by Pat Wetzel | May 24, 2020 | Food, Road Trip, The Story
Travel adventure is taking a back seat for the moment and some of my wanderlust has moved into the kitchen in the form of culinary travels.
Cooking is in my DNA. My Greek grandmother was an amazing cook. Wonderful aromas, both familiar and exotic, drifted from her kitchen, and in her pantry, in tins, were dozens of utterly decadent greek cookies. The pear trees in her yard created toppings for ice cream, and mint grew rampant.
Mint grew everywhere
My grandmother cooked from her heart. She made noodles without a recipe. “See, it feels like this,” she would instruct me.
Homemade pasta, cut by hand
She made one dish, a roast chicken with lemon, oregano, butter and tomatoes. She’d roast the chicken, then add the tomatoes towards the end. The drippings from the chicken, the butter and spices were sublime. And then, for the coup de grace, she would simply stir the fresh, hand cut, homemade noodles into the pan sauce. Dinner was served.
She combined flavors that sang. From her I inherited an ability to put together a meal from instinct. Whether it’s something as simple as great feta, tomatoes, olive oil and bread or something more time intensive like her dolmas stuffed with a meat and rice mixture, simmered in egg lemon sauce (to die for!).
I no longer eat much meat and my diet is very vegetable and fish focused. I use few prepared products (although the Thai curries below are a very healthy fast food option to have in your pantry). I hope this post gives you some ideas and inspiration for culinary travels at home.
***
On fish: I buy packs of wild, individually sealed and frozen salmon, cod and ahi tuna. The packs defrost in a bowl of hot water in about 10 minutes.
It’s my definition of fast food.
So as you browse the fish recipes, know that they’re readily accessible and easy to make with a few pantry basics. And please know that I don’t generally measure my ingredients. Just use your best judgement and ENJOY!
On herbs: I have an aero garden that gives me fresh herbs–and inspiration!–for cooking. The Thai basil pushes me into culinary Southeast Asia more than I otherwise might venture on my own. The dill provides a raison d’être for amazing deviled eggs. And the basil simply inspires everything. If you don’t have fresh herbs, no worries! Dried herbs work just great.
Fresh herbs are always available.
On diet: I generally eat a low glycemic, vegetable rich diet. I stay away from processed foods. When I do buy a food item like the curry sauces below, I read the label carefully. Don’t think that organic always means healthy! A lot of organic products have tons of sugar in them.
On organic: When you can, buy organic, fresh and local. Local produce doesn’t travel as far and usually retains more of its nutrients. High respiration foods like asparagus and mushrooms (yum) lose their nutritional qualities very quickly.
It’s been a cool spring, perfect for some time in the kitchen. So here is some pandemic cooking! I hope it gives you some ideas for what you can do with healthy pantry cooking.
Culinary Travels At Home
My culinary travels are usually more Mediterranean in nature, but Asia beckons. Here are some ideas from my kitchen this corona spring.
Corona Spring in Santa Fe: Beautiful blooms but few people to witness the unfolding of the season
Mediterranean Inspired Culinary Travels
Salmon with lentils is a classic combination that can be translated into mediterranean or Thai cuisine.
Salmon on Curried French Lentils
Ingredients:
- De Puy Lentils
- Onions, Carrot, Celery
- Turmeric, Salt, Pepper, Garlic, Ginger
- Olive Oil, Apple Cider Vinegar, Tamari, Curry Powder, Honey, Chopped Garlic and Ginger
- Salmon
Instructions:
- Cook the de Puy Lentils and set aside. (Use any extra in a salad with feta, crunchy veggies and whatever else strikes your fancy or tie into some homemade soup.)
- In a saute pan, carmelize the onions. Add some chopped carrot and celery. Add the cooked lentils and some turmeric. Salt and pepper to taste.
- Meanwhile, in the oven (325-350 degrees), roast the salmon with butter and white wine until rare/medium rare.
- Whisk up a curried vinaigrette (oil, apple cider vinegar, Tamari, curry of your choice, honey if desired, salt, pepper. Adjust flavors as needed. Garlic and ginger are great additions.)
- Dress the lentils. Top with salmon. A bit of parsley from the garden.
Dinner is served.
(This dish grew out of whatever was around. The carrots and onions were pantry staples, as were the lentils. Salmon in the freezer. Spices on hand.)
Mediterranean Tuna
Frozen ahi provides great quality fish shrink wrapped in individual servings. Ten minutes in a bowl of hot water and voila! You have healthy, high quality, fast food.
This is a dish that appears in a million variations in my house. It can be cooked on the stove or in the oven. Foil packets work well too. I have an old Cusinart pan with a domed lid that is my go to favorite for these types of meals, making it an easy one pot endeavor. I cook the fish very gently over a very low flame and remove it from the heat while still rare-medium/rare.
Ingredients:
- Garlic
- Vegetables of choice: Olives, Tomatoes, Onions, Red Peppers, Artichokes, Spinach
- Water, Stock or Wine
- Tuna
Instructions:
- Saute garlic.
- Add vegetables of your choice and greek olives. Tomatoes. Add a bit of water, stock or wine. Add fish.
- Cover and simmer oh so slowly. Top with fresh basil. Or parsley. Or even some mint!
Vegetables that work well are red peppers, artichokes, spinach. Be creative!
Baked Fennel
Fennel is a much maligned vegetable. Try this recipe. It is simple and to die for. I make pans of this just for the leftovers.
I simply love fennel and it’s a vegetable that keeps well in the frig during this time of corona where your shopping runs may not be a frequent as usual. I love fennel raw; I love it cooked. This baked fennel recipe is too good for words. Even if you think you don’t like fennel, try this!
Ingredients:
- Fennel
- Olive Oil
- Parmesan
- Ground Pepper
Instructions:
- Slice fennel bulbs, removing core.
- Toss in olive oil.
- Sprinkle with Parmesan and freshly ground black pepper.
- Arrange in a baking dish and bake in a 375 degree oven until the cheese browns and the fennel is the desired degree of tender.
Asian Inspired Culinary Travels
Thai Red Curry Shrimp with Red Lentils, Green Beans, and Peas
Substitue organic chicken or salmon, or just do a veggie curry.
Ingredients:
- Shrimp
- Red Lentils
- Green Beans
- Fresh Peas from the freezer
- Trader Joe’s Red Curry Sauce
- Thai basil if available
Instructions:
- Cook red lentils; set aside. (Leftovers make great salads)
- Saute shrimp in garlic. Add Trader Joe’s Red Thai simmer sauce, some water and vegetables. I added some dried spinach flakes, fresh peas and French green beans (partially cooked in the microwave) and cilantro. Simmer gently until the shrimp are cooked.
- Serve with brown jasmine rice and top with tons of Thai Basil.
Dinner is served.
I have an aero garden in my kitchen with plenty of fresh herbs, so Thai basil is easily available. Regular Italian basil is a good addition too!
Salmon in Green Curry, Edamame, Red Pepper, Spinach
Simply scrumptious.
I keep a bag of frozen edamame in the freezer so it’s always available. And it makes a great addition to these types of dishes.
Ingredients:
- Salmon
- Trader Joe’s Green Curry Sauce
- Edamame
- Red Pepper
- Spinach (fresh or dehydrated)
- Chopped ginger and garlic
Instructions:
- Saute red pepper. Add garlic and ginger.
- Add Green Curry Sauce and a bit of water. (I usually put some water in the jar and shake it to get the rest of the sauce out! You could also use some coconut milk.)
- Add fish, edamame and fresh spinach. Cover and simmer ever so gently.
- Serve with basmati brown rice, cooked in chicken stock with a bay leaf.
I also make this with green zucchini and red peppers. This is my idea of fast food.
Asian Tuna with Bok Choy
Love bok choy! Try braising it on the stove with a bit of chicken stock, garlic and ginger. So simple, healthy and good!
This one is really good. And flexible. Try salmon or spinach. Or shrimp or organic chicken. Add some sliced red pepper. Just about anything goes with this combination, served with organic brown basmati rice, cooked in chicken stock (Better Than Bouillion) and a bay leaf.
Ingredients
- Protein: Salmon, shrimp or chicken. Or Tofu. Or whatever!
- Red Pepper, sliced
- Any other vegetables of choice.
Instructions
- Heat some organic butter in the pan. Saute garlic and ginger.
- Add salmon and a bit of stock or water. Add fresh bok choy leaves to the pan and a bit of Asian Sauce (see below). Cover and simmer ever so slowly and serve with brown basmati rice or organic jasmine brown rice.
Serve with extra sauce on the side.
Asian Sauce
This goes with everything and it’s totally addictive.
- 2 T Soy or Tamari
- 2 T oyster Sauce
- Honey to Taste
- 1-2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil (buy the highest quality sesame oil you can; it makes a massive difference)
- 1 T apple cider vinegar
- Chopped Ginger and Garlic
- Scallions
Combine and enjoy!
Miso Anything
If you’re not a miso fan, try this recipe. If you are, hang onto this recipe. It’s a total winner.
This isn’t my recipe, but it is oh so good! Make a double batch. You’ll almost want to drink this! Here’s a link to Bobby Flay’s Miso Salmon recipe.
General Culinary Travels
Swiss Chard, Yellow Squash and Red Peppers
My love chard grew out of a surplus of this odd vegetable in my garden one year. Now I’m hooked. I hope you will be too. The sweetness of the onion, squash and red pepper perfectly balance the slightly bitter flavor of the chard.
This is one of my favorite vegetable combinations. It was created when an overabundance of chard came out of my garden one year.
I use it as a stand alone vegetable, serve it over rice or whole wheat pasta, put it in a frittata, a quiche, or simply snack on it. Have a bit of good quality grated Parmesan on hand.
Ingredients
- Sliced onion
- Red Pepper
- Yellow squash, sliced into rounds or halves
- Swiss chard, julienned
- Garlic (be sure to chop your own; don’t use the pre-chopped product)
Instructions
- Saute sliced onion in olive oil. Add red pepper, yellow squash and garlic. Cook til crunchy-tender.
- Add julienned Swiss chard and cook til tender. (You may want to add a few tablespoons of water to steam the chard as it cooks.)
Voila!
So simple, healthy and utterly delicious. Give it a go. It can be frozen in individual servings and defrosted in the microwave for fast food.
Vegetable Soup
Anything goes in this “recipe”.
I LOVE soup. Not the canned versions with too many carbs and sodium, but homemade soup. I made a big pot of this last week when I realized that I had yellow squash and green zucchini that needed to be used. I also had some homemade chicken stock that I’d made from a roast chicken carcass. So, soup it was!
Ingredients
- Onion, carrot, celery, chopped
- Garlic, chopped
- Stock or Water
- Vegetables of Choice (In this case, the soup flavors were driven by what was in the frig, namely zucchini!)
Instructions
- Saute onion, celery and carrot til soft. Add a bit of chopped garlic.
- Add stock or water (and a generous big spoonful of Better Than Bouillon Chicken Soup Base).
- Add vegetables (in this case yellow and green squash), and a large can of organic tomatoes. I have a bag of freeze dried spinach and I added about half a cup of that as well. Thyme, parsley, oregano, and a bit of salt. Simmer and serve with fresh basil or a bit of pesto. A sprinkle of parmesan is good too.
Other additions include any vegetable you can think of! I always keep some homemade soup around for a fast, healthy, and satisfying lunch.
My Pantry Basics for Culinary Travel
It’s easy to have a well stocked pantry that allows you to quickly have a healthy and satisfying meal.
If there is ever a snow storm or any natural disaster, you want to hang at my house. I always have a well stocked pantry, some wine and a bit of imagination. Here are some of my must haves:
Oils and Fats
- High quality olive oil and vinegars (EVOO olive oils, aged balsamic, wine vinegar and some exotics, like Meyer Lemon Olive Oil–great drizzled on goat cheese)
- Organic Butter
- Organic mayonnaise
- Sesame Oil (Buy the highest quality roasted sesame oil you can find)
Asian Products
- Mirin
- Tamari
- Rice vinegar
- Oyster Sauce
- Miso (white)
Cheese
I don’t eat much dairy. At one point I actually went vegan but decided life without cheese wasn’t worth living. But I’ve greatly reduced my dairy consumption and it is skewed towards goats milk which is more easily digestible than cow’s milk products
- Feta ( buy the sheep’s milk blocks in brine from Trader Joe’s). Do not buy the crumbles. Crumble it yourself!
- Laura Chenel goat cheese
- Parmesan Cheese (I often buy the Peccorino/Romano blend from Trader Joe’s). This also freezes well.
Pantry Basics
- Onions
- Sun dried tomatoes
- Organic canned tomatoes
- Anchovies (They add a subtle, salty undertone to tomato sauces that is utterly addictive. Try sautéing some onion in olive oil; add a can of anchovies, chopped; a can of organic tomatoes and simmer til the flavors are just combined. Don’t let the tomatoes cook down too much. The fresh flavor, with an undertone of saltiness, is sublime. Top with herbs (parsley and/or basil) and serve. This can also form the base for a Mediterranean fish dinner, as well as a sauce for (whole wheat) pasta.
- Lentils (de puy and red. Black Beluga are good too)
- Cannellini Beans
- Wild canned salmon (I like this better than tuna, although the wild yellow fin tuna from Wild Planet is something to have on hand)
- Olives (Kalamata and large Sicilian Green Olives)
- Artichokes (Grilled and quartered, in glass jars or BPA free cans)
- Brown Rice, preferably organic. I love Basmati Rice.
- Quinoa
With the corona virus and subsequent lockdowns, I didn’t know what to expect so I put some freeze dried/dried vegetables from North Bay Trading Company in the pantry. They are terrific and will be a future staple for my house.
In The Freezer
- Frozen Salmon, Cod and Ahi Tuna
- Frozen Shrimp
- Frozen Edamame, shelled
In The Frig
- Organic lemons
- Ginger (You can also freeze this)
- Carrots and Celery
- Better Than Bouillon Chicken Stock (I usually buy the low sodium version)
Herbs and Spices
- Herbes de Provence (an absolute must have), thyme, oregano, turmeric, several curry blends, cumin, cilantro, parsley (fresh and dried), black Tellicherry peppercorns, bay leaves, fresh and powdered garlic, and fresh herbs including thyme, chives, basil, Thai basil (fresh and dried), mint and dill, cumin, turmeric and curry.
And I usually have an assortment of other flavors on hand. It’s a matter of whatever you use and like most. I tend to have a pretty elaborate spice drawer.
For me, the upside of corona has been some culinary adventure close to home. With warmer weather on the horizon, I’ll be doing more grilling. (Think cedar planked salmon with Dijon mustard, wine and dill.)
I’d love to hear what you’re cooking. Tweet me @CancerRoadTrip or leave a comment below.
Bon Appetit!
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More Reading on Food and Culinary Travel
Oyster Quest
Travel Lessons: Oysters and Whatnot
Foodie Forays 2017
Culinary Travel Karma: Dublin and Killarney
Seattle Farmers Markets: Picking Your Berry Favorites
Warming Up To Restaurant Week In Santa Fe
Art, Flavor and Elegance at Restaurant Martin
The Irish Food Movement in the Beara Peninsula
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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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by Pat Wetzel | May 12, 2020 | Bump In The Road, Road Trip, The Story
Travel, for the moment, may be on hold, but the world of ideas and inspiration continues to spin. To take a deep dive into this mystical and inspiring world, we are introducing a new podcast: Bump In The Road.
Everyone hits a bump in the road. What do you do with it? Be inspired as we explore the ways people experience, navigate and manage the ups and downs and twists and turns in this road trip called life.
A bump in the road can be a portal into a more meaningful life. We’ll be talking to people whose bumps in the road have changed the trajectory of their lives. And enriched the world around them. It’s my hope that this podcast enriches your own life travels.
We should be up and running on Apple and all the major platforms in about three weeks. I’ll post when we’re live. In the meantime, do you know someone who has inspired you by the way they’ve managed life twists and turns? If so, drop me a line. I’m looking for great stories about difficulty, joy and inspiration.
In the meantime, be well.
Blog Posts About Bumps In The Road
Thoughts On The Metaphor Of A Road Trip
Lockdown Santa Fe
Silver Linings In The Time of Corona
Traveling To Heal: 83 Days On The Road
The Matrix: A Road Trip Into The Psyche With Wendy Wagner PhD
The Matrix: Wendy Wagner Part II
Traveling With Cancer: A One Year Anniversary
Traveling The Timeline of Now
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This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on these links.
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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by Pat Wetzel | Mar 31, 2020 | Road Trip, The Story
Hello From…
Hello From…. is a series of bloggers talking about the impact of the Corona virus on their towns and lives. Here are some perspectives on life in the time of Corona. See how people all over the world are adjusting their lives:
Hello From New Hampshire-Roarloud.net
Hello From Houston-One Foot Out the Door
Hello From Minnesota -ThirdEyeMom
Silver Linings in the Storm-Plus ltra
Joburg COVID-19: Lockdown Journal day 1- 2Summers
In the Time of Corona-In flow with Otto
Hello From Northern Virginia-Eat Live Stay Will Travel for Food
Hello From Santa Fe
Santa Fe is my city in a way no place else has ever been. I love it here, and it is heart breaking to see this town of 70,000+ people in lock down.
Looking from the Plaza up to Basilica Cathedral St. Francis of Assisi
The New Mexico Countryside-Photo Credit: David Hoptman
Chimayo scenes, a healing Mecca just north of Santa Feat the base of the Sangre de Cristo mountains
Road tripping New Mexico
Everyone is good humored; we all wave or say hi from six feet away, as we pass on trails and city streets. But as a tourist destination, this lockdown is having serious repercussions on our community.
When you think of Santa Fe, you think restaurants galore, amazing museums and shops, and festivals that go non-stop from spring to fall.
For the moment, all is on hold.
Closed!
Closed!
Closed!
I walk almost every day. My usual loop is to head north, then over to Canyon Road. Canyon Road is a magical half mile lined with over 80 art galleries and more than a few restaurants. With Santa Fe being the third largest art market in the U.S. (behind New York and Los Angeles), art is a part of life here.
But the streets are deserted. The galleries are closed. The restaurants, still.
Down on the Plaza, the Indian tribes usually line up with jewelry for sale. It’s now empty, eerily quiet. The shops brimming with turquoise and silver are shut. And most restaurants are offering takeout, and most of us are supporting them as much as possible.
Indians line up to sell jewelry along the plaza in Santa Fe
Santa Fe is a town that has been around as long as the Pueblo Indians that settled here in 1050 or so. It weathered the Spanish rule in the early 1700’s. We’ll weather this too.
The Serendipity of Santa Fe
I hadn’t intended to land in Santa Fe (this story starts like so may others where serendipity and adventure meet). I was tired of the heat and humidity in Central and South America, and pondered my next move. I’d go to Santa Fe for Christmas!
And I never left.
I first started visiting this Spanish city in the 1990’s and always loved it. And a wonderful confluence of events came together when I landed here just over 2 years ago. It is said that Santa Fe either welcomes you or spits you out. I have been profoundly welcomed.
I have great friends. I’m on the Board of New Mexico Women in Film. I’ve taken classes, joined MeetUp groups, supported local museums and arts through memberships, and have two photo clubs. It is simply the right place at the right time for me.
And I’m profoundly grateful for all of it.
Coping With Corona In Santa Fe
As a single person (and a bit of an introvert at heart), I’m happy working alone. But this quarantine is pushing the limits. I’m usually out and about with friends and events a few times a week.
I miss that.
Zoom helps, but I long for a meeting at one of my favorite restaurants, perhaps a bit of tapas with some guitar music in the background. Or that amazing sea bass in miso from Geronimo’s. Or maybe just a simple cup of tea at Iconic on Lena or at the Teahouse on Canyon Road.
Corona has made me pause (see Silver Linings in The Time of Corona). I recognize that things may be very different on the other side of this. I am watching things carefully and as a result, I’m thoughtful about not planning too far out.
“Things they are a changin’ “
-Bob Dylan
The corporate sponsors we’ve been in discussion with in the travel and health sectors are consumed by the events of this virus, so our funding for our retreats is currently on hold.
As a result, for the first time in two and a half years of building CancerRoadTrip, I have a bit of time on my hands.
So I’m starting a podcast. “Bump In The Road” is the title and it’s a series of interviews with people who have managed their own bumps in the road. My wish is that it brings inspiration and perseverance to all of us, through Corona and beyond.
Health is obviously a priority, especially now. I’ve revamped my routine to include more breaks and movement. More self care. And I intend on keeping this new schedule beyond Corona.
I’ve always been a morning person and I continue to get up at 5:30 am. I find five things to be grateful for and I meditate for 20-30 minutes.
Then I browse the news and my email, shower and get to work. Work right now is sorting through a gazillion technical options for the podcast, ordering the equipment, making decisions about editing and distribution, lining up people to interview, continuing to do interviews with publications and podcasters about CancerRoadTrip, networking and adding some new photo galleries to the site.
I have a set of weights that goes up to 40 pounds (plenty for my needs); resistance bands to get more of a workout out of each step and curl; and I’ve added a second meditation session each afternoon.
I’m working on integrating a yoga routine into my schedule. I know its benefits; yoga has saved me many times, but it’s never been a natural for me. Even so, I started some on-line classes and have set aside time each afternoon to “go to class”.
I cook every night. Partly as self care; partly to pass the time. I’ve been using delivery services for food shopping once a week and my freezer is well stocked with wild fish and whatnot. I’ve always loved to cook (and eat) and I’m enjoying the time to be a bit creative and self nurturing.
And finally, as a “bone” to my creativity, I treated myself to a macro lens (a Nikon 105mm f/2.8). If I can’t travel out to a broader world, perhaps I can travel deeper within the world immediately around me as spring starts to blossom.
Because spring always comes after winter.
“Let us love winter, for it is the spring of genius.”
-Pietro Aretino
Spring trees starting to bloom
Final Corona Thoughts
At the end of February, I was in Sacramento for a TV interview about CancerRoadTrip. Afterwards I went down to Sonoma for two nights. The day I departed, I didn’t feel well and by the time I got to the airport, I was coughing terribly. And I was sick for 2-3 weeks afterwards. Given my symptoms, I’m wondering if I didn’t have the Corona virus. It had yet to really hit the news and our consciousness.
A friend sent me an article just this morning talking about how many flus may have been misdiagnosed (USAToday). At some point I want to get tested to see if I have the antibodies. But right now, other people need access to testing more than me, so I’m just sitting tight. And staying safe.
More Reading on Santa Fe and Environs
If we can’t travel in person, let’s travel vicariously! Here’s some New Mexico travel to inspire and amuse:
The Santa Fe Opera: Music, Art and Tailgating
Winter Zen in Santa Fe: Upaya and Ojo Caliente
Powwow: The Gathering of Nations
The Botanical Garden in Santa Fe
The Mesas, Buttes and Badlands of Bisti Wilderness
Chimayo: Chile, Weavings and Miracles
New Mexico Road Trip: The Road To Carrizozo
Inside The Georgia O’Keeffe House: Ghost Ranch
Inside The Georgia O’Keeffe House In Abiquiu
Georgia O’Keeffe Country: Abiquiu
Art in Abiquiu: Visiting The Abiquiu Art Project
Timeless Truchas
Photographing Chaco Canyon
Autumn in Taos
Inside TheGeorgia O’Keeffe House in Abiquiu
The Not So Quintessential Ghost Ranch
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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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by Pat Wetzel | Mar 23, 2020 | Road Trip, The Story
The Corona virus.
Social distancing. Stay at home. Quarantine.
Travel is obviously on hold and hopefully we’ll be looking at the Spring of 2021 for our first retreat. But in the meantime, I for one, am using this time to re-arrange my schedule.
I’m walking every day. Doing weights. Stretching.
I’m working on getting more Photo Galleries up so we can all travel vicariously.
And for my mind, and hopefully my audience, I’m starting a podcast.
And looking for your thoughts and suggestions.
I tend to have a fairly wide ranging, eclectic curiosity. When I think of a podcast, I think of places, people, culture.
When I think of healing, I think of traditions, modalities, and wisdom.
When I think of travel, my mind wanders from physical places to books, to places in my mind.
I want to create stories of hope, inspiration and adventure.
What would you like to hear about?
Is there someone you know I should interview?
What do you think of the podcast title The Traveling Soul?
***
A friend shared this via email this morning. It’s written by Kristin Flyntz and it’s a must read about our time with the Corona virus.
An Imagined Letter from Covid-19 to Humans
Stop. Just stop.
It is no longer a request. It is a mandate.
We will help you.
We will bring the supersonic, high speed merry-go-round to a halt
We will stop
the planes
the trains
the schools
the malls
the meetings
the frenetic, furied rush of illusions and “obligations” that keep you from hearing our
single and shared beating heart,
the way we breathe together, in unison.
Our obligation is to each other,
As it has always been, even if, even though, you have forgotten.
We will interrupt this broadcast, the endless cacophonous broadcast of divisions and distractions,
to bring you this long-breaking news:
We are not well.
None of us; all of us are suffering.
Last year, the firestorms that scorched the lungs of the earth
did not give you pause.
Nor the typhoons in Africa,China, Japan.
Nor the fevered climates in Japan and India.
You have not been listening.
It is hard to listen when you are so busy all the time, hustling to uphold the comforts and conveniences that scaffold your lives.
But the foundation is giving way,
buckling under the weight of your needs and desires.
We will help you.
We will bring the firestorms to your body
We will bring the fever to your body
We will bring the burning, searing, and flooding to your lungs
that you might hear:
We are not well.
Despite what you might think or feel, we are not the enemy.
We are Messenger. We are Ally. We are a balancing force.
We are asking you:
To stop, to be still, to listen;
To move beyond your individual concerns and consider the concerns of all;
To be with your ignorance, to find your humility, to relinquish your thinking minds and travel deep into the mind of the heart;
To look up into the sky, streaked with fewer planes, and see it, to notice its condition: clear, smoky, smoggy, rainy? How much do you need it to be healthy so that you may also be healthy?
To look at a tree, and see it, to notice its condition: how does its health contribute to the health of the sky, to the air you need to be healthy?
To visit a river, and see it, to notice its condition: clear, clean, murky, polluted? How much do you need it to be healthy so that you may also be healthy? How does its health contribute to the health of the tree, who contributes to the health of the sky, so that you may also be healthy?
Many are afraid now.
Do not demonize your fear, and also, do not let it rule you. Instead, let it speak to you—in your stillness,
listen for its wisdom.
What might it be telling you about what is at work, at issue, at risk, beyond the threats of personal inconvenience and illness?
As the health of a tree, a river, the sky tells you about quality of your own health, what might the quality of your health tell you about the health of the rivers, the trees, the sky, and all of us who share this planet with you?
Stop.
Notice if you are resisting.
Notice what you are resisting.
Ask why.
Stop. Just stop.
Be still.
Listen.
Ask us what we might teach you about illness and healing, about what might be required so that all may be well.
We will help you, if you listen.
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What is #CancerRoadTrip and how did it come to be? Read this post to get the backstory!
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by Pat Wetzel | Mar 1, 2020 | Food, Road Trip, The Story
Napa/Sonoma is one of those wonderful spots one never tires of.
And for me, there are so many memories.
My first glider ride in Calistoga.
Wine clubs and parties.
Great meals.
Fox 40 in Sacramento
So when Fox 40 in Sacramento asked me to join them, the thought of running down to Napa/Sonoma did occur to me. Since I couldn’t get a flight back ’til Tuesday, I added one extra night and voila! I was going to one of my all time favorite spots, the Sonoma Mission Inn.
Napa/Sonoma
Napa/Sonoma is an easy drive from Sacramento.
Napa is just about an hour from Sacramento
And once you leave the highway, the road winds through beautiful countryside, interrupted only by the lines of vineyards that wind up the slope.
Napa has undergone a great deal of renovation in recent years, including the Oxbow Public Market. The 40,000 square foot facility located along the Napa River showcases local companies and food producers with an emphasis on sustainable and organic farming practices. It was designed by San Francisco architects, Baldauf, Catton, and Von Eckartsberg, (who also did the Ferry Building in San Francisco).
The bridge over the Napa River leads to all sorts of wine country intrigue
The Oxbow Public Market in Napa
Produce at Oxbow Public Market
Located in the market is an eclectic assortment of butcher shops, a fish market, artisan cheese and wine, organic produce, olive oil and…
Drum roll please..
Hog Island Oysters.
At the oyster bar, Oxbow Public Market
A selection of Kumamotos, Eld Inslet Chelsea Olympia and Disco Hama oysters
Hog Island has a location in Tomales Bay where they harvest 160 acres of intertidal waters, as well as in the Embarcadero in San Francisco. And now, in Napa.
Hog Island Oyster at Tomales Bay
Sitting happily at the oyster bar in downtown Napa, I chose a selection of my favorite oysters, including Kumamotos, with a glass of Muscadet.
Briny heaven.
The Oxbow Market is a fun place. Food, wonderful oils and vinegars, craft beers and more provide culinary amusement. And next door is Copia CIA (as in Culinary Institute of America). The grounds include the restaurant, outdoor sitting areas and a wonderful retrospective of Julia Child in France.
Julia in France
Outside the Copia CIA
The CIA also has another California location in St. Helena. The St. Helena facility (Greystone) is in the old Christian Brothers Winery building, a massive stone building that perches on the hill. Inside Brother Timothy’s collection of corkscrews (hundreds of them!) are a must see.
From Napa, it’s on to Sonoma, just down the road.
A short drive to the west is Calistoga
Napa/Sonoma: The Sonoma Mission Inn
Back in 1995, I headed west with my sailplane, supposedly for the summer (although the trip lasted a good deal longer and ended up with my moving to Tahoe). I pulled into the airport in Truckee. The bunkhouse was $6 a night and a hot shower cost an extra dollar.
Aviation Hog Heaven.
But my go-to escape from the airport became wine country where I discovered the Sonoma Mission Inn.
The Entry to The Sonoma Mission Inn
The grounds at the Sonoma Mission Inn
The main building was designed by Joseph L. Stewart. Spanish mission details, like the beautiful tiled roofs, lend a timeless air to the property.
Spanish style tiled roof at Sonoma Mission Inn
The Sonoma Mission Inn has a distinguished history. Native Americans sought out the sacred location for the healing waters. Today, the Willow Spa sits atop the ancient thermal mineral spring which runs 1,100 feet below, bringing 135 degree water for a serious wellness retreat experience. This natural hot artesian well makes the Sonoma Mission Inn the only luxury resort in the western U.S. with its own source of thermal mineral water.
The main pool is just outside the spa.
Tucked under the trees, a place to relax.
The fountain greets you as you enter the spa area. To one side is a fully equipped workout room. To the left is a store full of tempting items. And below, around the Willow Spa, a series of pools and secluded hideaways for a bit of rest and relaxation.
Upon arrival, one is greeted with a sparkling wine. And in the room, a bottle of cabernet awaits.
Cheers!
Life is good at the Sonoma Mission Inn.
Sante, the AAA Four Diamond Award and Michelin designated restaurant, is available for breakfast and dinner. Breakfast one morning featured Mama’s Warm Banana Bread with Espresso Peanut Butter.
Now this is breakfast!
Sante is open for breakfast and dinner. Tuesday and Wednesday evening Executive Chef Marcellus Coleman as a pop-up test kitchen and tasting menu where they bring new dishes to life, inspired by the culinary instincts and insights of their guests.
And should you wish to go into Sonoma, the car service will deliver you wherever you’d like to go, and pick you up again later. I especially appreciated this because it meant I didn’t have to park or drive, and could indulge in a nice meal with a glass of wine.
Napa/Sonoma: The Girl and the Fig
The Sonoma Square is quiet and even a little sleepy. But the culinary scene is very much alive. I’ve eaten at many of the restaurants around the square over the years, and this evening, The Girl and The Fig beckoned.
The Girl and The Fig on the Sonoma Square
It’s a casual restaurant with a fun bar. And as a single traveler, I always appreciate a bar with good energy for dinner. And this evening’s dinner was moules with pommel frites and aioli. Simply perfect.
Moules with pommel frites
And around the square, various shops beckon with that indescribeable California flare.
Beautiful homewares tempt one along the Sonoma plaza
Napa/Sonoma Nostaglia
With just one full day I decided to pass on wine tasting and revisit some old haunts. There was something that needed closure for me. What, I wasn’t sure. Perhaps it was a revisiting of old memories. Perhaps it was just the recognition that time moves on.
But I had to travel to know. To understand what my intuition was telling me. So I headed up to Healdsburg, one of my long time favorite wine country places.
Healdsburg Square
Memories of wineries and dinners abound in this Northern California region. And as I wandered the streets, I was met with the a sense of dislocation. What had once been such a focus in my life, has now moved to a back burner. It was more than “been there, done that”.
It was a soulful recognition of a wonderful past, accompanied by the permission to move on.
The last two years of travel and moving have changed me. Much of the beautiful tableware, decorative items and furniture that once constituted a stunning home are still in storage. And now I find my beauty in fleeting light seen through my camera. In a good meal. In the company of friends, and often simply in the company of myself.
The sense of closure is a good one. It’s not as much about letting go as it is about getting going. Life moves on and so do we.
And for a bit of nostalgic solace, there are always oysters. This time at Willi’s.
Willi’s Seafood
The drive back was through the backroads into Calistoga. I remember the very first time I visited and the arts and craft house where I stayed. The French antique shop that is no more. A dinner with a vintner at a restaurant/bar that is closed.
And at the end of the street, I sought out the airfield where I went for my first glider ride. But the airfield is no longer operational and the old buildings are fading away.
The old building at the end of the airstrip
One of the old glider hangars
Things change and we all move on. In Napa/Sonoma the roads are better, the crowds are not, and memories meet me at every turn.
Memory is a way of holding onto the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose.
~From the television show The Wonder Years
I’m so grateful for the many memories of this wonderful area. Of food and wine (and oysters!). Of people and places. For the introduction to soaring, which led to a decade of flight and so much more. Memories are part of the fabric of life and they need to be honored. And sometimes relinquished as well.
Cheers To Our Memories
And Cheers To New Adventures
Copia CIA
More Nostalgia, Travel and Oysters
Travel Lessons: Oysters And Whatnot
Oyster Quest
Culinary Travel Karma: Dublin and Killarney
Traveling With Cancer: A One Year Anniversary
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What is #CancerRoadTrip and how did it come to be? Read this post to get the backstory!
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by Pat Wetzel | Jan 16, 2020 | Road Trip, The Story
A photo safari is often a once in a lifetime experience. How do you prepare? What do you need to know?
Here are eleven must knows from my experience on a photographic safari in Tanzania:
1. Monkey Business
They look so innocent!
The Sopa Lodge sits atop the ridge overlooking the Ngorongoro Crater. It is a stunning location. I’d set up one of my cameras to capture a time lapse series of the sunset. My photo backpack sat on a chair just behind me.
Cameras set to capture the sun setting over the Ngorongoro Crater
As I fussed with my camera, I glanced back. A baboon was sitting on the chair, happily rummaging through my backpack!
I stood tall and approached. His red beady eyes stared me down.
He did not budge.
Looking me squarely in the eye, he thrust his arm into my camera bag.
I had expensive lenses, a second camera body and even more importantly, a full XQD card from my day in the Crater in that backpack.
He could have the camera, but not the card.
I yelled; I waved my hand.
The baboon stood his ground.
Meanwhile, in the back of my mind, all I could hear was the nurse who had given me my vaccinations, asking me if I wanted a rabies vaccination.
“Rabies?” I asked. “No, I won’t need that.”
“Just don’t get bit by a monkey,” she advised me.
And now I was almost in armed combat with one.
The gathering crowd who (laughingly) sided with me finally spooked the baboon. As a final act of defiance, he looked me in the eye, reached into my pack, grabbed something and ran.
Thankfully it was not my XQD card!
Moral of the Story
I tried to save a bit of money on my photographic safari by using 64GB XQD cards (at $130 each) rather than 120 GB cards (at $210 each).
An XQD card at $210!
Don’t.
Buy larger cards. You’ll need several, but you’ll be less likely to fill them up.
Keep the card in your camera.
Keep your camera with you.
At all times.
If you put a full card in your camera bag, be sure it is in an ultra-secure location. Baboons are smart, strong, curious and persistent. Don’t give them the opportunity to dazzle you with their mischief.
2. Safari: Finding Your Purpose
Be clear about the purpose of your trip. Photo safaris can take many forms. They may be as simple as a day trip or two, or they might involve weeks in the bush. They may be relatively luxurious, or more camping based. They may be wet or dry, depending on the season.
Why are you going on safari?
To travel?
To learn?
A bit of both?
I was on a trip focused on photo education and the trip definitely delivered that.
A case in point: Change your photographic perspective
Any good traveler (or photographer) will tell you that changing your point of view will open your world. And so it does.
I had taken some fairly unremarkable photos of some baboons, when Kristi nudged me and said, “Come on!”
We climbed up a structure surrounding a tree. The stairs and platforms were intended to provide a closer look at some of Africa’s iconic trees, but they also provided a photo perch.
With a decidedly different point of view:
A change in one’s point of view produces a radically different picture of the world
“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.”
-Henry Miller
I know this intellectually. But now I own it. Traveling and studying with a world class photographer opened my eyes to so many things and motivated me to move out of my photographic rut to seek new skills and a new point of view. I will be traveling with purpose in the future, merging photo education into new adventures.
3. Choosing Your Safari Guide
Your guide will set the tone for your adventure, manage many of the details, and should have knowledge of the area.
Ask yourself:
Do you know them? Do you enjoy their company? Are they outgoing or more reserved, and which works best for you?
If it’s an educational trip, does their teaching style resonate with you? Is this someone you’ll want to spend a week or two with? How many people will be going on the trip and how many people will there be per vehicle?
For those of you serious about photography, four people per vehicle (plus a driver and guide who sit up front) is probably pretty optimal. There’s room to move around, and to stake out some territory for your equipment.
Will there be adequate time for teaching if this is your goal?
We had a very ambitious schedule, and between travel, pre-dawn departures and post sunset arrivals, I felt we could have used more time to review our photographic experiences.
But our education continued beyond the scope of the trip to a year of mentoring. That, for me, was an incredibly important part of the trip and one of the reasons I chose to travel with Kristi. The experience has opened my eyes and my world to the educational potential of traveling and learning from world class visual artists and storytellers.
4. Fellow Safari Travelers
Who else is going on your photographic safari? Your travel companions matter.
Is there a broad distribution of age groups? Educational levels? Younger? Older?
My trip was less than ideal in that one of the travelers, an unemployed thirty something woman who lived at home with her father, was constantly talking about herself, how amazing she was, how educated and talented she was, how amazing her photos were and how everything in Africa related to Disney’s Lion King animated fantasy movie.
Everything.
Seriously.
And constantly.
I’ve never seen the Lion King (it’s probably a generational thing) and I was frankly appalled at the self absorption and inability to carry on what I considered to be a civilized and intelligent conversation about anything other than oneself and an animated cartoon movie.
I yearned for adult conversation.
Obviously different groups will have different cultural perspectives that may or may not mesh. It’s something to think about.
Eight people distributed between two vehicles offers more variety for interaction than just four people in one vehicle. I can usually get along with just about anyone, but I would be very hesitant to go with such a small group again without having first met my fellow travelers.
5. Dust!
Dust!
Dust is everywhere on a photo safari in Africa. In an open vehicle, dashing through the savannah of the Serengeti, your hair will be caked in fine dirt, like a heavy hairspray. Running a comb through your hair becomes nearly impossible.
The remedy: Bring a hat.
Wear it.
Hat hair is preferable to sand encased hair any day.
6. Boots On The Ground
Some people wore sandals. I opted for socks and boots and I was happy with that decision. My hiking shoes would have been just fine as well.
Having a good platform for walking, carrying gear and shooting was the right choice for me. I didn’t hesitate walking through any type of terrain, and as an added bonus, my boots offered one more barrier to the omnipresent Tsetse Flies.
7. The Bugs of Safari
The word tsetse means “fly”. And they are everywhere.
Tsetse have been associated with sleeping sickness and are capable of carrying a variety of diseases, including malaria. They feed on your blood, and in doing so, spread disease.
I was on anti-malarial medicine throughout my trip, but still wanted to avoid bites in general. Long sleeves, socks and boots helped. As did insect repellent. I used a non Deet product that worked well, but I did have a Deet based spray as well, just in case.
Tea tree oil offered a wonderful relief to any bug bites and seemed to inhibit their curiosity as well. And it smelled much better than bug spray! Definitely have some Tea Tree Oil in your African travel kit!
8. Emergent and Urgent
Before leaving I seriously considered buying medical evacuation insurance. Something in back of my mind kept needling me. But my Delta travel insurance had a provision for $25,000 and surely I wouldn’t need it.
After all, I wasn’t climbing Kilimanjaro or anything.
At Lake Manyara, I fell (hard) on a slick concrete floor. I would later find out that I broke my tailbone (coccyx). The injury was quite painful, but could have been much worse.
This incident made me realize that getting out of Africa hurt or disabled, would have been daunting, to say the least.
There is little to no modern medical care in most areas.
There may or may not be communication.
And transportation is limited.
Plan accordingly.
9. Safe Sojourns
I always felt safe in Africa, but I traveled in a tourist bubble.
I was picked up at the airport by our guide, Gift; stayed in high end lodges; and generally had little interaction with daily life. Everyone I met was terrific, but it was a somewhat scripted experience.
Gift, our talented driver and safari guide
I am someone who likes to wander and court some serendipity. Next trip, I want to figure out how to travel a bit more, perhaps down to the coast and to Zanzibar, and get a bit more of a cultural feel for Tanzania. To do that, I have to figure out how to haul some pretty heavy and expensive photo and electronic gear, without inviting any unplanned adventures.
10. Travel Plans and Schedules
I traveled for about 30 some hours non-stop. The three to four hour layovers in both Atlanta and in Amsterdam gave me a chance to freshen up, stretch and walk.
I had considered stopping in Europe for a day or so, just to break up the trip, but I think the marathon 30 hour flight was the way to go. I was so exhausted by the time I got to Tanzania, that I slept soundly and adapted to the local time without missing a step or losing a day. And a light hike around Lake Duluti and an easy schedule my first day was just perfect for allowing me to acclimate.
Looking down Lake Duluti
On the way home, my section of the flight was fairly empty and I was actually able to stretch out across several seats and sleep. Delta provided terrific service and good (airline) food too. Kudos to Delta for all aspects of the trip.
11. Pack Light for Safari
Laundry service is inexpensive and available at most lodges. My clothing packing list worked well. I needed warm clothes on occasion, and a light jacket some mornings.
My photo packing list was perfect, except for the tripod and monopod, neither of which I used. Both added weight and bulk to my luggage and I had to haul them from place to place.
If you’re going on a typical safari, the reality is that from a vehicle, a bean bag is your best friend. I filled mine with rice from a store in Arusha. When I was ready to leave, I gave the rice to Gift (our driver) to pass along to someone else.
And empty, the bean bag collapses for packing and weighs nothing.
***
An African photographic safari is an amazing experience. Perhaps Beryl Markham said it best:
“Africa is mystic; it is wild; it is a sweltering inferno; it is a photographer’s paradise, a hunter’s Valhalla, an escapist’s Utopia. It is what you will, and it withstands all interpretations. It is the last vestige of a dead world or the cradle of a shiny new one. To a lot of people, as to myself, it is just home.”
–Beryl Markham, West With The Wind
Tree climbing lioness settling in for the Serengeti night
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More Reading And Photos on a Photographic Safari in Tanzania
Cats
Photographing Wildlife in Lake Manyara
Drive Bys
Elephant Love
Tanzania Photo Safari: Lake Manyara
Kili and Culture
Lake Duluti:
Settling Into Tanzania
An African Photo Safari With A Nikon Ambassador
Safari Clothes: Packing for Safari
An African Photo Safari: Photo Equipment Packing List
Visas and Vaccinations for Tanzania
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:
This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.
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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by Pat Wetzel | Jan 7, 2020 | Guest Post, Road Trip, The Story
This guest post by Bev Thompson combines the best of travel, family and faith in a most unexpected set of circumstances, in a retreat at a Benedictine Monastery.
Faith Has A Voice: Serendipity – Stillness – Strength
by Bev Thompson
The idea of ‘living forever’ no longer lives in the darker recesses of my mind, it’s now a bright light, perhaps the same light that haunts us with stories of those about to cross over.
Cancer has changed my perspective and my life.
As has a new puppy .
A new puppy
Pip appeared at a most opportune time, just a year after my beloved Mollie had died. A phone call from a breeder:
“I have just the Sealyham Terrier puppy for you; small; perfect conformation; can have babies; can be a champion, if you would like.”
I half listened, none of what she said mattered, except the word – puppy. My heart was pumping again. The day I held that pup in the palms of my hands was my most joyous moment in a very long time. Time stood still that day as I held her close – just as it did a few months later.
Pip, Cancer, and a Benedictine Retreat
Pip
I had turned upon waking to catch Pip from falling off the bed. She was only 7-months old and growing. As I reached for her, that’s when I felt it. A lump, a cyst – no, a lump! No it can’t be, it will go away. Far away – but it didn’t.
Two weeks after diagnosis, I had surgery to remove a healthy portion, or perhaps not so healthy portion, of my left breast. I was alone. I had no close family or support system.
After the surgery, I felt pressured to say yes to everything the white coats ‘in the know’ hurriedly prescribed. But their lineup of statistics by way of line graphs and percentages, longevity and recurrence wasn’t resonating with me.
I was in denial but not so far gone that I couldn’t advocate for myself.
My surgeon gave me all the options and supported my decisions but felt (yes, a surgeon with feelings) obligated to give me the statistics about my lump.
My general physician wouldn’t let me go under the knife until I got my A1C down and a prick to 90 for my diabetes.
Done.
My radiologist had me sign on the line with a witness so many times; my hand went into spasms. Inter-operative radiation was an option I wanted.
My oncologist?
Yes, you can cut me; yes you can burn me, but poison me? I balked and bucked, and whinnied – Noooo! My oncologist didn’t take the news well, but he documented The ‘No’ in silent disagreement. Then left me alone – nothing more to say.
My therapist?
She came after the facts. All my decisions had been made. No regrets. She agreed.
Cancer changes your life.
Your trajectory – Your friends – Your plans – EVERYTHING!
There is no going back to the way you were.
The revelation is that time is of the essence.
Where do I go from here?
How?
When?
The clarity that does come with the “C” word is . . . NOW!
Staying in today – is what I am left with. Today takes priority. Tomorrow can wait and Yesterday holds no ceremony over me any longer.
After declining chemo, my faith kept coming up. Will prayer take over where medicine has no guarantees? Will my faith prolong my life’s journey? My calling?
Needing solitude and a quiet place to reflect I started looking for a place I could take myself, and of course, Pip, my pup.
Pip, in the doorway
What type of retreat did I want? It had to include Pip.
By sheer coincidence, which some say is God’s way of remaining anonymous, a pet-friendly place popped up online. I put on my reading classes to make sure I wasn’t having an out-of-body experience.
The Monastery: A Benedictine Retreat
The Benedictine Retreat
Cancer brought up a need to reckoncile with my faith; a faith that called to me. A spiritual adventure was called for and a Benedictine Monastery I stumbled upon on the web seemed like the perfect place.
Pip and I were the only guests at the hermitage. We had the whole house to ourselves. Except of course for three Benedictine sisters and one yellow lab named Monk.
Pip, Monk and the sisters at play
A basket of fresh food appeared on my kitchen table each morning and evening and chapel was only a path’s walk away. The hospitality was like none other I had experienced. I am Protestant, yet the Benedictine Order welcomed me as a sister-in-faith.
When I asked the sisters what I should pack, Sister Sheila replied, “floating fetch toys that Monk can retrieve from our pond.”
“And we so look forward to meeting your, Pip,” she added.
My heart melted.
What a week it was. Contemplation, prayer, community, hospitality, generosity and – my faith restored; a community that was new to me, yet not, growing up amongst the faithful from birth.
We laughed, we played, we shopped, went sightseeing.
The sisters never asked why I had come. Never questioned my faith or the basis of my beliefs. Through the serendipity of an internet search, I reached out and asked for a week of sheltering and they took me in.
As the week came to a close, I asked to gather with the sisters to tell them my story and ask for their prayers.
“Bev, we have been praying for you all week long and will continue with prayer – ‘healing prayers’ each day to sustain you as you continue your life’s journey.”
A framed photo from the Benedictine retreat
Our stories, as we look back on our lives, bring up the miracle of randomness, God’s anonymous moments. It made little sense miraculously Pip entered my life when she did.
It made no sense that a faith outside my own would embrace me.
It made no sense that Transfiguration Monastery would enter my life through an Internet search.
No one gets through life alone. God promises us that the ending is worth waiting for – in life – in death – through the magical power of faith.
Serendipity – Stillness – Strength – a perfect threesome. The Father, The Son, The Holy Ghost; And Three Sisters. Incredible Revelations Come in 3’s – and a dog named Monk.
“Seek and you shall find. Ask and it shall be given to you.”
The Power of Faith – God’s Medicine.
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More Guest Posts
Traveling To Heal: 83 Days On TheRoad
Visiting the Galapagos
One Cancer Patient’s Ultimate Travel Bucket List
Seven Ways To Survive The Holidays While Grieving
Luxor Egypt
An Artist’s View of Luxor, Egypt
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:
This post contains affiliate links and CancerRoadTrip will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.
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!
Follow my blog with Bloglovin
by Pat Wetzel | Dec 27, 2019 | Guest Post, Road Trip, The Story
Grief and the holidays sadly go hand in hand for many of us. Memories and loses coincide just when we are supposed to be happiest.
Kristyn Lohoff, who lost her husband to cancer, shares some of her strategies for this time of year.
***
The holidays can be a difficult time.
When the holiday season arrives many people find themselves busy planning family gatherings, preparing meals, wrapping gifts, baking cookies, and attending different holiday programs. For people who are living with grief from the loss of a loved one, the holidays can become an overwhelming time. I have learned a lot about how to survive the holidays while grieving.
Grief and The Holidays
I lost my husband in October of 2017, and the first holiday season without him came quickly. Just two months later I was faced with how to celebrate without him. I actually lost seven family members in 26 months, with my husband’s death being the final one. Two other losses were my mother and father-in-law. They had always come to our home over the holidays and that first year without them left my house feeling especially empty.
We always gathered around a bonfire
Our tradition of a family gathering with an evening bonfire and a gift exchange was something that I had no motivation to do that first year, but it was something that was very important to all of my children. I found a way to get through that first holiday while grieving.
Surviving the holidays while grieving was so emotionally difficult for me, that I needed two days to recover and be able to get out of bed once again. In spite of this, I felt that the first holiday season was a victory! Here are seven things that I have learned because of my own experiences
Allow Yourself to Feel Without Guilt
A New Year will bring a new life, different from what you’d imagined.
The holidays are an emotional time. It is Ok if you start to cry, even if you are in line at the grocery store!
You are missing someone special.
Your new life is now very different from what you were used to, it is different from what you envisioned for yourself.
Allow yourself to feel what you are feeling.
Giving yourself permission to let those emotions out will discharge some of the pain so that healing can happen.
Plan Ahead
For the first holiday after losing my husband, I was overcome by the intense early grief that I was feeling and there was no way to really plan ahead. Thanks to the help of my adult children, we were able to keep things for our family celebration similar to what they had been in the past. This was very important to them and to my younger daughters.
During my first year as a widow, I learned how to use a bullet journal to help me be prepared and feel less stressed by the responsibilities of daily life.
I used it to plan our second holiday season without my husband. By taking time to reflect about how I wanted to holidays to go, I was able to plan when to do the things that I wanted.
My second holiday season looked very different from my first. I actually took my family on a road trip and we experienced the holiday season in New Orleans, LA while staying in our RV. Being away from home felt good, and that year I didn’t need two days afterwards to recover in bed.
Improvement!
Keep Things Manageable
Lists help us prioritize busy holiday activities
Make a list of all of the things that you feel must be accomplished.
Then, reflect on the things that you truly want to do and the things that you feel you must do.
Do you really need to send holiday cards to every friend or family member you know?
Do you really need to send any?
Let some things go, it’s OK! Trim your old list of things you felt needed to be done down to a new list of only a few “Must Do” items.
It’s OK if you don’t participate in the cookie exchange this year.
It’s OK if you change traditions to make things easier, these changes may make the holiday better for everyone!
Be honest and tell people what you DO want to do for the holidays and what you DO NOT want to do.
Find Time For Yourself
Find time to be alone
Make sure to plan some time for yourself.
Give yourself time to rest. Go for a walk. Listen to music. Take a nap.
Spend time journaling or drawing.
Plan a getaway.
Sit in a coffee shop.
Write a list of ten things that you would like to do for yourself during the holiday season. Write anything that comes to your mind and then select the top three from your list and make arrangements for those things to happen.
If you plan something for just you, especially after the holiday is over, it may give you something to look forward to. This can help you get through some difficult moments.
Find A Way To Honor Your Loved One
Promise kept. John at the Pacific Ocean.
It may be helpful to find a way to honor and include your lost loved one into part of your celebrations.
You could create a memorial table with pictures of those who are not with you anymore.
You could set a spot at the table for your loved one, cook a favorite dish, or light a candle to remember them.
You could create a memorial decoration or ornament in your loved one’s memory.
You may like to set aside a time to visit their gravesite and leave holiday decorations there.
Talk About Your Loved One
Ready to travel!
It can be helpful to talk about the person who has died as a way to survive the holidays while grieving. Many times people are afraid to bring up the person’s name, but talking about them, saying their name and sharing memories can be very helpful.
By sharing stories over and over, the pain of the loss may lessen. It’s another way to let the pain out and begin to feel joy over time.
Travel and Healing From Grief
Kristyn and John in their RV
Looking back, it seems that my mother first taught me that travel was a helpful way to deal with grief.
My father died when I was seven, and a couple of months later my mom took our family to DisneyWorld. My parents had been putting money away for this trip for many years, and now, with one less person, it would cost less and she could then afford the trip. Off to DisneyWorld we went!
Over forty years later, I still have vivid memories of that trip and how good it felt to be away from our home where my father had died. For years afterwards, my mother planned trip after trip after trip.
I grew up thinking that she just liked to travel, but once I became a widow myself, I understood the power of travel to heal a grieving soul.
After losing my mother, father-in-law and my husband in a little more than two years, I instinctively began planning a trip that I hoped would bring me and my young daughters some peace. Losses so big would need a monumental trip, and that is exactly what I planned.
Seven months after my husband died I packed up my motorhome and began an epic trip that would log 13,800 miles, included 22 national parks, and provide us with the opportunity to catch up with family and make new friends.
North Rim, Grand Canyon
I created an itinerary of places to go that had been on the bucket list that my husband and I had created together. The trip became a mission for him.
But, as the days went on, I found out that the trip was really about my healing, and the healing of my daughters.
I first noticed this after driving for days from my Wisconsin home, stopping at different places until I had literally run out of road and found myself staring out at the Pacific Ocean in northern California. It was breathtaking.
The Pacific Ocean
I sat on the beach watching my girls run around and investigate and just letting my mind wander. I cried, but my soul was also filled with the calm beauty of nature, and I felt a piece of joy seeping back into my life.
All who wander are not lost: A view from the RV
I did some research and learned about other people who had turned to the powers of nature to heal their broken souls. Theodore Roosevelt lost both his mother and his wife on the same day. Shortly after, he went out to the American West for many months in order to find a way to live with those losses. Nature and travel provided his soul with some comfort, and he later devoted much of his presidency to protecting lands for future generations.
John Muir, from my home state of Wisconsin, went out to California and found the beautiful Beauty in the Yosemite Valley. He later created the Sierra Club and fought for decades so that Yosemite could become one of our first national parks. He later worked to help protect the Grand Canyon and Petrified Forest as national parks.
I have been to over twenty national parks and each time I spend time sitting and letting nature soothe my soul. I enjoy finding out what is special and unique about each park. I let that special thing seep into my body and give me strength to face a new day.
Grief is a marathon.
Whether you are grieving the loss of a loved one, the loss of a pet, the loss of relationship, or the loss of a lifestyle, grief is a daily marathon that we must find the tools around us which will help us to continue moving on.
On my epic RV road trip, I found myself sitting off of a trail along the edge of the north rim of the Grand Canyon without anyone near me.
At the rim of the Grand Canyon
I slipped my coffee and stared at the beauty in front of me. And I felt like I could go on with my life.
Travel is healing. Nature is healing. Putting the two together becomes amazingly powerful.
Find your way to survive the holidays while grieving. Safe travels and happy holidays!
Kristyn is a teacher by day and grief and travel expert every other moment of the day. She lives with her two youngest daughters, a dog and a cat and her motorhome affectionately named CeeCee in Northern Wisconsin. She hopes to find a way to live full-time in her RV. You can visit her website and learn more about her adventures in surviving grief by visiting her website at www.ourclassceelife.com
More Reading on Cancer and Travel
Traveling To Heal: 83 Days on the Road
Visiting The Galapagos
Good Travel Books For The Holidays and All Days
One Cancer Patient’s Ultimate Travel Bucket List
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by Pat Wetzel | Dec 15, 2019 | Road Trip, The Story
Good travel books cover new terrain. It may mean mean touring the world. Or perhaps it means looking within.
In either direction, travel always offers adventure. Here is a bit of literary adventure in both directions.
Books for Traveling Within
The journey within oneself is at least as interesting as any world wide voyages. Her are some of the travel books that have been along on my journey:
I first saw Bernie Siegel many years ago at Yale. He was speaking to an audience of surgeons who, to say the least, didn’t believe in anything that didn’t include a scalpel.
But Bernie has had the last laugh. Science is finally coming around to his prescient thinking about the power of love and the power of our minds to influence our health and healing.
This book is a classic for a reason. Anyone would be delighted to receive this as a gift, any time of the year.
The Power of Now has been one of the most influential books of my life. With a great deal of practice on my part, it has shown me that the present moment is what counts. Not your worries; not your words. Just NOW.
For your life’s travels, this book is a companion you won’t tire of.
This is a book I bought long ago, and it’s accompanied me on many travels. Zukav looks at our interactions from a perspective of energy. And when you start thinking in these terms, it provides a trail map for all your travels. This is truly a good travel book for every soulful adventure.
Joe Dispenza’s story is amazing. He was told he’d never walk again after a horrific biking accident. But using intense visualization he healed a broken back.
With a scientific bent, he looks at the power of our minds in our daily life and the power we have to heal. He also goes into some fascination meditation technques (that are just mind blowing!).
Love this book. Check it out!
Jim Gordon is someone I’ve admired for many years. He is a Harvard trained psychiatrist who travels the world helping people heal from trauma. He is also the founder of the Center for Mind Body Medicine.
The Transformation is a book that has resulted from Jim’s years of study and teaching, and from his travels across the globe, into war zones and other disaster areas. In this book, he encourages each of us to look within to heal, and he provides the tools to pursue the journey.
I was fortunate enough to interview Jim a few years ago. You can watch the interview here. And if you’re interested in becoming involved in his project, check out cmbm.org
I am currently reading this book and it is a must read. Dean Shrock has oodles of sources, some of which I’ve read (Like Molecules of Emotion by Candace Perth) and others that I haven’t.
This is an excellent book drawing from Dean’s decades of cancer care and his careful research. I heartedly recommend this and all the books on this page.
Good Books For Travel
And then there is the wonderful adventure of travel. The world is a big place; where to go?
1,000 Places is a classic and one that should live on your wanderlust bookshelf, or on your phone. So many ideas! Want to visit World Heritage Sites? European capitals? Asian temples?
All this and so much more. This is a great place to start your travels. A good travel book for all times.
Travel, for me, is also about history. And in that vein, both fiction and non-fiction offer a chance for travel. A few of my favorites:
Long before I visited Africa, the stories of British East Africa called to me. There was Isak Dinesen’s Out of Africa, but for me, the book of that era was always West With The Night.
Beryl Markham was an extraordinary woman, pilot, and adventurer. Many years ago, I came across this book and read it again and again. I still go back for the vivid prose. Here’s an example:
“Africa is mystic; it is wild; it is a sweltering inferno; it is a photographer’s paradise, a hunter’s Valhalla, an escapist’s Utopia. It is what you will, and it withstands all interpretations. It is the last vestige of a dead world or the cradle of a shiny new one. To a lot of people, as to myself, it is just ‘home.”
An African adventure in time and space. A must read.
This is a classic for a reason. And an international best seller. It took me many years before I read this, and it’s now one of my favorite travel books.
Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy, yearns to travel. So he does. And along the way, he finds himself. A good travel book indeed!
One of the most heart warming reads of all time, chronicling Peter Gethers global travels with his Scottish Fold cat, Norton. Part travel, part adventure and all heart.
No travel book list is complete without the wisdom of Dr. Seuss. I just love this book. It starts:
“Congratulations! Today is your day. You’re off to great places. You’re off and away!
You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose.”
And so starts any great adventure.
We are giving healing journeys to people to discover their world anew after cancer treatment. And we’ll be capturing it all on film so that you can share in the adventure.
Seven Travelers, Seven Stories, One Bucket List Location
Be a part of the project. Click here to learn more.
And be sure to sign up on our mailing list to stay in the know about the film project, our travels and so much more!
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by Pat Wetzel | Dec 12, 2019 | Cancer, Guest Post, The Story
What’s an ultimate travel bucket list? Psychologist and award winning author Robin McGee (The Cancer Olympics) shares her perspective on travel, healing and cancer.
Her recent travels, with and in spite of cancer, include Ireland, France, Italy and a transcontinental North American road trip.
Fill Your Bucket
When I learned my cancer had recurred, I was only weeks away from a trip to Ireland with my three sisters. That trip had a spiritual significance to me, as while the four of us helped our parents through their deaths the year before, we promised each other we would go. My Dad was from Belfast, and we had heard about it our whole lives. It meant the world to me to go, seeing as it might be my last trip ever.
Robin (second from right) wit her three sisters in Ireland
My cancer doctors were understanding. They knew my disease might be inoperable, so they kindly delayed the titanic chemotherapy until the day after my return. So my sisters and I went for two weeks. I loved every minute. Cancer dread hovered at the edges, but I was able to focus and absorb the staggering beauty of that jewel of an island. I saw the green fields my father had told me about. I met relatives. I drank Guinness. The trip gave me a fount of joy to draw upon as I faced my devastating treatments.
Months of devastating chemo ensued
And devastating they were. Months of brutal chemotherapy followed by a 12-hour surgery followed by more harsh chemo. Hideous mind-bending surgical complications, followed by months of treatment away from home, followed by another 13-hour surgery, followed by more treatments.
And where was travel in all of that mix? Sadly, the cancer could not be fully excised, as a biopsy revealed cancer cells deep in the pelvic sidewall. My time is limited. So I embraced travel as a way to have quality of life for the time I have remaining.
In July of 2018, I was in a wheelchair due to chemo side effects. Nevertheless, I went to France on a river cruise with family.
While everyone else was eating the gorgeous French food, I was having the consume.
While others could walk the cobblestone streets, I jounced and vibrated along in my chair.
And yet, the glorious and poignant history, the awe-inspiring Cathedrals, and the peaceful Seine, and the breathtaking art were all absorbing.
If one is going to feel unwell, one may as well feel unwell in Paris!
I recovered some money in the medical malpractice lawsuit that followed the heinous events described in my 2014 book The Cancer Olympics. The funds allowed me a truly joyous bucket-list opportunity – to rent a villa in Tuscany for two weeks and invite my six siblings and their spouses.
This time, I was well enough to walk (and more importantly, EAT). It brought tears of elation to my eyes to see my family enjoying the place and each other, to see them enraptured by the art and the vistas, and to celebrate my continued survival.
A Tuscan Villa, complete with pool
Finally, my treatments ended this past spring (2019). I could start mending. So my husband and I traveled across Canada in our 18-foot trailer, a journey which I reacted to in my blog integrating cancer with famous songs. The journey took three months, during which we opened our souls to the spectacular landscapes and fascinating stories of my home and native land.
Robin with her husband
A windswept praire in central Canada
On a windswept Prairie I saw a hawk land on a fencepost. He settled in majesty, scanning the horizon as hawks have done for millennia. It was an instant, and yet it was forever.
As I watched him, all at once, the vastness and infinitude of nature descended into my mind. I realized: I am nature, I am culture, I am history.
Civilizations and even landscapes pass away, as we all must.
Coming to terms with incurable cancer means facing and accepting our own impermanence.
The vastness and infinitude of nature
Travel underscores those lessons.
We must treasure family, place, and experience. So much of life is wonderous.
Fill your bucket, fill yourself.
***
What’s your ultimate travel bucket list? Could it be an all expense paid healing retreat? Click here to learn more.
More Reading On Cancer, Travel and Healing
Traveling To Heal: 83 Days on the Road
Thoughts on the Metaphor of a Road Trip
Traveling The Timeline Of Now
Visiting the Galapagos
Healing Travel For A Better Matrix
Like This Post? Pin It!
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:
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!
Follow my blog with Bloglovin
I first saw Bernie Siegel many years ago at Yale. He was speaking to an audience of surgeons who, to say the least, didn’t believe in anything that didn’t include a scalpel.
Joe Dispenza’s story is amazing. He was told he’d never walk again after a horrific biking accident. But using intense visualization he healed a broken back. 
1,000 Places is a classic and one that should live on your wanderlust bookshelf, or on your phone. So many ideas! Want to visit World Heritage Sites? European capitals? Asian temples? 
No travel book list is complete without the wisdom of Dr. Seuss. I just love this book. It starts: 
