Where Do You Go
Escape is necessary. Modern lives demand a lot of us, sometimes 24/7. How do you escape your chaos? Do you accrue time and stress before you escape? Or do you go as needed?
Travel in the last decade has changed. Since 9/11, air travel is now a security experience. Green travel is no longer just for college students. Spas are popping up everywhere and range from your local hairdresser’s day spa to a complete resort such as Canyon Ranch. Hotel chains are falling over each other to be greener – more environmentally clean.
Our whole lifestyle is influencing how we travel. We want more than our traditional escape – we want to be renewed. Getting out of town is now a rejuvenation experience.
Tell us about your secret escapes and how you renew. Your excursion could be as simple as a nap or it could be trekking deep in the jungles of the Amazon. We want to know.
To rejuvenate my body and soul, I seek out long hikes, paddle trips or general adventures. My partner, Deb, and I have “through” hiked the entire length of the Appalachian Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail. (Trail names: Walking Carrot and Nowhere Man). This summer we are planning to hike the northern half of the Continental Divide Trail, from Waterton/Glacier International Peace Park to southern Wyoming, Rawlins to be exact. This will be approximately 1300 miles, and take about 3 months.
The lead up to our trips is always stressful, as last minute planning takes place as an ovelap to daily life and setting affairs in order takes as much time as planning the trip itself. But it is all worth it when the daily stress falls away, usually 3 or 4 days into the trip. Then, the next several months become time for a vey determined lifestyle where the immediate needs take over and focus is on feet forward and on what’s happening inside the head and the heart.
The only real downsider to this approach, is that a 2 week “american style” vacation no longer provides release. We need our “fix” of 3 months or more and we need it every 2nd or 3rd year (more often when we can). This does involve sacrifice and some compromise for our priorities to become reality. It’s not for everyone, but it is a way of life for us.
I live by a lake and I like to go to the water for a getaway. Even if it is just for a picnic or a swim, I get in my boat and go out for a few hours. Being on the water changes my whole perspective and seems to cleanse all parts of my being (physical, emotional, energetic and spiritual). I come back refreshed, restored and rejuvenated. There is something magical about being on the water.
As a single mom of 2 boys, I don’t have the luxury of picking up and going to a spa, taking a Windjammer cruise, or Eco tourism trip whenever I feel the need to “renew”(as much as I’d love to!!)Being down because of illness isn’t really an option for me ’cause I’m still “mom” and need to be functional. So, it’s really important for me to take care of myself as much as possible.
Once a month( more if I can swing it), I have a professional massage. It is great preventative medicine- relaxing, detoxing- body, mind, spirit. I’m sure my regular massages keep me out of the doctor’s office. In between times, when I need to unwind, I use essential oils in my bath- mini spa. There are so many oils and they too work on body, mind, spirit. Lavender is wonderfully relaxing and eucalyptus is great for clearing a stuffy head/chest. I also love flower essences. They are powerful healers on the emotional/mental levels, but have no contraindications. Powerful and gentle at the same time. Rescue Remedy has gotten me through many shocks and dental visits. I also use Reiki on a daily basis. I think there are so many modalities out there to keep us healthy and renew our “batteries”, we just need to seek them out.