Category Archives: California

My Personal Experience Healing Chronic Pain


I (Jeremy) original wrote a blog called “My Personal Experience Healing Back Pain” on a different site just over 4 years ago and only a couple of months after I experienced a somewhat miraculous healing experience with my problematic lower back. I am happy to report that my results have remained consistent for over four years and I am celebrating an anniversary of sorts. I decided this was also the perfect excuse to justify playing 18 holes of golf at my favorite course in Palm Springs on an otherwise random Monday morning.

Like I usually do, I decided to carry my bag on my back today even though a riding cart was included in the price and even though I have one of those push carts that I left at home and even though I did a 3.5 hour mountain hike yesterday. Considering where I was with my back just 5 years ago, I will never take for granted a completely pain free walk around a beautiful  course like this or any of the other ones I have been playing for the last four years. I felt a sense of gratitude with every single step I took. With that said, it also saddens me to see how few others are celebrating this type of anniversary these days. 

I also realize that writing a travel blog about chronic pain and mind body medicine may not be right up the alley of a typical reader of this blog. But, if even one person reads this, and it leads them out of a lifetime chronic pain it is worth losing any readers that don’t want to hear it but strangely decide to read it anyway. 

my story – the short version

I battled various forms and degrees of chronic pain for years. I have been formally diagnosed with Degenerative Disc Disease in my spine, pinched nerves, plantar fasciitis in my foot, a displaced bone segment in my shoulder from a broken bone that did not heal correctly and that rubs on other bone/nerves, a displaced bone segment in my foot that didn’t heal correctly and that rubs against other bone/nerves, and what I was told was significant neck damage due to a head-on car accident. I was told in no uncertain terms that my conditions were not curable without risky surgery, but that by working the rest of my life with physical therapy, strengthening and treatment, I could at least manage them to some degree. I spent the better part of a year working with a chiropractor, strengthening my core, stretching my muscles, changing my office ergonomics and getting regular treatments and yet my condition was only deteriorating.

Flash forward a few years and I discovered the work of Dr. John E Sarno and I read the book Healing Back  Pain, The Mind Body Connection. Within about 3-6 months I was able to eliminate every one of these painful symptoms from the most minor tendon stiffness to the most debilitating back spasms. I have remained pain-free for a period of over four years. The only thing I did was read and learn. Yes, you heard me correctly and no, I am not selling you anything. What I learned was that my pain was not being caused by the physical condition that I and my doctor were associating it with. What me, and a great majority of others, suffering chronic and even severe pain are experiencing is oxygen deprivation to the muscles and tendons surrounding the perceived injury. I understand that my personal experience and results are completely anecdotal, but I can also assure you that they are far from uncommon.  

If you are interested in hearing my story read on. If you are looking for RV info, or if you are starting to get angry about the basic premise, or if my personal experience is threatening to your livelihood, please click elsewhere. I am sure you can find a great blog about how to clean an RV black tank sensor somewhere but not in today’s blog. Ours hasn’t worked for 4 years so I got nothing for you on that subject. 

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Life on the Links and the Farm – Part Two – Harvest Hosts

In the previous blog we introduced everyone to the two clubs that we joined that provide a network of locations that allow overnight RV parking at a business. Part one goes into a little more detail of both programs. Upon leaving the second of two RV Golf Club overnights we still had a few nights to kill before our reservation at an RV park in the Bay Area. We decided to try out our Harvest Hosts membership by staying at a few wineries. Per the policy of Harvest Hosts we are not going to publicly review each specific winery but rather share our overall experience and pictures in a general way. Once you join the club, which we highly recommend for RV’ers, there is a map/list with all of the actual locations across the country. You can research each one to read reviews from other members, what they offer, who to contact etc…  This post will be more of a review of our experience with the program overall.

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Life on the Links and the Farm – Part One The RV Golf Club

Our month at the spa in Desert Hot Springs was up and I (Jeremy) had a golf vacation with family in Georgia coming up, but we already decided we were not going to take the RV all they way from our current location on the West Coast just for that. I booked a flight a while ago for the golf trip selecting the San Francisco airport because of frequent flyer flight ticket availability and because it was near where my brother and his family live. We decided that this was maybe a good place to leave Robin and the family of pets for a week while I go on a guy’s vacation with my brother who would also be leaving his wife and kids for the trip.

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A Tale of Two Deserts – Part Two – Desert Hot Springs

About a week into our month of boondocking in the Arizona desert, I am quite certain that both of us at one time or another proclaimed “We are never paying to stay in an RV park ever again!” The freedom to spread out and live completely self contained and yet “off leash” was thrilling, ultra affordable, liberating and just plain fun. Continue reading

February in Joshua Tree National Park

IMG_5705 (1024x576) The real reason we were in Twentynine Palms in February was to visit Joshua Tree National Park. It was Robin’s birthday weekend and although we have had some pretty nice dog walking we had not done any real hiking in a while and she was looking to get out. Continue reading

Golfing and Dog Walking in the Desert – Twentynine Palms

After stop two of our “staycation” in Chula Vista, we were ready to get back to reality and some more affordable accommodations but we had no idea where we wanted to go. We loved the weather we had in Palm Springs and we were kicking ourselves for not making a trip up to Joshua Tree National Park while we were so close. At the same time, Palm Springs is far from the place you want to go to save money after being on vacation for a month and unfortunately, our rig is not really compatible with the camping available inside Joshua Tree National Park. A couple we met on the road recommended an RV park in Twentynine Palms which is near the national park where Robin determined she wanted to spend her birthday weekend. Continue reading

Winter Staycation Stop II – Chula Vista

In the last blog I discussed how, instead of spending money on a week long vacation, we decided to do a month long snowbird style “staycation” and increase our spending for the month by approximately what a week long vacation would have cost us. After our golf week in Palm Springs we decided to take up residency at the Chula Vista RV Park for three weeks. Continue reading

How Full Timers Take Vacation – Palm Springs, CA

Years ago we decided that a nice week long vacation is a good way to spend a big birthday like say 40. When Robin turned 40 we did a week completely off work at an all inclusive in Mexico where we lounged on the beach or by the pool, snorkeled, learned to scuba dive, and took full advantage of the all inclusive resort food and drink privileges. Continue reading

Xmas at the Fair, Sideways in Buellton, and La Verne.

After Chowchilla, we made our way back north near my brother and sister in law’s place and back to the Pleasanton, Alameda County Fairgrounds where we enjoyed a civilized and traditional holiday with family. Continue reading

The Lakes, Chowchilla and Yosemite

After a fun but expensive two weeks in Monterey, we decided to gamble on a little RV and golf resort we found online. Somewhere between Fresno, California and the middle of nowhere was The Lakes RV and Golf Resort in Chowchilla, California.  Continue reading