Entertainment, Part Eleven: Travel

I do miss traveling, but getting on an airplane would be suicidal. All it would take is one person wearing any kind of scent or fragrance with the air being constantly re-circulated and they'd have to land the plane in some desert to get me off fast enough so I wouldn't die. Besides the EMFs bouncing around in the enclosed sardine can space radiating everyone including those of us who don't even own cell phones.

My last plane trip took place while I was still in denial. I didn't have a problem. I think it helped that I was in first class, but another passenger DID have an asthma attack and we landed at some obscure airport in Minnesota! I was very glad I wasn't the one everyone was glaring at as she was escorted off the plane hooked up to an oxygen tank. As much as I'd love to fly somewhere exotic, planes are not in my future.

Road Trips Travel is now limited to road trips. After being diagnosed with MCS I bought a van. At the time I was living in an apartment with a really ignorant landlord who would idle his car in the garage attached to my apartment. Exhaust fumes would fill my living space. Every now and then he'd do something equally as poisonous like seal his porch with toxic chemicals, ignoring that my windows were all open to let in the fresh summer air.

Vans are gas-guzzlers, but I wanted something I could use for a safe haven as a backup should my living quarters be contaminated. I rationalized the van could be used for overnight stays in any number of situations since for the most part hotels are out of the question.  I have taken it across the state while house shopping, I've gone to festivals and conferences, used it for city visits hours away and driven up and down the coast.  

Accommodations Many hotels now are advertising "fragrance-free" accommodations and they may be found by searching "fragrance-free hotels" online. What this usually means is they provide a hypoallergenic floor of rooms for guests with allergies and asthma. They use only Green Seal approved fragrance-free and chemically-free cleaning products and the rooms are never occupied by pets and are smoke-free. I guess it would be assumed most people with allergies or asthma won't be using fragrances themselves, but there really isn't a sign stating Fragrance-Free Only. No Stink Allowed. Still a step in the right direction.

The last hotel I stayed at was in downtown Manhattan, very ritzy, and smelled of smoke so badly from the neighboring guest I ended up leaving first thing in the morning after a night of choking. I was really disappointed.  I have attended conferences and opted to spend a very cold night sleeping in my van in an acquaintance's driveway. It worked, although not as comfortable as one would hope, but it's a great backup and I know van-camping is an option.  Anytime I drive long distance, I pack the van as if I'm staying the night. Just in case.

Camping A few summers ago I spent many a weekend going on camping trips with my van just to see what it might be like to live on the road. The van is great for camping. Maybe not as great as an RV, but I have found most RVs stink of cheap, chemically-processed materials. Vans have slightly better gas mileage and are much more reasonably priced, too. Still, sleeping in a van is acceptable, but doesn't have the comforts of home even when stocked with a small mattress.

I got to one rather large campground in the afternoon. I rationalized a larger campground would give one more personal air space. It was beautiful at 2pm and I scoped out what I thought was the safest spot with few people around and lots of trees. I left for some sightseeing and came back around 7pm. Every camp site was taken and each one had a campfire blazing. It was like living in the middle of a forest fire. I can tolerate small amounts of fire or fireplace smoke, but the air was so thick with it I couldn't breathe.

I also tried a campground at a beach and I selected a site according to the wind direction and placement of campfires in the area. It was nice until I watched a dog owner without any thought at all let his dog crap right in my site. It was then began to notice all the dog shit all over the campground and beach. The amounts of bug spray campers were using to sanctify their site was deadly, too. After that I pretty much lost my enthusiasm for public campgrounds.

There are secluded campsites in national parks or off-road areas, very quiet, no stinky people, but as a single woman, I've never felt totally relaxed or safe using them. It used to make me a little angry that my camping choices were restricted because of my gender until I met man who said he'd never camp in a secluded site by himself either.

Retreats and Spas  Every now and then I come across facilities out in the wilderness that profess to provide healthy accommodations. One I recently discovered is called Breitenbush Hot Springs www.breitenbush.com They have a fragrance-free policy and provide vegetarian food along with their many educational programs. The accommodations are in cute, little cabins. They do discuss firewood usage so there must be fireplaces or campfires, but I don't know the details. I'm intrigued and plan to check it out. There must be others like it in different areas of the country.

Day Trips  So often we take for granted what our local area has to offer for recreation and interest. If you don't have your own accommodation-on-wheels or don't trust available overnight options, plan a one-day excursion. Explore a tourist attraction nearby. There are many travel/tourist books featuring interesting places to go highlighting specific states. Globe Pequot Press has several series with titles such as Maine Curiosities, It Happened in Michigan, Myths and Mysteries of California. Find the books for your state and go exploring.

The Grotto altar

Recently I headed to the Portland, Oregon area where I did some Catholic tourism. First attraction was The Grotto www.thegrotto.org . The Grotto is a huge 62-acre wooded area right in the city of Portland that was donated to the Catholic Church in the early 1900s. The highlight was the altar carved into the rock cliff with a copy of Michelangelo's Pieta. It's the closest I'll ever get to anything resembling Lourdes, France. I went early in the morning before anyone was there and strolled peacefully among the beautiful northwest landscaping looking at sculpture and listening to monks chanting through the speakers hanging from trees. Very cool.

View from top

The second tourist attraction was the Don Brown Rosary Collection located in the Columbia Gorge Interpretive Center Museum. I read about this in one of those tourist books mentioned above.

There were nearly 4,000 different rosaries made out of every imaginable material, from different time periods and countries. I also wandered the museum displays of local Native American artifacts and early settlement history. Nice clean air. The drive along the Columbia Gorge was spectacular as well.

If 15-17% of the population are chemically sensitive, there is a need for fragrance and chemically-free travel options. As always, I'm looking forward to the day when fragrance will be restricted in public areas, much like smoking is now. Until then, I'll keep searching for travel opportunities that are clean and chemical free.

What chemically-sensitive travel options have you discovered?