It’s Official, I Travel Like an Old Man

At the ripe old age of 28, I’ve finally realized that I travel like an old man.

As an athlete, I’ve had a few bumps and bruises along the way; numerous sprained ankles, broken bones, torn ACL, bone spurs (the real kind, not the Donald Trump ones), to name a few. And I think they’re all finally catching up to me. Every time I step off a plane or out of a car, there are a few extra pops and aches. As such, I’ve started to make some modifications to my travel packing list over the years.

In particular, there are three things I’ve started to carry with me now on each trip:

– Compression Socks
– CBD
– Lacrosse Ball

Compression socks are maybe one of my best discoveries yet, much to the chagrin of my girlfriend. They keep the blood flowing and the swelling out of ankles, especially for long haul flights. They’re a pretty damn good recovery device too. After a nice jog through a new city, just slide those bad boys on, and an hour or so later, you’ll be cruising around the city again.

The lacrosse ball is another great discovery. I know a few travelers have already been on this bandwagon, but better late than never? The lacrosse ball helps massage those knots out of any part of your body, mostly the lower back, and shoulders that tend to get a bit tired after sitting in transit or hauling a backpack around a few city blocks. It’s also pretty small, so it’s easy to just throw in any bag, even if you’re a minimal traveler.

And the final piece of my old man travel regimen, CBD. This is a new one for me in general. In an attempt to find help with my ankle recovery, I tried out some CBD salve. I know people’s experiences with CBD have varied, and it’s probably not the cure-all that it’s often touted as. But, it does have some pretty good uses. I typically use it as a muscle and joint soother post transit. It can also be useful on a plane to calm anxiety or just make you more relaxed for the flight. Your mileage may vary with CBD, but it’s worth a shot for sure.

So, there you have it. Luckily most of the new additions to my packing list are pretty small and can fit any minimalist travel setup. Even so, I can’t say I’m entirely thrilled with this epiphany. It makes me wonder if my ass will eventually succumb to the rollaboard out of pure necessity. Does this also mean I’ll start bringing a blazer with me? Many anxious questions await.

Maybe these new additions are newly found wisdom. Perhaps it’s a “travel hack.” Or, quite possibly, it’s just my deteriorating physical being. Either way, I’m just thankful I’m not quite at the lozenges place in life just yet, but I imagine I’ll get there someday.