What is #CancerRoadTrip and how did it come to be? Read this post to get the backstory!
Sold! Escrow opened today. I am 60 days to being #HomelessWithCancer.
Last night I totally freaked out. I mean, nearly total emotional decomposition.
I got on line and started looking for places to stay. It’s April, and much of Hawaii is already booked for the summer. It’s high season, which means lots of tourists and high costs. How am I going to handle this turn of events? Will I be able to find a place to stay? Where do I start? Which island when? Coordinating island hopping and travel with no lodging inventory is difficult at best.
Before, I couldn’t make plans until I had a closing date. Now that I have a closing date, there is little available. Getting a temporary place in Tahoe or elsewhere faces the same problems. Everyone wants to vacation during the summer. (Something I’ve never understood–I’ll take the off season weather and lack of crowds anywhere, anytime.)
A wrench in the works.
Friends to the rescue!
One of my old flying buddies and his wife are moving to Vashon near Seattle. They are selling their house in Nevada and renovating a house on the island. But they will be in Greece through the early summer. The Greek trip is something of a #CancerRoadTrip. It’s a celebration of their daughter’s graduation. The cancer connection is Jen’s mother. Her death underscored a sense of urgency about life experiences. Don’t put it off, do it now.
They could use a “construction manager” in Washington to oversee things.
It would give me a temporary base. I could explore Seattle and the various contacts I have up there. I could leave a few things somewhere, then take off perhaps towards the end of summer. This will give me the time I still need to get settled while unsettled.
“Not all who wander are lost.” JRR Tolkien
I enjoy the Pacific northwest during the summer. The winter rains are too much for me. But I’ve thought that having the Seattle area as a home base, and traveling a lot during the winter, could work. Living on one of the islands, with Seattle just a 20 minute ferry ride away might be a great combination. As long as I could escape the winter rains. And living on Vashon for a bit will allow me to test this out.
And Seattle has good health care. Something that is always part of the decision making process.
The decision making process of this entire adventure is an interesting one. How minimal do I want to go? Do I want to even own a house again? How much should I discard? Do I want to live in the States, or perhaps overseas for a while? One fantasy is a small place on a Greek island (with good internet access of course!) as a base. For as long as that lasts! What do I really want and need at this stage of my life? And what will happen with my health?
Questions abound. In travel I seek revelation. Or at least some insight. So, the itinerary is currently (but always open to change!) setting up as follows:
May: Huntsville, Alabama for the TBEX show. #TBEX is a networking event for travel bloggers, online travel journalists, new media content creators, travel brands and industry professionals. And Huntsville is Rocket City! Werner von Braun, “Failure is not an option”, and The Right Stuff come to mind. Somehow aviation always seems to creep into the agenda!
June: Close escrow. Vashon ho! Perhaps Vashon by way of California wine country. Maybe Oregon wine country too!
I loved living on the water in Connecticut. I’m looking forward to being near the coast again. And Chanel’s new humans may be passing through Seattle on an Alaskan cruise. If so, we’ll find a way to connect.
September-ish: Hawaii. R&R. A focus on health and healing. And a bit of adventure!
December: To Australia/NewZealand. I may plan a jaunt into Indonesia/Thailand to keep costs down.
The Australian Open is in January and Rob Kinas, a lawyer out of Las Vegas runs a group called CancerResearchRacquet. The group of international business professionals and tennis fans (and cancer survivors) travel the tennis circuit to socialize, play some tennis and raise money for cancer research. This year (2018 actually), I will join them in Australia. And who knows, maybe Wimbledon! We’ll see where in the world I am!
#CancerRoadTrip where nothing happens as expected! Welcome to life. Isn’t it grand?
What is #CancerRoadTrip and how did it come to be? Read this post to get the backstory!
Hawaii is my first stop for a variety of reasons. One, is simply to take care of myself; to shed the stress of the last several months in a place of incredible beauty. But beyond that, there is a fascinating history of holistic mind/body healing in Hawaii dating back to roughly 700 AD. It’s a cultural and spiritual tradition that combines elements of many eastern and traditional medicines, using energy, sound, food, psychology, herbs and movement to heal.
Hawaiian healers are known as “Kahuna” which means “Keeper of the Secret”, referring to the secret medical knowledge that was passed from one Kahuna to another, generation after generation.
The noun Kahuna extends its meaning beyond medicine. It generally refers to someone who has deep expertise in a given area for example, the best surfer on the beach might be referred to as “kahuna nui he’e nalu,” the “principal master surfer.”
In medical circles, Kahuna are wise men/women or shaman. They have no formal degree. Their training is one on one, from a master who imparts their knowledge to the student. This traditional Hawaiian medical system is a very sophisticated one with specialties in Earth Medicine, Psychosocial Medicine, Manual Medicine, Movement and Marshall arts; Music and Arts; Nutrition and Energy.
The Hawaiian word for health is ola (life). Without health,there is no life. Hawaiians view the body, mind and spirit as one. The body cannot be healed without healing the spirit.
This indigenous approach to healing faced it’s first cultural hurdle with the discovery of the Hawaiian islands by Captain James Cook. Cook visited Hawaii on two occasions. First on January 18, 1778, the English explorer sailed past the island of Oahu. Two days later, he landed on the island of Kauai. He named the island the Sandwich Islands in honor of the earl of Sandwich who was one of his patrons.
The European use of iron and the “technology” of the 18th century west had an oversized impact on the Hawaiians. It is suspected that the Hawaiians attached religious significance to Cook, welcoming he and his men as gods. But on Cook’s subsequent visit int 1779,when one of the crew members died, their humanity (and subsequent exploitation of the Hawaiian’s good will) became apparent.
Captain James Cook’s attempted kidnapping of Kalaniʻōpuʻu, the ruling chief of the island of Hawaii and the decision to hold him in exchange for a stolen boat led to Cook’s death. He was killed on February 14, 1779.
The Cook explorations would have a major impact on the geographic knowledge of the times, as well as on the Hawaiian islands where the introduction of western thought would dramatically change the culture. Missionaries outlawed the ancient medical teachings in 1820 and diseases such as small pox were introduced to the island, greatly reducing population from about 800,000+ to 180,0000 by the early 1800’s.
Today in Hawaii, elements of traditional medicine remain. Given the influx of people, practices and ideas from Asia, eastern modalities such as acupuncture and tai chi have become part of the healing landscape. And of course, the incredible beauty of the islands themselves offer restoration though nature.
This alone would be more than enough for me to head to Hawaii! But in addition, it is said that the Hawaiian Islands are the Chakra system of the planet. Each of the seven main islands represents and vibrates at a different chakra energy.
The island of Hawaii is associated with the Root Chakra which represents the earth element. The second (Sacral) Chakra is said to be on Maui. The third (Solar Plexus) is Lanai. Molokai is considered the Heart Chakra and Oahu is the Throat Chakra. The Third Eye is Kauai which is associated with our ability to find clear intuition and to follow our dreams. The Crown Chakra – Niihau Niihau – is actually a private island.
Kauai will be my first stop. It is peaceful, and I need some peace. I am terrified that the stress of the last several months is impacting my health, and I need to devote myself to better fitness and stress management. I need to devote myself to me. And Hawaii, with its beauty and traditions, is a good place to start.
One of the contributors to Anti-Cancer Club, Khevin Barnes, spent a year in a Zen Buddhist temple on Oahu. He’s putting me in touch with some people and fellow blogger Eileen Rosenbloom will be on Kauai. Through Twitter, I also have some Hawaii cancer connections, and through MeetUp I am already looking at beach based meditation get togethers.
The Chakra associated with Kauai, the Third Eye, is a fitting for the first stop of this journey. On Kauai, there is also a Hindu monestary that intrigues me for architectural reasons, and probably some spiritual ones as well. Because my healing journey knows no limits or bounds. Through this adventure I am finding my voice. Through some reflection starting on Kauai, may I find some clarity.
What is #CancerRoadTrip and how did it come to be? Read this post to get the backstory!
When the going gets tough, the tough go traveling. Time for some R&R, preferably spiced with a bit of history and aviation!
I am a bit of a history buff and World War II, a war my father flew in, has always piqued my interest. My father was a navigator in B17s stationed in England. The Eighth Army Air Force had the highest casualty rate of all the service branches. As a pilot who has had the opportunity to be SCARED in the air (I once danced with a massive thunder cloud that nearly ripped my plane apart-with me in it!), I don’t know how anyone could have done what these young men did. I don’t think I could have faced my fears, my mortality, at that age and repeatedly flown into war. But they did. Day after day. Wow. I have such respect and regard for them.
Flying is the second greatest thrill known to man. Landing is the first. -Pithy Pilot Sayings
Years ago I walked into St. Paul’s cathedral in London with my father and there was a display with a book under glass. The book contained a list of men who had died. One of my father’s flight mates was on the page that just happened to be open.
My father died at 60. This year I’ll be sixty. I don’t see any pre-ordained limitations or similarities, but he died of pancreatic cancer, after a period of considerable stress. I too have been under massive stress and I need to make my health my priority.
So Hawaii ho! If I have to be #HomelessWithCancer, I’m going to have some fun!
Why Hawaii? I haven’t been there. It’s a restful, restorative place. My health has taken a horrible beating since September, and I know that I need to attend to my physical and spiritual self.
Pearl Harbor is obviously on the must see list, but the purpose of my trip is healing. I am not looking for the resort experience or for an urban challenge. I am looking to restore my creativity and outlook on life.
One of my cancer friends and fellow blogger Eileen Rosenbloom (Woman In The Hat) will be on Kauai and I want to get together with her. Stephie will be on the Big Island in May and if our stays coincide, we want to get together. I’d like to visit each island, and see what healing spaces and places each offers.
It all depends on when my house sells. And where things stand with ThinkTLC.
“Letting go means to come to the realization that some people are a part of your history, but not a part of your destiny.” —Steve Maraboli
Inspiration, joy & discovery through travel. Oh, did I mention with supposedly incurable cancer?
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Thank you for stopping by!
CancerRoadTrip is about making lemonade out of lemons.
As you read my story, you may want to start at the beginning to "grok" how CancerRoadTrip came to be. You can click here to start at the end (which is actually the beginning) and read forward! The posts are chronological, with the most recent posts appearing on the front page.
Before, I couldn’t make plans until I had a closing date. Now that I have a closing date, there is little available. Getting a temporary place in Tahoe or elsewhere faces the same problems. Everyone wants to vacation during the summer. (Something I’ve never understood–I’ll take the off season weather and lack of crowds anywhere, anytime.)
September-ish: Hawaii. R&R. A focus on health and healing. And a bit of adventure!
group called CancerResearchRacquet. The group of international business professionals and tennis fans (and cancer survivors) travel the tennis circuit to socialize, play some tennis and raise money for cancer research. This year (2018 actually), I will join them in Australia. And who knows, maybe Wimbledon! We’ll see where in the world I am!
This indigenous approach to healing faced it’s first cultural hurdle with the discovery of the Hawaiian islands by Captain James Cook. Cook visited Hawaii on two occasions. First on January 18, 1778, the English explorer sailed past the island of Oahu. Two days later, he landed on the island of Kauai. He named the island the Sandwich Islands in honor of the earl of Sandwich who was one of his patrons.
