The Patient Speaks!

Many people ask me what do I do when I absolutely can not stand any more.  You know the feeling.  Getting barraged with massive migraines one after the other and all you have to look forward to is Monday morning and going back to work.  Exactly how do you get your mental attitude back up and running?  For me, the answer is quite easy: plan a vacation!  How can I even think of a vacation, or holiday as my British friends say it, when I am really down with pain?  For me, it gives me that positive focus and goal that pulls me through.  It’s my own variation on the pain-coping technique of positive thoughts and imagery.  Once people hear my plan, they want to know if we prefer outdoor activities, or are we inside people.  The answer to both questions is Yes.  So, though off-topic, here are our two favorites depending upon our bank balance.

Outdoor: We have been extremely blessed, being able to camp our way around most of the United States and a couple of Canadian Provinces.  We tent camped till the tent, and our backs, gave out.  Then we purchased a pop-up camper.  By far, our all-around favorite is the Canoe Boundary Waters in northeastern Minnesota.  We can make the trip in one day from the Chicago area.  We head for Duluth, then up the coast to Tofte, Minnesota and turn left.  After a 25 mile drive on a gravel road, we come to Sawbill Lake.  You can either stay right there at the national forest campground, or paddle back in to the Boundary Waters.  At the campground is a top notch outfitter named  Sawbill Canoe Outfitters that has a small store, showers and canoes if you need to rent one.  They will also hire a guide for your party.  Although the owners last name is Hansen, they are of no relation to me.  While the campground can accommodate a large motorhome or trailer, there are no electric, sewer or water hook-ups.  After all, it’s the wilderness!

Indoor: Kind or misleading as we do a tremendous amount of walking along rivers, in gardens and sightseeing, this would be our hotel vacation.  Top spot in our household outside of Chicago?  London, England.  After a non-stop flight from Chicago O’Hare to London’s Heathrow Airport, we take a short taxi ride to the Crowne Plaza – Heathrow and use it for our base.  While staying in downtown London is more convenient for centralized tourist activities, it’s also much more expensive.  The Crowne Plaza – Heathrow recently won the Priority Club Members’ Hotel of Choice Award and deservedly so, in my own extremely humble opinion.  While it takes about an hour and a half to commute downtown by public transportation, it couldn’t be easier.  There is a bus about a block away that will take you to either a National Rail station or a Tube (Underground) stop.  Plus, being west of the city, many of the day trips we like to take by train are actually faster than by beginning in the city center.  The hotel staff is extraordinarily pleasant and helpful.  My wife and I especially thank E-M. E.  She knows who she is!  We investigate museums, castles, awesome West End theater, street fairs and, of course, the people.  The British people have treated us extremely well and we have even made fast friends.

So, off-topic, yes.  Hopefully this gave you an idea of what to focus on in your own life that will help take the edge off.  Perhaps it’s a book you’ve been meaning to read.  Or a new restaurant you’ve wanted to try.  Could be something small, or something more intensive.  Whatever it is, good luck!