Image courtesy of Thunderbird in MarfaMatt and I technically didn't go on a honeymoon right after our wedding (unless you count packing and hauling your crap across the country and buying a house two days after your wedding a honeymoon).
However, we did take our First Annual Adventure (as an officially married couple) the following year to Paris and Greece (for a sailing trip with 7 other people). Now we have two more adventures on the horizon:
- Big Bend National Park and Marfa for spring break
- British Columbia for two weeks in the summer
I'm not exactly sure that we could make it from Houston to Alaska in a month (I have visions of driving home via the California coast), but a girl can dream, can't she?
I feel the itch to travel far and wide before we expand our family (our dog and chickens already constitute a family, for sure). Two of my friends saved up a bunch of money and then traveled the world for seven months before getting pregnant. I don't think it would make financial sense for us to do such a long, income-free trip, but a month of traveling would be really cool. Then again, maybe we could postpone the baby plans and add more trips to the docket.
As much as I want to make a "Things to Do Before We Get Pregnant" List, I also want to make a "Things to Keep Doing After We Have a Baby." Most definitely.
14 comments:
I am huge travel person too. I hope you can convince Matt to take the extra time off, that sounds like an awesome vacation!
Not sure what your plans are in Big Bend, but the Guadalupe Mountains are nice too. The drive out there can be a little monotonous, but I still remember the giant wind turbines and mesas and mountains.
You seem like the person who will keep doing what she finds important, even after a baby.
Love this idea! We've been trying to think about ways we'd like to celebrate a "honeymoon" (we're getting married this summer) and I think a trip across the US for a month sounds amazing! (if we can swing it $ wise…)
I stumbled across your blog some time ago when I was doing wedding research and feeling exhausted from all the pressure. I read pretty much every post you've written and I just wanted to say THANK YOU! You reconfirmed my feelings about saying no to the wedding machine and reminded me to focus on the meaning of our day. Thanks for all that you have shared!
Bets of luck to you with your travel plans ;-)
Driving to Alaska is SUCH a fun experience, although I live in Saskatchewan so it's not near as far for us! But it's such a pretty drive! It's definitely worth the no salary if that's the case! But that's just my bias opinion! =)
Both of your trips sounds great, and I agree, the Alaska trip sounds great, I hope you get to do that!! And driving on the coast of California is so pretty! I didn’t do the full thing so that’s on my list. I just got married in September and we spent a month in Europe. Before I was even dating my husband I went to Australia for a year and also went to New Zealand and the Philippines in there. I think it’s important to travel while you can. We are planning a couple small winter holidays to hot destinations before we have kids, and I want to fit one more big one (a month) to Asia or Africa in there too. But good idea on the list of things to do after you have kids, that’s smart, and totally something I would do!
Your vacations sound like a lot of fun. I'm particularly interested to see how the AK one will go.
Though I spent my junior year abroad in college, I didn't travel much for several years after that. But then I finally decided to get back to it and love the adventures. It's another thing I'm trying to do as much of as I can before having children, because though I won't stop traveling once I get them, there will probably be a hiatus on cool international trips. I want the kids to be able to remember and appreciate the awesome places we visit, and it will probably take several years for them to get to that point. (Speaking as someone whose parents took her to London & France when she was 8, I had zero appreciation for it.)
Ooh, I have a tip for your trip to Alaska! For a splurge while you're in BC (and to break up all the driving) go from Victoria north up Vancouver Island to Port Hardy (Victoria to Port Hardy is about a 6.5 hour drive, but to enjoy it more take the 'oceanside route' which may add 1-2 hours) where you can take a ferry (BC Ferries) to Prince Rupert. It's a looong ferry ride (10+ hours I think) but it's gorgeous!
I like the idea of "Things to do Before We Get Pregnant" list; you'll definitely remember many of these moments and it'll be fun to cherish the two of you as a couple before you add babies to the mix!
Good luck with planning!
Rock on!
Alaska is beautiful and totally worth the time and expense. Love the idea of "Things before we get pregnant" list. Hope you are having a wonderful week.
Because our extended families live so far apart (as do yours, I've gathered), we like to turn our road trips to family events into mini adventures. This summer, for instance, we're going to drive my sister out to Philadelphia to see one of my aunts, so Jay and I will take a detour to tour nearby brewery of his favorite beer.
And having international relatives means that we still have standing invites to couch surf across India and Germany!
I think it's great that you are consciously trying to take advantage of the time 'before baby' and even have goals for 'after baby.' Just don't forget that trying to have a baby sometimes can take a lot of time and perhaps money (if you need to go down the assisted path at all).
Even if you don't get it all in before you have kids, it's okay. When my youngest son was 2, I took him on a 6000 mile road trip. It was super fun! He's now seven and has been to around 40 states, mostly in the car.
Yes yes YES. My new husband and I are also in the "let's do as much as we can before trying for baby" stage, but my ultimate goal is to KEEP doing things even when we have a baby(ies). Travel. Hike. Have parties. Keep having fun together. That's why we're here, isn't it?
hey there! i think driving to ak from texas is definitely cool, but i'm not sure how much of ak you'll see then in only a month. and there's SO much to see! i lived in anchorage for 5 yrs, but i would say skip south central and head for south east ak, with some ferry riding in the southeast passage for this trip.
btw, LOVE LOVE LOVE your wedding! you put into words and conceptualized exactly what is in our hearts! first blog to get me really excited! now, just need to find the perfect place...
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