traveling before baby

In April, we had the opportunity to travel to Los Angeles for a family wedding but we declined to go because I was pregnant. I never pass up a trip, but nausea and exhaustion kept me from doing a lot of things we wanted to do when we were in New Orleans, and I didn’t want to travel across country just to end up laying in bed all day again. Even though I wanted to, we never took a babymoon, and we just stayed local for a few weekend getaways. I wish I would have known before getting pregnant that our week-long road trip through California last year was our last adventure, just the two of us, before we started a family. So lately, as we wait for our little one’s arrival, I’ve been thinking a lot about the importance of travel and the importance of doing it before you have kids.I know we will still travel with and without our kids. But I also know that the carefree, adventuresome vacations we used to have are going to be replaced with fun, family vacations. And I know I will long for the days when Marc and I could just get on a plane and go somewhere without any plans of what to do or where to go once we got to our destination. For example, this was us in Italy, wine tasting in Chianti and exploring an old castle. We were 26 years old, just being young, cool and carefree. Before that, while I was in college, I studied abroad in Barcelona for six months. We made trips to all the major western European countries, back when you could stay in a hostel with a dozen of your friends for $12 a night. We visited seven countries and over two dozen cities. It was 2006, and I was 21 years old. I’m sure my parents were terrified, I know they were, but I survived. All I knew was that I wanted to get out there and see the world.I wish I had my iPhone or good camera back then. I had a digital camera that took decent photos, but seeing these photos now makes me so nostalgic. I rode a bus alone across the Spanish countryside, I celebrated Carnival in Cadiz and admired dozens of churches and castles. I spent 32 hours in London and threw an impromtu dinner party in Bologna. I explored the Alahambra, rented a villa in Mykonos and experienced sensory overload at the Prado, the Uffizi and the Lourve. I ate dumplings in Prague and paella in Valencia. I sunbathed on black sand beaches in the Canary Islands and off the coast of the French Riviera. I fell in love in Paris and visited Rome with American friends. I drank too much sangria and too many cafe americanos and I relished in every moment. Shortly after college, Marc and I got jobs, an apartment in Chicago and took some time off from traveling for awhile. There was a lot to see and do in the city, and we were happy being tourists in our own town. After saving for a few years, and getting engaged, the travel bug bit again in 2011 just in time to plan our honeymoon. I wanted to go back to Europe. I wanted to go back to Barcelona and explore more of Italy. I knew this experience would be different with Marc than it was when I was with my girlfriends in college. We traveled through the Amalfi coast, Florence and Tuscany. We spent the last leg of our trip in Barcelona. Later that same year, Marc and I went to Boston, Miami and Mexico. For our one year anniversary we went to Arizona and spent time in Scottsdale, the Grand Canyon and Sedona. We were on the move every six months or so – we visited Tampa, NYC, Charleston, Savannah, Nashville, Kohler, Washington DC and Miami a few more times.

In 2014, when all my friends were getting pregnant and having babies, I was planning another trip back to Europe. This time we went to Munich, Berlin, Salzburg and Paris. The following year we went to the Dominican Republic and California making stops in San Francisco, Napa, Big Sur and Santa Barbara. The point of all of this is that even though I traveled as much as I could, I still I wish I had traveled more. I think that people are intimidated by traveling. They think that it’s too expensive or they don’t like being out of their comfort zone. It doesn’t matter, JUST GO. If you have even the slightest desire to travel, then make it happen. The trips we’ve taken have shaped us as a couple and individually, and I have such good memories! So, I’m curious – have you been wanderlusting recently? Where would go? And parents, how long did you wait to travel on your own, without your baby? Where did you go? Was it hard or awesome? I would LOVE to hear your thoughts!