Photo by Kuranes on flickr

LH: And now for an oldie but goodie…basic airport tips.

I have a love/hate relationship with airports. I adore traveling to distant places, and being at the airport means I’m probably doing that. But the physical and emotional stresses of going through the grandiose airport rigamarole can bring me to my knees, or worse. Literally.

Here’s how I navigate airports now, without pushing myself into a trip-wrecking flare:

Eat before leaving and bring homemade snacks

It’s amazing how much better I feel when I eat before I go to the airport. With stable blood sugar and hormone levels and a full belly, I am in better shape to deal with the barrage of people and problems the airport inevitably provides. This also lets me skip the so-called “food” sold in most airports.

Oh, and don’t bother with the bars unless you’re stuck in an airport for hours. The wine is cheap and the cocktails watered down.

Come early and bring a book, laptop, or iPhone

Rushing and panic over making it to the plane on time equals stress,and stress equals pain flares. So I show up early, get the wheelchair service, then hang out at the gate. Airport gates are great places for people-watching, bubblegum novel-reading, and playing the latest iteration of Angry Birds.

Check the big bags

Yes, you read that correctly. I check a bag on every air voyage I take. I don’t put any of my meds or other critical items in the checked bag (and neither should you). But I don’t need to drag my clothes and shoes and shampoo and extra paperback vampire novels across the airport. They’re heavy, and twisting my body while dragging a weight does unhappy things to my back and pelvic area–my pain centers.

Get a wheelchair

I’m not a typically mobility-challenged traveler, but chronic pain, chronic fatigue, and the associated difficulty lifting things and standing in long lines all take their toll at airports.

I continue to be honestly amazed at how much easier the airport feels and how much better I do on the plane, then at my destination, when I avail myself of wheelchair service. Which airports provide for free, no questions asked, to anyone who asks for it, by the way.

More on the emotional impact of asking for wheelchair service at the airport in another post…

Tip the chair attendant if she’s nice

Build up your good travel karma by tipping your wheelchair attendant $2-$5. They’re often friendly and can give you great ideas for local restaurants and attractions.

Use the bathroom early and often

If you ask, the wheelchair attendant will stop off at the bathroom on the way to or from the gate. Ask. You know you want to.

Ask a friend or family member for a pick-up

It’s always so nice to come home from a long trip to see a friendly face at baggage claim. Having someone I know there to help with bags and bundles as I make my way home soothes my tired soul as much as it does my aching body.

Also, my dad and my husband rarely expect tips for hefting my bags into the car.

Thanks guys! You’re the best.

Here’s the link to the PDF version of the card you can fill out, print out, and carry with you when you fly in the USA.

I haven’t flown since this card was released, so I don’t know how much good it does when you’re actually in line dealing with individual TSA security agents. I’ll be doing an international trip in May, and will report back then.

In the meantime, has anyone here used this card? If so, please post a comment here so that we can all learn from your experience!

But what if you’re stuck with a menage-a-trois on your Valentines excursion, because you’ve got to drag along that ever-unwelcome companion–chronic pain? When pain’s along for the ride, what can you do to steal that quality time  with your Valentine (with or with out the *ahem*, if you know what I mean)?

Snuggle

Snuggling can’t be overrated as a way of connecting with your sweetheart. Cuddling, canoodling, and spooning work too.

Enjoy a Romantic Dinner

If going out isn’t going to work, stay in. Bring a picnic with you in a cooler, order room service, call out for pizza. Light a travel candle, kick back, and have Dinner In Bed.

Talk…About Something Else

Make a major effort to talk about something besides your health, doctor’s appointments, current pain, etc. Instead, talk about politics, religion, the weather, the state of the roads…whatever, so long as it gives you and your partner a break from your physical problems.

Take a Bath

Hot water soothes so many things. So take a bath–so much the better if you can afford a room with a two-person jetted tub so you and your partner can take that bath together. (No you don’t have to do anything but bathe!)

Indulge in a Couples Massage

For those with enough money, lots of luxury hotels and a growing number of mid-priced inns and motels offer in-room couples massages. If ever there was a time to indulge, it’s now! (Whenever “now” might be.)

Watch a Movie

Do you and your partner love to MST3K bad movies? Or do you prefer to hold hands and watch epic masterpieces in silence? Bring your favorite DVDs along on your trip and spend some time bonding while being entertained. Lie together on your hotel bed and hold hands. Giggle. Cuddle.

If you’re feeling up to a couple of hours sitting up, head for the nearest movie theater and have a real live two-hour date.

*Ahem* Enjoy Each Other

Yes, like that. Sex releases endorphins. And “sex” can mean a wide range of activities that enhance intimacy and happiness, even if you can’t do it all.

*whew*

Gathering these things takes longer than you might imagine. But there will be lots more soon. Check the Pages for more accommodations with Tempur-Pedic beds in more places.

But in the meantime, here are ten California hotels, motels, and inns with Tempur-Pedic mattresses:

Park Tahoe Inn
530-544-6000
South Lake Tahoe, CA
$122.60-$150

All rooms have  Tempur-Pedic beds; some Superior King Rooms have ADA-compliant bathrooms.

Black Bear Inn
209-795-8999
Arnold, CA
$240-$300

All 5 guest rooms have king-sized Tempur-Pedic beds and spa bathtubs.

Coventry Motor Inn
San Francisco, CA
415-567-1200
$90-$187

Not sure how many rooms have Tempur-Pedic  beds; rumor has it that at least some of the King beds have the Tempur-Pedics. Call and ask specifically to be sure to get one. The good news: this is not a high-budget motel (especially for San Francisco), but it’s got good online ratings.

La Serena Inn
Morro Bay, CA
(800) 248-1511
(805) 772-5665
$100-$275/night

At least half the rooms at the La Serena have Tempur-Pedic beds; may all have them by now. But be sure to call for a reservation and ask for a Tempur-Pedic bed. (Can’t do this on the web reservation portal.)

Grass Valley Courtyard Suites
530-272-7696
Grass Valley, CA
$175-$310

All rooms and suites have Tempur-Pedic beds. This hotel also has a full-service day spa and an on-site personal trainer. (I love Grass Valley–Gold Country may be my favorite region in California. Oh, and the Flour Garden bakeries have the best cherry turnovers in the known universe.)

Wydown Hotel
707-963-5100
St. Helena, CA
$308-$375

Unconfirmed. Only info that claims this property has Tempur-Pedic beds comes from 3rd party website.

Stevenswood Spa Resort
800-421-2810
Little River, CA (Mendocino region)
$310-$550

About half the rooms have  King Tempur-Pedic beds; if you look at the individual room types you can figure out which rooms to reserve online, or call and ask for a room with a Tempur-Pedic. As the name implies, there’s an attached spa, which has lots of healing options on the menu.

Best Western Newport Beach Inn
800-523-5549
Newport Beach, CA
$187-$285

Some rooms have Tempur-Pedics; this isn’t emphasized and there’s no way to tell on the web site which these are–you’ve got to call for a room and ask for a Tempur-Pedic room. There’s at least one theoretically ADA compliant room that they seem to be very proud of. No idea if it’s got a Tempur-Pedic or not.

Pierpont Inn Hotel
805-643-6144
Ventura, CA
$111

Unconfirmed. Only info that claims this property has Tempur-Pedic beds comes from 3rd party website.

Tower23 Hotel
Pacific Beach, CA
858-274-2333

Hotel reservation sites claim that all  rooms have Tempur-Pedic beds, and this does seem to be the kind of chic urban resort hotel that can claim tip-top amenities.

Even with the wood block and the cotton strap, yoga poses look more comfortable than molded plastic airport chairs

This looks promising: SFO has opened up what they call a Yoga Room in Terminal 2, just post-security.

The press release claims it’s got low lighting (hooray!), a floating wall (sure why not), and will have felt rocks (say what now?) come spring of this year. What the press release doesn’t describe is what kind of actual yoga equipment is available in the room. A very brief description of the room in the Passenger Services Listing implies that they’ve got some rolls and mats in there.

I plan to check this room out next time I’m flying from Terminal 2. I like the idea of assuming Corpse Pose and meditating away my wait time before a flight, or even figuring out a supportive stretch-and-circulation-and-relaxation routine (asana? I’m no yogi) ahead of time. This seems like a good way to reduce the pain of air travel.

Watch this space for more info on the SFO Yoga Room when I get around to visiting it…

But meanwhile, here’s the number, which is toll-free in the United States: 1-855-787-2227

To get the serious help, you need to make the call at least 3 days before you plan to show up at the airport. If you do that, they’ll go so far as to make sure they’ve got specially trained agents present at security when you arrive to help you through screening.

In theory, the operators answering the TSA Cares line are specially trained to answer questions and provide service for travelers with disabilities. I haven’t called them, so I can’t speak personally to the expertise of any of the operators. If you have the opportunity to chat with these folks, please comment here and let us know how your experience went?

The big in-the-bedroom spa tub in the Garden Room at the Arbor Guest House in Napa makes a perfect pain-minimizer for me

Really, this whole blog is about how to make travel easier and less painful for us travelers with chronic pain and hidden disabilities. But everybody loves a good roundup. And what I’m thinking here is specifically how I diminish physical pain caused by travel.

1. Take painkillers.
The road is not the place to try to bull through a pain flare without medication. I bring plenty of prescription and non-prescription painkillers when I travel. If I find myself starting to hurt, I try to medicate before the pain really gets its claws into me. It’s much, much harder to kill pain that’s ramped to a scream than it is to head it off early.

2. Lie down during the day.
Even when I’m on a business trip, I try to find a way to lie down for at least an hour in the afternoon. I don’t usually sleep–naps screw up my nighttime sleep cycle. So I read or watch tv or admire the view from my motel room window.

3. Eat regularly and healthfully.
However tempting it is to eat badly when I’m traveling, it’s not a good idea to give in to that temptation. I feel far less pain when I eat fruits and veggies every day, don’t overdo the red meat or the desserts, and eschew fast food.

4. Meditate and visualize.
This sort of thing works for me, and nowhere is it more necessary than on the road and in the air. When stuffed into a coach seat on a commercial jet, I close my eyes, control my breathing, and use my mind to control my pain.

5. Get into hot water.
Literally. Whether it’s a hot tub near the pool, a day spa’s upscale digs, or just a tub-shower combo in my motel room, a bath a day helps keep my pain at bay.

It's important to be comfy when you're sleeping away from home. Which apparently means burying yourself in pillows if you're my friend Daniel.

When I travel, I gotta sleep. There’s no way around it. No matter how many things I want to see, no matter what I want to do, if I don’t get plenty of sleep every single night I might as well stay home.

So I think about sleeping when I plan my trips. When? For how long? On what? Under what? Sleep is a many splendored thing–I need to be comfortable, which means I need to plan pretty carefully.

Dark and Quiet

I need moderate dark and reasonable quiet in order to sleep well.

For me, that means I try to get a room facing away from the street if I’m staying in a big city hotel or highway-facing motor inn.  That helps to keep the noise to a minimum. I also prefer to be about midway down the hallway from the elevator in multi-story accommodations. I like to be able to walk to my room easily, but I don’t love hearing the elevator clank and clang and beep all night.

I always wear earplugs when I sleep, so I don’t need absolute silence in my room.

Lightwise, I want to be able to draw curtains to shut out morning light. Whenever possible, I avoid east-facing rooms. Sunrise and I are not buddies. But I don’t love blackout curtains–they mess up my internal clock. If I get them in my motel room (and if I’m staying in Reno or Vegas, it’s nigh on impossible to avoid them), I make sure not to close them all the way.

Soft and Warm

Unless I’ve got no other choice, I prefer a room with some flavor of central heating rather than a portable space heater. One (often overly) warm spot in an ice-cold room does not work for  me, as I routinely get up more than once per night to use the bathroom.

“Soft” mostly means that I prefer a bed with a newer or specialized mattress. My preference is Tempur-Pedic(tm), but I can’t often afford the kind of room that boasts a top-end bed. Every now and again if I splurge I can afford something with a Sleep Number(tm), which is nice because my husband has different mattress preferences.

What doesn’t work so well for me are the slabs of plywood or concrete that masquerade as mattresses in down-rent Motel 6es and the like. So either I suck it up and budget for a nice enough room to guarantee a decent bed, or I drag my own mattress pad along. (Obviously this is a road-trip strategy.) I’ve got a queen-sized foam mattress pad that comes traveling with me when necessary.

Same goes for blankets–ultra-cheap motels often don’t have heavy enough covers for me, especially in winter. So I bring my own.

My Weary Head

BYO pillow if you want a good night’s sleep on the road. Accept no substitutes.

(I often sleep on hotel pillows so that I can bring their relative comfort to you, my readers. But not at cheap motels anymore. ‘Cause ow.)

Drugs and Other Sleep Aids

Are my friend. Whether I’m currently using melatonin or zolpidem, I bring a trip-long supply and use it regularly. On the road is not the time or place to decide that chemical sleep aids are evil and must be deleted from my repertoire.

Though I don’t use such things, same goes for music, sound generators, TV, aromatherapy, or whatever else you use to help you sleep at home. Bring it with you on your trip to make sure that your sleep environment is as close to what you’ve got at home as you can manage.

Long and Deep

I need to sleep at least 10 hours each night–12 is better when I’m traveling. Yeah, that’s a lot of sleep. That means I’ve either got to go to bed early and forgo whatever night life my destination has to offer, or I’ve got to sleep late in the mornings.

Because I am *ahem* not a morning person, I usually choose to sleep in. This means that I miss things. If you want to see Haleakala without a coating of dense fog, you pretty much have to see it at sunrise. So usually on each major trip I take, if there are cool things to do and see that must be done in the early morning, I’ll pick precisely one of them. I’ll choose one morning to get up early and play, and I’ll suck up the hit to my body and mind.

This can be a bummer sometimes. But if I try to push this limit and do two or three early mornings in one trip, the price I pay gets too high (like I won’t be able to function any more for the duration of the drip and for several days after getting home).

On the other hand, if I pack and plan well, stick to my boundaries, and get that good sleep, I often find that I’m able to do and see more than I might have imagined. Which is just so cool!

So without further ado–the Travels With Pain review of Pajama Jeans!

Material

The fabric of the Pajama Jeans really wasn’t what I was expecting. It’s stiff–more jeans-like and less pajamalike than I’d envisioned. I definitely couldn’t and wouldn’t sleep in these by choice. On the other hand, they’re soft and stretchy enough to wear on a plane trip or a road trip.

The box claims that the fabric is something new and special called Dormisoft(tm). The inner tag claims that Pajama Jeans are 95% cotton and 5% spandex. Whoopee.

Fit

I like the fit of the Pajama Jeans, for the most part. I bought a Small based on the size of my waist (which I am not publishing here–so there). They fit true to size, though I find them to be fairly tight through the thighs and rear. They definitely gave my behind a nice-looking lift, the way a good pair of women’s jeans is supposed to.

On the other hand, the waist is stretchy and does not dig in when I sit down and when I contort into funny positions to try to get them to dig.

Style

I’m not in love with the Pajama Jeans style. The stitching at the waist looks kinda funky–more like pajamas than like jeans. Which makes me hesitant to wear these pants to work or out and about on a travel day. I might wear them with a long sweater or tunic-style top, but not with any top I’d tuck in or as part of an outfit that would show off the funky-looking waistband.

Pajama Jeans don’t have front pockets. I know that this is a current fashion trend in women’s jeans, but it drives me up a tree. I need those pockets. Especially when I’m traveling–I put things in those pockets, darn it!

After an Hour

After an hour of wearing the Pajama Jeans, I was ready to shed them and get back into my yoga pants.

The Bottom Line

Pajama Jeans = Meh

I’ll wear them again, and I do think they’ll make decent travel pants. I probably won’t wear them to work. I certainly will not wear them to bed as jammies if I’ve got any other options. I probably won’t buy another pair until/unless they make some styling changes.

Photo (c) Pajama Jeans(tm)

This is what Kauai looks like in January, June, and November. Ya gotta love it.

As the temperatures in my hometown plummet to 32 F (0 C)–brrr!–I find myself thinking about different ways to keep warm when I travel. Yes, I’m from California and I get cold when it’s 62 F.

But the real problem is that when I get cold, my pain gets worse. So I’ve got to stay warm when I’m on the road or things can go very bad for me.

Here’s how I stay warm when I travel:

Visit Warm Places

The easiest way to keep from getting cold on the road is to travel to places that aren’t cold. My own state, California, has some great moderate-temp destinations that rarely get down to freezing even in the depths of February. Granted, wintertime is not bikini-time, even in San Diego. But San Diego, Palm Springs, Death Valley, Disneyland, and even San Francisco don’t get truly cold at any time–no snow, no below-zero wind chill, never even a hard frost most years. Other U.S. states with warm winter weather are Arizona, New Mexico, parts of Texas, and ever-popular Florida.

I favor Hawaii and the isles of the South Pacific as warm winter destinations. Maui is gorgeous in March. The Caribbean hurricane season ends at the first of December, which makes the balmy chain of islands a wonderful  winter holiday destination. Cruise ships ply the Caribbean waters all winter long, making the most of the bathtub-temperature waters and sugar-sand beaches. Last February I went snorkeling in Cozumel wearing only a one-piece and a mask, and felt perfectly comfortable.

For travelers with more endurance for long flights and adventurous spirits when it comes to international destinations, other ways to keep warm include prowling the equatorial regions where the Earth stays warm year round, or swapping hemispheres for a season. While we’re snow-skiing North America from December through March, Australia and New Zealand are enjoying fine hot summers. And along the equator in South America, Southeast Asia, and Africa the tropical rain forests remain hot and damp even in the darkest months of winter.

Pack and Wear Layers

My cute husband doesn't have chronic pain. He can go out in below-freezing weather and stand in a snowbank wearing a windbreaker and no hat. Me, not so much.

Forget about packing ultra-light, baggage-free travel, and all that crap. If I’m going someplace cold, I’m darn well going to bring enough clothing to keep me warm day and night.

That means  turtlenecks, tank tops, long johns, and flannel jammies. Whatever pretty and warm sweaters, and attractive jeans and pants I want to wear over the sturdy under-layers. Plus sturdy fuzzy boots, long wool coat (or a ski jacket), wool scarf, warm hat, and warm gloves for time outdoors. Oh, and warm socks! Lots and lots of warm, comfy socks.

Use Heat Patches, Heat Pouches, & Heating Pads

These days, all sorts of heat patches and pouches are sold at my local Walgreens. So are electric heating pads, come to think of it. All of these work great on road trips–you can even get an adapter for your heating pad and plug it into your car. (When the car’s running–heating pads suck up tons of electricity, so don’t drain your car battery with your hot pad unless it’s really an emergency.)

While you can get the kind of heat pouches that have gel in them through airport security in the US by declaring them to be “medically necessary,” they may prove to be more trouble than they’re worth. And heating pads have wires in them, so I never bother trying to carry mine on board an airplane. That pretty much leaves the hot patches for plane flights. ThermaCare makes a nice one.

Turn Up the Heater

In the car and in my motel room, I turn the heater up to a temperature that truly keeps me comfortable. A trip in a cold winter environment is not the time nor the place to be parsimonious with the thermostat. If I’m feeling chilled when I get into my room, I will crank the temp up to 78 if I need to.

Drive Rather Than Taking Public Transit

It’s not green. It’s not PC. But it’s much, much warmer when I drive myself rather than taking public transit. Driving myself means no waiting outside in the cold at bus stations, light rail stations, or train stations. No standing on windswept corners trying to hail a cab. No sitting in an icy draft on a molded plastic seat. No long freezing hikes from the bus station to wherever it is I’m actually trying to go.

Of course, parking lots can be a long, long walk from the front door of my destination. But it’s more likely that I’ll have less walking to do if I drive rather than dealing with transit.

Take Lots of Hot Baths and Showers

Even the worst chills can be soaked away in a long hot bath. In-room spa tubs become even more important to me in the winter. For me, a shower works in a pinch but a deep tub that lets me submerge up to my neck works best. These days, many nice inns and hotels provide bath salts. But I can always bring a ziplock bag of my own blend of healing salts to throw in the water.

Fire Up the Fireplace

If my home away from home has a fireplace, I light it up and enjoy the warmth, the gentle light, and a good book.

So what do you do to keep warm when you travel? I’d love to gather up some more tips!