How can you keep Number Two's Regular when you go on Vacation

When you’re traveling, it’s easy to fall into bad habits that can lead to digestive system problems such as constipation or diarrhea.  

Constipation is a temporary condition characterized by infrequent bowel movements, passing hard stools or straining when you do have a bowel movement

There are a lot of habits related to comfortable bowel movements. Simple things like a change in your eating habits or what you drink can affect your digestive system. Even a change in the bathroom that you use that is not your own or is public can cause anxiety for some people because it takes them out of their regular routine.

If you’re concerned about using public bathrooms, try to give yourself time to relax and make yourself as comfortable as possible.

Maintaining your regular eating and drinking habits as much as possible while traveling or staying in a new place is the best way to maintain regularity and avoid or treat constipation and diarrhea.

A few key tips to help you stay regular

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Traveling with a Medical Condition Shouldn't Be Complicated! Be Prepared with Help from the TSA!

Speaking with LTD friend Scott Rigsby reminds us that traveling with medical conditions is not only possible, but safe and worry-free when you plan ahead!  

Scott Rigsby became the first double amputee in the world to finish the Hawaiian Ironman triathlon with prosthetics at the 140.6-mile World Championship in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. Rigsby used “swim legs” to navigate the difficult 2.4 mile ocean swim, “bike legs” to cycle 112 miles through the heat and gusting winds of the Big Island lava fields on a standard road bike and “run legs” to complete the marathon segment in darkness and intense pain. To expand his mission worldwide, Rigsby founded the Scott Rigsby Foundation and is an experienced and frequent traveler. 

LTD as guide to Double-Amputee Scott Rigsby at the Boston Marathon 2016.

More individuals than ever are traveling with disabilities and medical conditions, and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is helping them get through security screening at airports during the busy summer travel season.

Individuals with disabilities or medical conditions, who use medical devices should not think of a TSA checkpoint as a barrier to travel. It’s okay to bring along a CPAP machine or a breast pump. Yes, passengers can travel with an insulin pump or an ostomy pouch. If an individual has a temporary medical condition, perhaps a broken leg, it does not prevent him from getting through a checkpoint.

The number of passengers expected to fly this summer season is expected to be the highest in years with more than 2.2 million passengers per day expected to pass through TSA checkpoints between Memorial Day and Labor Day with almost a quarter million of those passengers going through security screening in the New York metropolitan region alone.

TSA is prepared for the start of the summer travel season, with peak travel period kicking off with the upcoming Memorial Day holiday and extending through August. During the busiest days of the summer, which are expected to be the days leading up to and immediately after Memorial Day, July 4 and Labor Day, TSA will screen more than 2.5 million passengers per day nationwide.

TSA officers at Newark Liberty International Airport will screen more than 70,000 passengers; JFK International Airport more than 100,000 passengers; and at LaGuardia Airport more than 50,000 passengers on a busy summer day.

All travelers are required to undergo screening at the checkpoint. Passengers with a disability or medical condition or their traveling companion may consult a TSA officer about the best way to relieve any concerns during the screening process. Individuals may provide an officer with a TSA notification card or other medical documentation to describe the condition in a discrete manner. Travelers may also request an accommodation for the security screening process.

If a passenger with a medical device, medical condition or a disability is approved to use TSA Pre✓®, he or she does not need to remove shoes, laptops, 3-1-1 liquids, belts, or light jackets during the screening process. However, everyone is required to undergo screening at the checkpoint by technology or a pat-down. Also, TSA officers may swab an individual’s hands, mobility aids, equipment and other external medical devices to test for explosives using explosives trace detection technology.

Persons with disabilities and medical conditions are not required to remove their shoes if they have a disability or medical condition. However, shoes must undergo additional screening, including visual/physical inspection as well as explosives trace detection testing of the footwear. Travelers may request to be seated during this portion of the screening.

One of the most common complaints of travelers with pain is sitting at the airport and on a plane.  A useful assistive device can be a comfort seat cushion.  Click the photo below for more information about one of our favorites!

TSA’s Five Top Resources for Travelers with Disabilities

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Is this the Ultimate in Luxury Travel or Just an Overpriced Expedition?

"Conspicuous consumption of valuable goods is a means of reputability to the gentleman of leisure."

-Thorstein Veblen

Recently LTD stayed at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem. While there we noticed other Americans staying at our hotel wearing purple lanyards and the following day, the same individuals were walking along the boardwalk in Tel Aviv.  Eager to speak to other Americans, we struck up a conversation. Notably some of the individuals in this travel group were from our neck of the woods: Charlotte, North Carolina. We were traveling with Abercrombie & Kent which LTD previously reviewed. Upon asking these Americans what company they were traveling with, they responded they were on an around-the-world expedition with National Geographic and the Wall Street Journal. Intrigued, we began asking them more questions. They described to us that their journey consisted of a meeting point of San Francisco. From there, they took off in a "private" jet that was for their group and guides only. In total the private jet had 150 occupants including guests, guides and staff. Asking if they had lie flat seats, the responded no.

Here is what we learned from them about their journey:

–The Wall Street Journal offered a specialized itinerary with a focus on business, innovation and new technologies in partnership with National Geographic called Celebrating Human Ingenuity: An Exploration of Technology and Creativity. It was a 19-day trip (October 22-November 9, 2017) for 75 passengers across six continents with editors from the newspaper (including Editor-in-chief Gerard Baker) and experts from Nat Geo. The itinerary took travelers from Silicon Valley to Kyoto; Singapore; Jaipur; Seychelles; Kigali; Rwanda; Jerusalem and Barcelona. Travelers stayed in each location for 2-3 days including travel time.  Hotels included Ritz Carlton, and Taj properties and King David in Jerusalem for example.

Investigating the National Geographic website showed us more information. The private modified 757 jet offers:

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