Baby Moon

With Baby M on the way and travel opening with both my husband and I vaccinated, this made for a wonderful week away to celebrate us. Since Covid lockdowns began, we decided early on to not travel and stay as healthy as possible. This killed the traveler in me so much, but instead this past year we decided to really focus on work, getting other goals accomplished (finally becoming an RD & a First Sergeant), and saved a TON of money! I've heard of the term "Baby Moon" and thought to myself after things started opening back up- Why not?? Chris & I plan on taking the baby everywhere we travel to in the future, but we wanted some alone time to really enjoy each other and also the beach. We haven't taken a beach vacation in so long, so it was very much so overdue. Read below to see our three stops and what we decided to dive into. 

Kiawah Island, SC

The main driver for this vacation was here (pun intended), we were fortunate enough to attend the PGA Championships final round. The weather was amazing with the breeze saving us on this 86 degree day with not a cloud in the sky. We were the very first people in line and got to see all of Chris' favorite golfers play. We found a hole that brought them all within 20 ft or less of us and walked all 18 holes. It was a really nice experience with only a third of the people that would normally attend. I honestly don't know how it would have looked had it been full capacity.  I felt comfortable there, but toward the end, it got a bit hectic when Phil Mickelson was passing through. People were very rowdy & were pushing and shoving around the holes to ensure they could see. Me being pregnant was not having that. It was a really great opportunity and I'm so glad I was able to go with Chris and see him so happy. 

Chris was also able to golf at the country club there and we hit the tee's first thing. I was happy he was able to secure a time and was able to golf at such a beautiful course. I came along and supervised to take some glamour shots of him (he hates pictures). The course was beautiful and the weather, HOT- even at 7am. 

Tybee Island, GA

This island had a bit of a different feel to it. It was more so touristy and gave a Mackinaw Island vibe. The Air B&B we stayed in was adequate and had a cute nautical theme (see end of post). Touristy areas aren't really our cup of tea, but it was nice to see the first night after dinner at the local hole in the wall, we went to the beach for sunset and watched as over 60 dolphins were circling a shrimp boat. It was wonderful, there were families with babies and they were jumping and some even playing in the water. That was the most dolphins I've seen in one space ever. We had a beach day here and enjoyed the sun and relaxing in the beach breeze. I don't know that we even will return here, it may just be a check of on our list of places to visit. 

Asheville, NC
First place we went when arriving in Asheville was the Biltmore and simply put, "WOW!". You can't even fathom this estate honestly. I read up on it on our drive and it still didn't prepare me for the greatness of the space and what it all encompassed. The gardens were absolutely amazing, we walked around for a few hours after our hour long tour in the estate. There were just sprawling forests, flowers, and waterways throughout. I really wouldn't mind returning here to visit to explore more of the grounds and enjoy the amazing outdoors. 

Overall, this trip was much needed and so nice. The temps were a bit rough to get used to in SC. Back at home I had not been in the same temps nor in direct sunlight for so much walking, standing, and moving. I won't lie, being 6 months pregnant and in the heat was exhausting and I had to pay special attention to my hydration being in the sun for hours at a time sweating. The best part of the trip was just being with him and talking about the soon-to-be life we are going to have with Baby M and all the things we are going to introduce to him/her. I am looking forward to having a couple more months of nesting at our house, a couple baby showers, some more alone moments with my husband to make some great memories, and also the simplistically of life that I will soon someday long for.  

Our cute Vila in Kiawah Island, SC. Loved the beach theme here. 

My solo walk on the beach at sunrise with Baby M in SC. I was the only one out there, so beautiful & relaxing. It was really nice, I walked and talked to the baby the entire time, telling him/her about her daddy and I and what life is going to be like when he/she arrives. I told the baby all about my hopes and dreams for it and felt so comforted after the walk. It was amazing. 

From our Air B&B in NC on Tybee Island, this was a tiny spot but direct beach access and we managed to even hang out at the pool (under an umbrella) after being on the beach all morning in the heat and direct sunlight.