regret is that I won’t have more time here, to explore not only sushi, but some highly acclaimed ramen dishes as well.

Numerous small restaurants, most of them fairly plain, offer all sorts of luscious looking food. The entry to one of the main arcades in Little Tokyo is decorated with lanterns that sway gently in the breeze.

NATJA, Little Tokyo, DTLA, LA

The entry to Japanese Village Plaza

I’ve opted this evening for sushi over ramen. Most of the sushi I have known has been characterized by much rice, packed too tightly. I didn’t know what to expect, but I was about to be pleasantly surprised.

A bowl of warm miso broth with clams wards off the dampness of the evening, and the sushi is superb. Fresh fish, not too chilled, over a small, perfectly cooked and formed mound of rice. Not too much rice; the fish dominates the dish.

NATJA, Little Tokyo, DTLA, LA

Miso soup with clams in Little Tokyo

NATJA, Little Tokyo, DTLA, LA

Sushi!

NATJA, Little Tokyo, DTLA, LA

Unagj, perfectly grilled and utterly yummy.

The pickled ginger is spicy, sweet and a little hot. It pops with a small explosion of flavor in my mouth. The tuna, salmon and unagi are simply sublime, as is a small eel and avocado roll.

Satiated and satisfied, it was one of those “life is good” moments.

So it was that my arrival evening included a wonderful culinary welcome to Downtown LA and the NATJA Awards.

Downtown LA: Grand Central Market and The Broad

The NATJA Awards are scheduled for this evening, Friday evening, so I have the day to myself. As an early riser, I decide to check out some of the market areas. The museums won’t open for hours, and the forecast calls for rain by early afternoon. So, enjoying a brief respite from the storm that is blanketing the entire west coast, I head out for the Flower Market.

Flowers are always, pretty, right?

But the Uber drops me in what seems to be a pretty marginal neighborhood. I slip my camera bag over my head and shoulders for security and I walk.

The Flower Market is more of a district than a location. It’s a working market, in a wholesale area and it doesn’t have the visual appeal of some of the more touristy oriented markets I’ve seen elsewhere.

So I continue to walk.

And walk.

And eventually, some miles later, even for this person who doesn’t eat breakfast, it was time for some breakfast.

The Grand Central Market was on my radar scope, so I headed in that direction.

And I’m grateful I did. Because I encountered EggSlut.

NATJA, DTLA, LA, Grand Central Market, EggSlut

EggSlut opens to the sidewalk, where people take their luscious egg preparations to sidewalk tables, where they eat, chat and watch the world go by.

NATJA, DTLA, LA, Grand Central Market, EggSlut

And this is why it’s called EggSlut. Really.

EggSlut started off as a food truck and has evolved into a series of popular L.A. eateries. Founded in 2011, it’s a “chef driven, gourmet food concept” focused on the egg. This EggSlut location, at the Grand Central Market, already had a line forming.  I queued up and regarded the menu.

What to order?

The Fairfax, a ” cage-free soft scrambled eggs and chives, cheddar cheese, caramelized onions and sriracha mayo in a warm brioche bun”? (Which can be extra slutted up with avocado and bacon.)

Or perhaps a Gaucho: “seared wagyu tri-tip steak, cage-free over medium egg, chimichurri, red onions and dressed arugula in a warm brioche bun”

Or something else?

I opted for my buttery, gently cooked eggs on a warm brioche bun topped with a bit of a mayo mixture, cheddar cheese and turkey sausage. The yolk oozed into the brioche, dripping slightly into the waxed wrapper.

With food like this, I could eat breakfast all day long.

If you’re in L.A. search out an EggSlut. You’ll be glad you did.

The Grand Central Market is best described as an upscale, cheap eats place, with some good food. Some of the food that wasn’t so good was (so sadly!) at The Oyster Gourmet which I later visited for lunch. The Oyster Gourmet was highly touted in any number of articles, but my experience was decidedly sub-standard.

NATJA, Grand Central Market, DTLA, LA

The sign points to oysters…but my experience wasn’t great

The oyster specials of the day were Sunset Beach (Washington); Paradise Cove (B.C.Canada); and Grey Pearl (Baja). Quite frankly one was more disappointing than the next. The Grey Pearls were too salty to be pleasant, apart from their nice, almost crisp texture. The Paradise Cove were also salty and lacked the wow of a great oyster. The Sunsets were billed as similar to a Kumamoto, but none of that lovely mineralogy was present.

I don’t know if it was an off day for The Oyster Gourmet, but these were honestly some of the most disappointing oysters I’ve ever encountered. Anywhere.

So, with the storm clouds gathering overhead threatening an ongoing deluge of rain for the remainder of the day, it was onto the Broad Museum.

The Broad, DTLA (Downtown L.A.)

NATJA, Grand Central Market, DTLA, LA, Angels Flight

Angels Flight offers a lift versus a steep and long set of stairs.

 

Angels Flight is a 298 foot long, 117-year-old funicular that runs between Hill Street and Grand Avenue on Bunker Hill. Originally opened in 1901, it was billed as the world’s shortest railway. From the Grand Central Market, it offered something of a shortcut and an L.A. tourist experience, en route to my next stop at The Broad. (Pronounced BRODE).

The Broad is a contemporary art museum not far from Grand Central Market. It was still too early for the museum to open, but a standing line starts to form well before the museum opens. I spent a bit of time sitting, watching the people pass on the street, before I too joined the stand-by line. Should you visit L.A., you might want to consider ordering your tickets in advance to avoid the queue and guarantee access to certain exhibits.

NATJA, The Broad

The trees provided a great frame for watching people walk by, as I waited for the museum to open

NATJA, DTLA, LA, The Broad

The standing line awaiting entry at The Broad. A view from the inside, out.

NATJA, DTLA, LA, The Broad

A young man silhouetted against the entry at The Broad

 

The exhibit that most intrigued me was Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirror Rooms, of which The Souls Of Millions Of Light Years Away was available with a bit of a wait:

 

NATJA, DTLA, LA, The Broad

My taking a photo in Yayoi Kusama’s The Souls Of Millions Of Light Years Away

NATJA, DTLA, LA, The Broad

A rare picture of the person behind the camera, yours truly!

 

And then the rain recommenced.

I indulged in a late afternoon nap, then headed over the The City Club Los Angeles for the NATJA Awards Ceremony.

The City Club is located on the top floor of 555 Flower Street with a sweeping night time view of Los Angeles. And we were lucky enough to enjoy the panorama, as the clouds lifted and the skies cleared. 

The room was filled with writers from all facets of life. And of course the Keith Bellows Award winner, Jayme Moye, whose adventuresome forays were a worthy winner of this prestigious award named after the long time editor-in-chief of the National Geographic Traveler. Jayme is the first woman to win this award. Former recipients of the award were travel writers  Andrew McCarthy and David Noyes. 

 I was honored to be among this fun loving, traveling and talented crew of travel writers.  Thank you NATJA for such a great experience!

CancerRoadTrip NATJA Awards

Over one thousand entries were received. CancerRoadTrip won the following awards:

The NATJA Award: Gold in Health and Wellness Travel to CancerRoadTrip for “The Zen of Upaya”
NATJA Award Honorable Mention for 60+ Travel-Online Publication to CancerRoadTrip for  “Thoughts on the Metaphor of a Road Trip”

More Reading on Some Road Food

Oyster Quest
Seattle Farmers Markets: Picking Your Berry Favorites
Foodie Forays 2017
Travel Lessons: Oysters And What Not
Wine and Chile
 

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NATJA, Grand Central Market, DTLA, LA, Angels Flight

 

 

NATJA, Grand Central Market, DTLA, LA, Angels Flight

 

 

If you’re interested in learning more about photography (or cooking or film or any number of topics) check out MasterClass All-Access Pass for on-line excellence:

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What is #CancerRoadTrip and how did it come to be? Read this post to get the backstory! 

Follow me on Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and at Anti-Cancer Club.  Connect with me!  I may need a place or two to stay along the way!

 

The Blog: Behind The Scenes

The Blog: Behind The Scenes

A lot goes on behind the scenes of this blog.

I wear many hats, from research, to travel, to writing, to photography. Networking and meeting people. Filming and making pitches. Let’s look behind the scenes, here in Santa Fe.

The Blog: Behind The Scenes

What’s a day in Santa Fe like with CancerRoadTrip? Here are some looks at daily life.

 

[rev_slider alias=”behindthescenes1″]

 

I’ve been able to establish a bit of a routine that includes daily exercise, walking with my Urban Poles or hitting the elliptical when time is tight; a matcha latte with almond milk in the morning (matcha for its antioxidant support, in lieu of coffee); having a few favorite things with me.

Wind chimes ring at my front door; Clarence (the gargoyle, in the slider above and picture below) looks over my small office; an old and favorite bracelet waits for me every morning. Weekends at the Farmers Market, events like Indian Market, an evening out at the Opera to see Madame Butterfly, and activities like hiking fill in the balance.

 

The Blog: Working from Wifi

 

CancerRoadTrip Blog

My office in the casita

 

 

“I work very hard, and I play very hard. I’m grateful for life. And I live it – I believe life loves the lover of it. I live it.”
– Maya Angelou

 

There is good and bad about writing a blog and being something of a digital nomad. The good is that you can work from anywhere. The bad is that work is always with you. I’m grateful to be truly passionate about what I’m doing.

A blog can open many doors. It forces me to get out and constantly explore. (See Life Lesson #1)  It means interacting with people from all over the world. It means on-line learning to develop your skills.

And of course it’s all a bit of an adventure.

From the first year, some milestones:

  • Twitter has grown from zero to over 10,000 followers, reaching to over 1.1 million people/month (and growing!)
  • Instagram is coming up on 10,000 followers soon
  • Visited 8 countries, 11 states (some more than once)
  • Photography entered my life as a new found passion and I’ve just added a super zoom lens to my bag.
  • And last but certainly not least, I have simply survived the last year.

I’ve resettled, re-energized and re-oriented my entire 60 something life since events sent everything reeling, and the way I view things has changed dramatically.

I’ve worked hard to develop non-judgment, less I drive myself crazy over the perceived injustices of life. The Buddhist sense of impermanence combined with the stilling of my mind has allowed me to find a place of peace. I work on this daily.

Being homeless for some months, I’ve found that I don’t “need” many of the habits that had once made up my life. I can happily exist in many situations, under many conditions. I adopt the disciplines that promote my well being; I allow the rest to be.

 

“When we are no longer able to change a situation–we are challenged to change ourselves.”

–Viktor E. Frankl

 

 

Yet through all this, some things remains constant. I am someone who likes having a home base. I admire the people who can be permanently nomadic, but it’s just not for me.

When I landed in Santa Fe, everything seemed to just click. With this lovely casita,  I have wifi, computer and camera. Here I find a timeless connection to the land, the energy and the people that simply fills my soul.

Life is good.

 

The Blog: Life Through The Lens

 

CancerRoadTrip O'Keeffe house in Abiquiu

Artifacts on the window ledge, O’Keeffe style

“In photography there is a reality so subtle that it becomes more real than reality.”

–Alfred Stieglitz

 

I take my camera almost everywhere with me; there’s much to learn and explore through the viewpoint of a lens. The endless creativity of the medium has thoroughly captivated me.

The addition of the Gallery section of the blog, and the unrelenting appetite of an Instagram feed, have pushed me to constantly take pictures in my travels, often daily.  As I look back over the last year, I see great improvement. I am hoping the next year sees still more.

I have signed up for two photography classes this fall. One is technical; one is more hands on.

I pity the poor instructor because I already have enough questions lined up to fill a semester.

 

The Blog: Life Lived Through the Lens of a Story

 

Cancer Road Trip Indian Dances #GatheringoftheNations

From the PowWow in Albuquerque

 

“Tell me the facts and I’ll learn.

Tell me the truth and I’ll believe.

But tell me a story and it will live in my heart forever.”

– Native American Proverb

 

We learn through the stories we tell.

Isaac Dineson once said that “To be a person is to have a story to tell.”

At heart, the best stories are really about a journey into the soul.

The cancer story is one of challenge, seeming defeat, perseverance and triumph. It’s about life and death; about presence and love.  It’s about all the things that make us human and allow us to learn and grow.

I know we will all choose different routes and destinations because we all carry different stories. But along the way, our paths will intersect and resonate. Where they cross, where our emotions and experiences meet, are timeless truths to be shared.

 

 

The Blog: The Story In A Name

What’s in a name?

CancerRoadTrip. What does that conjure up?

Fighter, warrior, survivor.

We seem to want to label people, experiences and viewpoints.

But there is no label that captures this cancer experience. To try to label it, to simplify it and to apply it to everyone, ignores the many dimensions of people and their experiences. It ignores the uniqueness of each story.

 

CancerRoadTrip

What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. –Shakespeare

 

And yet names define us.

They’re a marker, an identifier, perhaps an inspiration. They tell a story.

 

It is here that I need your help.

 

As you know, we’re gearing up to give away healing journeys.  I am (for the moment) calling the people (the cancer patients, survivors and the friends and family impacted by these events) who embark on these journeys with us as “Journeyers”.

After all, cancer is a journey; healing is a journey; ultimately life is a journey. Are we not all travelers through our times?

But perhaps there is a better word than Journeyer.

Traveler? Pilgrim? Explorer?

Voyager?

Can you think of a better one? Send me your thoughts either in the comment box below or via email, pat@CancerRoadTrip.com.

What’s a name that inspires, motivates and connects with you?

 

The Blog and The Journey: CancerRoadTrip

 

CancerRoadTrip, blog

 

Everyone’s CancerRoadTrip is different.

Some people learn by physically challenging themselves; some through introspection. Some quickly embrace a new life; some not.

Whatever the choice, it’s an evolving path of uncertainty pulled by promise, given to everyone, embraced only by some.

 

“To dare is to lose one’s footing momentarily. To not dare is to lose oneself.”

– Søren Kierkegaard

 

Which brings me to an interesting conversation that challenged my view of CancerRoadTrip.

 

CancerRoadTrip Adventurer Sean Swarner

Sean Swarner, Cancer Survivor, Mountaineer and Adventurer

 

I’ve been acquainted with Sean Swarner for some time now. Sean is a force of nature and then some. He has climbed the highest mountains on all continents (starting with a successful first summit on Everest ); gone to both the North and South Pole; completed the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii; summited numerous other mountains many times.

All on one lung.

Because two different terminal childhood cancer diagnoses left him with just one functional lung.

Most recently he took on the North Pole and the film, “True North: The Sean Swarner Story”,  has been nominated for an Academy Award.

 

 

Sean and I reconnected recently and we got talking about the incredible self knowledge that can come from experiences of being in and challenging nature. About setting goals and working through them; about the incredible power of one’s mind.

The challenges Sean has chosen are the stuff of legend.  Climbing the highest mountains, going to the most remote areas, defying the bounds of what was considered humanly doable, not to mention beating terminal cancer not once, but twice.

Perhaps a bit of physical adventure should be a part of CancerRoadTrip moving ahead.

Which brings up my own life and level of physical fitness. It is not where it needs to be, and all of a sudden I realized that I might miss out!

 

CancerRoadTrip Blog

Kilamanjaro

 

What if we were to add Kilimanjaro to the CancerRoadTrip lineup? Or another more physically oriented retreat?

Right now, I’m not fit enough to go.

So I have started a serious fitness program which is long overdue. I’m 61 years old and quite honestly in the worse shape of my life. The combination of (multiple rounds of) chemo, a failed hip, off the charts stress, weight gain and being on the road have taken their toll. While I’m doing some light hiking and moving, I’m not “in shape”.

 

CancerRoadTrip Blog

Getting in shape is my numero uno mission behind the scenes.

“Don’t die without embracing the daring adventure your life was meant to be.”    

– Steve Pavlina

 

Behind the scenes, my fitness is now an absolute priority. I want to be present, to experience everything I possibly can, for as long as I can.

 

***

I didn’t know where CancerRoadTrip would lead when I started. The journey has become the blog and now the blog is becoming an adventure beyond me. One that I look forward to sharing with many, both in person and vicariously through the new website.

Cancer challenges and changes our lives. Many of us need to regain trust and confidence in ourselves and our bodies.

We need to plot a new path forward.

We find ourselves with an urgency and renewal of life that only comes from confronting death and the dissolution of all we perceived to be real. Physically, psychologically, socially and spiritually we need to find a new footing, a new way forward, one step at a time.

 

“The power of storytelling is exactly this:

to bridge the gaps where everything else has crumbled.”

– Paulo Coelho

 

When all else has crumbled, it takes courage to move ahead. Courage to face mortality, and then life. Courage to make self care a priority. It takes courage to listen to your heart and soul to possibly follow a new path and create a new story.

If there is any good news about cancer, it is that it can be a wakeup call, to patients, friends and family.

Are you living your best life?

Are you feeding your soul?

 

If you could…

What would you do?

 

And even more importantly,

 

Where would you go?!

 

CancerRoadTrip, Behind-Scenes, blog 2018-Cancer-Road-Trip-Behind-Scenes 2018-Cancer-Road-Trip-Behind-Scenes CancerRoadTrip, Writing a Travel Blog CancerRoadTrip, Writing a Travel Blog2018-Cancer-Road-Trip-Behind-Scenes 2018-Cancer-Road-Trip-Behind-Scenes 2018-Cancer-Road-Trip-Behind-Scenes 2018-Cancer-Road-Trip-Behind-Scenes CancerRoadTrip, Writing a Travel Blog CancerRoadTrip, Writing a Travel Blog2018-Cancer-Road-Trip-Behind-Scenes

 

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More Reading On Traveling With CancerRoadTrip

Traveling With Cancer: A One Year Anniversary
Road Trip!
Thoughts On The Metaphor Of A Road Trip
A Woman Wearing Too Many Hats
An Out of Body Experience: Getting Fit With Cancer

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CancerRoadTrip Blog

 

If you’re interested in learning more about photography (or cooking or film or any number of topics) check out MasterClass All-Access Pass for on-line excellence.

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What is #CancerRoadTrip and how did it come to be? Read this post to get the backstory! 

Follow me on Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and at Anti-Cancer Club.  Connect with me!  I may need a place or two to stay along the way!