Christmas Break Day #1: On the Road

     At 4:40 AM, Jamie, Johnny, and I began our road trip to California in two fully loaded cars. Before starting out though, I was sure to have a light breakfast consisting of tangerine/tangelo/clementine juice leftover from Saturday.

     As the journey commenced I spent the first 8 hours reacquainting myself with my extensive iPod music library and randomly making comments to Jamie and Johnny over the two way radio. By then we had mad nearly halfway across Wyoming and I was beat.

     This is where having three capable drivers comes in handy, if someone gets tired there is a relief driver. In this case Jamie joined me in my car to allow me a nice two hours of sleep and another two hours spent dozing and taking pictures.

     Around 4:20 PM we reached the outer city limits and I discovered (thanks to my awesome 3G internet) that there was a Whole Foods and an Exon gas station right next to each other two exits ahead.

Sadly, most of the fresh fruit was unripe 

(the pineapple being one of the few exceptions). 

However, they had some great organic dried fruit, 

raw fruit/chia bars, and raw chocolates.

     So we stopped to grab dinner, get gas, and switch drivers before driving 2.5 more hours before stopping for the night at The Rainbow Hotel and Casino in Nevada.

     After we checked in we played in the pool and relaxed in the hot tub for a bit. Tomorrow we'll have just 10-11 more hours until we get to Jamie's parents house. I honestly can't wait. Driving all day with little to no movement is not my idea of fun. I'm ready to get outside to swim, hike, run, and explore!

     On that note it's late, and we want to try to get as early a start as possible in the morning so I need to go get some sleep. Until tomorrow...

Total Miles Driven (from Lincoln city limits): 1,000 miles.

Lincoln Arrival

     I made it! After 17 and a half hours of driving my mother and I have arrived in Lincoln, NE. I have to make this post brief and without any pictures this time because I remembered to bring everything with me EXCEPT my laptop. My mom is currently being kind enough to allow me the temporary use of her computer to check my email and write this post before I turn it back over to her.

     It took both my Camry, and my mom's Camry to haul my stuff up here (my guitar, keyboard, and books took up most of the space). This was my first time driving myself across such a vast distance; I can now say I've driven in seven states: Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, and Nebraska. 

     I was a little nervous because we had to book it up here, so there wasn't a lot of time to stop and eat. Before we left I cut up a bunch of mango to carry in a cooler; when that ran out, I figured out that the best fruits for eating while you drive are: bananas, blueberries, strawberries, grape or cherry tomatoes, grapes, and cherries (as long as you have a bag or tupperware to spit the seeds into).

     One other thing I would like to mention is that I've recently been featured on another blog, The Raw Journalist . It's an awesome blog about the LFRV (low fat raw vegan) lifestyle run by the lovely Heather. You can read my interview here. Please let me know what you think. 

Ciao! =)

     

Hello From Sunny Florida!

     Well, my family and I made it!  Things didn't run as smoothly or as exactly as we planned, but in the end we actually managed to make it in time to drop my brother off in time for the wedding rehearsal (he's a groomsmen in our friend Corey's wedding, which is the reason why we're here in Florida). Why don't I start from the beginning so you can get the full picture.

 Part 1 - Takeoff! Stall. Takeoff! Stall. Takeoff?!


     It's about a 7.5 hour drive from my hometown to Tampa Springs, Florida; adding on about 2 hours to this estimation for bathroom brakes and traffic, my mom and I figured we would leave the house at around 6 a.m. Friday morning. So we wake up at around 4:30 a.m., get dressed, pack up the car, and leave the hose a couple minutes after 6. Half way to our neighborhood entrance, my mom realizes that she forgot her jacket! LOL. So we turn around, get her jacket, and THEN we see the light for the tires is on, so we have to stop off at a gas station to put air back into the tires. Finally we get onto the freeway and it's about 6:25 a.m.



Part 2 - Headaches, Nausea, and Shivers, Oh My! 


     Now the night before the trip, I had started feeling "off" but I just figured it was the traveling jitters. This morning I felt it a bit more intensely and still shrugged it off again to nerves. It wasn't until my family and I were about an hour into the trip that I began to really feel terrible. I suddenly got a headache, stomach cramps, the shivers, and bouts of nausea. 


     My family was kind enough to make several stops for me to use the restrooms. Actually it wasn't until about 10:30 a.m. that I felt sick enough that I couldn't put on an act anymore and told my mom how I was really feeling. As soon as she could, my mom stopped at another gas station, where I commenced with being sick. When I came out, my mom had me sit in the front seat where the sun could hit me and gave me a vitamin C, vitamin D3 (liquid form), and a zinc.


Part 3 - Recovery


     An hour later I awoke from a nap and to my great joy (and physical relief) found myself to be feeling almost almost 100% again. My mom chalked my sudden sickness to the bug she had caught and recovered from within 24 hours this Wednesday. I had experienced pretty much the same symptoms as her. 


     See I don't think that people who eat a raw plant-based lifestyle are immune to illness. We are exposed to so many different germs and viruses, nutrient dense fresh produce is harder to come by, and people have fewer opportunities to obtain enough vitamin D3 from the sun, it shouldn't come to much of a surprise if you DO get sick, even if you do everything within your ability to live a healthy lifestyle. 


     The difference between a SAD eater and raw plant eater, is the speed of recovery, the ability to bounce back. If a SAD eater gets a mean bug, their body's organs that are used to detox of foreign entities are already hard at work on digesting all the animal products (which is food for many viruses and bacteria) that it takes them awhile to dispel the bug. As a result, SAD eaters can be sick anywhere from 3 days to 3 weeks! A raw plant eater, however, only eats plant foods, so it's quick and easy for the body to digest. This leaves the body's organs and immune system strong and able to quickly rid itself of the bug.


Part 4 - Traveling and Food


     While on the road, how does one stay away from all the fast food places when the tummy begins to cry? Simple, pack raw foods that travel well (i.e. apples, bananas, dried fruit, nuts, and seeds). If it sounds dull and boring, think again. You can make all kinds of yummy combos. My mom for example had apples and bananas with walnuts and pecans. I had apples and bananas with dates. Pop either of these combos in your mouth and it simply emanates autumn in it's thanksgiving flavors.

Part 5 - Arrival and Dinner


     As soon as we dropped my brother off at the wedding rehearsal (about 4:35 p.m.), my mom and I set off to the nearest store that had fresh produce, Publix. I bought some precut fruit to bring to the weeding, some mixed berries and some more bananas for breakfast tomorrow, and some mangos for dinner tonight. Sadly when I got back to our hotel room and cut up the mango, I found them to be quite bland. Not wanting to waste it I made a cacao vanilla agave syrup to pour on top off it. The concoction turned out so well that I saved some to share with my mom for her dessert. 

Part 6 - Today's Conclusion


     This day has been a crazy one, but I've managed to keep it a healthy one. I spent the whole day with my family (who I love very much) and was able to see a experience a little bit of Florida. What will happen tomorrow? I'll let you know.  ;-)

Extra


     I just want to wish my dear friend Michael a very Happy Birthday! You did it Michael! You turned 18, and you are still incorrigible! :D