How to Navigate Road Trips With Alpha-Gal Syndrome
Everyone loves exploring new places. Well, at least I did before my Alpha-Gal Syndrome made it more difficult.
But guess what? I’ve learned that I can still enjoy a fun road trip with friends and family. And if I can do it, so can you.
It may take a little more forethought than your typical road trip, but it can be done and you can go fearlessly into the unknown.
Plan Ahead for Your Road Trip
I’m a planner by nature, so the adjustment to additional planning was not too overwhelming.
After deciding where I want to go, my next step is always searching the spot out on TripAdvisor.com. Then I look for a place to stay that is in a safe area. The Airbnb or rental needs to have a refrigerator, stove, and kitchen supplies that would allow me to cook if needed.
For us folks with Alpha Gal Syndrome, safe food is usually our biggest obstacle to navigating road trips, so my next search on TripAdvisor would be restaurants. I look for places with a variety of vegan options. From there I start perusing the menus. I specifically look for menus that have a minimum of one meat I can eat (like grilled or fried chicken), and a safe potato dish or a salad.
I also look for places that might have other safe meats like duck, salmon, or other seafood. I bookmark these places on my phone.
Alpha-Gal Safe Snacks to Pack
I never leave home without my benadryl liquid and an epi pen or two. Honestly, I usually have one epi on my person and a couple extras stashed in the cooler or somewhere within my luggage. I’m sure to let my traveling buddies know where these are, just in case of a bad anaphylactic reaction.
Food would be the next thing to pack. I usually take a cooler for the epi pen and my favorite beverages: Body Armor Lite, seltzer water, and spring water. I take some Alpha-Gal safe lunch meat, vegan cheese, and bread. Of course, I never take a road trip without my dark chocolate-covered almonds! Top it all off with lots of ice.
My snack bag is filled with cashews and almonds, RX bars, and Lara bars. I add a bag of corn chips, microwave popcorn, and any other salty snack I have on hand. A jar of peanut butter or some other nut butter like Abby's Better Date Pecan Butter are great to keep on hand. Lastly, I pack dried unsweetened fruit like apple chips, banana chips and raisins.
In addition to snacks, I pack water bottle electrolyte mixes or flavor mixes. I may pack some juice boxes too.
I am not a doctor or nutritionist, so I cannot guarantee that the food items listed here will be safe for you. But they have all been safe for me to eat without inducing an allergic reaction.
My Most Recent Road Trip Adventure
My friend and I take a girls’ trip each summer. Usually we head to a new place in the North Carolina mountains. We enjoy the Black Mountain, Montreat, and the Asheville area. But we keep branching out and finding places we haven’t visited yet.
This trip was no different. We packed up my friend’s car with a cooler and snacks. Away we went, headed to Lake Junaluska, Waynesville, Dillsboro, and Bryson City.
We stayed at a great little Airbnb hosted by Aida. This place was brilliant. We were in the mountains with all the trees, views, and scenery—but we were also just outside of town where we could hit the grocery store if need be.
My friend is always so gracious with me and my food allergies. She let me pick the places to eat, so we started with dinner at the Chick-Fil-A in Morganton. Then we hit the Sheetz for my cheap treat: a huge fountain Diet Mtn. Dew.
To me, its little things that make life so much better!
Outdoor Activities
Our first full day found us kayaking on Lake Junaluska. The views were beautiful: water, flowers, trees and mountains. Who could ask for more?
Moments like these help me realize that my life is still full of wonderful things, even with Alpha-Gal Syndrome.
After kayaking, we headed to Dillsboro to see what all the buzz was about. The town is cute but VERY small. However, we found a lovely little café right across from the train tracks. (I hate I can’t remember their name, but I can’t even find it on the Internet.) They were very accommodating of me!
While in Dillsboro, we found an area map that showed a park with waterfall trails. The park is just outside of Bryson City and is a wonderful place to tube the river.
So, armed with our cooler, we headed further west. We hiked the trail, got a little off our chosen waterfall path, but made it back to the parking lot with about 9000+ steps total. By that time we were ready to dip our aching feet in the cool mountain river, but not before we grabbed something cold and refreshing from the cooler.
Evening was approaching, so we headed east again to our sweet little Airbnb in Waynesville. On the way in, we made a quick stop at the local Taco Bell for a dinner of bean burritos—minus the cheese of course! At the Airbnb home we put our feet up and went to bed early.
Spending time in town
Our last day was filled with exploring the lovely shops in downtown Waynesville. This town is like the setting of a Hallmark movie—friendly faces, smiles, and laughter. I am going to have to go back!
One of the main reasons I plan to return is this lovely place called Birchwood Hall Southern Kitchen. Oh my goodness, finally a restaurant where I could order something other than chicken! This place has DUCK wings with homemade habanero sauce. They were divine. I paired them with their spicy fries and was very happy to find a new yummy restaurant I could eat at.
Please give them a try if you are ever in the area!
Since our tummies were full and our shopping complete, we headed east toward Asheville and Black Mtn. We made a delightful stop at the Billy Graham Training Center, which is nestled in 1200 wooded acres right off Interstate 40. With our visitors' badges, we were able to explore the grounds, and everyone was super friendly and kind. We hope to go back for a concert soon.
Our final stop before heading home was Black Mountain. We love to stop here and reminisce about our daughters’ time at Montreat College. It’s a quaint little town with several great places to eat. Although we didn’t eat there this time, My Father’s Pizza is a favorite of mine, and even has vegan cheese.
Successfully Navigating a Road Trip
With some preplanning, a cooler, and a hefty snack bag with Alpha-Gal safe food, you too can navigate a successful and fun-filled road trip. Alpha-Gal Syndrome cannot steal all of our joy and delight in this glorious world that God created for us to enjoy.
Chin up my friend! Keep your eyes on the blessings in your life and hit the road with your favorite travel buddy.
Click here to read about my daily life with Alpha-Gal Syndrome.
