Crucial To Our Trip

When considering what to write about some days, I have often been told that folks want to hear some of the “basics” about a cruisers life.  While Greg and I “cruise” for six months or so, we are not the typical 24/7, 365 days a year cruiser.  But whatever the definition is for you, there are some things that ALL cruisers must think about when planning their next destination.

The most important for us is health.  While we both sit with positive COVID results, it seems we were not as diligent about our health as we should have been.  I will offer in our defense that we both had been on the road for 20 hours straight on a trip that should have been 14 and were tired and not as well hydrated or nourished as we typically are when aboard Paradigm Shift.  With the Christmas trip home to Waynesboro, we knew we would be in and our of rest stops, fast food locations, gas stations and such.  Somewhere it got us and while the where does not matter much with this new variant, it just helps to reinforce the fact that we all need to be vigilant.  

So with regards to cruising with or without COVID, one of the most important tasks I have is our planning of healthy well balanced meals and the preparation for the moments we may not be able to obtain that balance.

Greg and I both take vitamins and supplements for which if you are traveling to a place like the Bahamas for six months, you must have enough on board for that period of time. 

Next come prescription drugs.  Greg has a great functioning heart and to extend its greatness we follow the advice of a super cardiologist who studies the heart muscle in depth.  With his advice we have a few medications that as we mentioned will allow us to travel “beyond the manufacturers warranty”.  Again something you must have enough on board for the duration of your trip if headed to places like the Bahamas.  It is close to impossible to get a prescription filled there from the states.  Many folks are not aware that their insurance plans allow for a “vacation override”.  What that means is that each October I go into my local pharmacy and tell them I will be headed to the Bahamas for six months and I need enough of each of Greg's medications to last through that period.  

A huge shout out to my local Gloucester, Virginia Walmart Pharmacy as each year they take that request and they get on the phone and within two days I have gotten notification that his prescriptions are ready.

I encourage you to research your own insurance, but Greg is currently on Medicare with a Humana drug plan and it is super easy.

So again we have all this “stuff” on the boat, how is the world do you disburse 21 pills a day?  Let’s back up…..Greg takes his vitamins and a couple of prescription pills in the morning and then a couple of prescription pills in the evening.  I take all of my vitamins and supplements at night.  So every three weeks I take pills packs and fill with appropriate meds/vitamin/supplement.  So Greg gets two packs a day and I get the one.  In his morning pack he knows what to expect and how many pills he should have as well as his evening ones.  That is important!  You need to make sure if you are distributing medication to your partner, that they know what they are taking.  They will be asked a dozen or more times by their doctors and dentists so it is best to keep them informed.

Next the key to a healthy trip is our nutrition.  For me actually nutrition probably comes first and then the vitamins and supplements, but for this purpose just know that they are both important.  Many of you know that for several years now I have been under the eye of a Wellness Group known as KKWellness.  They are nutritionists that work along side you in their coaching model to help give you the tools to produce the healthiest version of you either through weight loss, strength training or behavioral training.  I graduated from weight loss and went into maintenance which is where I have been for over two years now and happily I can report that I am still at my desired weight and feeling better than ever besides this week with the COVID diagnosis.

With that being said, my lifestyle requires me to put as few “extra” ingredients in my body as possible.  Literally ……. I have cut the “crap” out of my meals and snacks.  I eat “clean” with wonderful seasonings from fresh to store bought herbs.  I eat my rice or my potatoes without the butter and I steam or lightly sauté my vegetables.  

We eat five times a day…….yes …..five times.  Breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner and snack.  It looks something like oatmeal for breakfast, a salad or wrap for lunch, rice cakes and turkey snack, salmon, rice and asparagus for dinner followed by Greek yogurt, blueberries and granola.  There is the occasion that I have gone “off plan” and felt the effects of it later.  I practice a low sodium approach to everything I eat to help keep my blood pressure at bay (don’t want to take medicine for it), so if I had too much Caesar dressing on a salad, I would be flushing it out of my system with some good old fashioned water.  Oh yes I forgot to mention that I drink on average 80 ounces of water a day to help keep this well oiled machine functioning at its best.  Enough about that, but I want you to understand is that the health care in these countries you visit is sometimes pretty limited.  I can remember trying to be seen for shingles once and a back problem another time.  Those are stories that need to be told in person.  You don’t want to have to be seen by a doctor while cruising outside your home waters if you can help it.  This is just our plan to try and control that.