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This Valentine's Day, why not gather your closest friends and start planning a vacation together? Meeting up in a special destination offers an escape from the day-to-day while enjoying new experiences and genuine quality time with one another. Sipping on coffee or wine. Chatting until long after the sun sets. Touring a new city together, popping in and out of boutiques. Relaxing side-by-side with an amazing view. Dancing into the wee hours of the morning. The sky’s the limit when planning a getaway for groups of friends!  Iceland for Adventure Catching the sweeping beauty of the Northern Lights, bathing in geothermal waters, hiking rugged landscapes, and road-tripping The Golden Circle make for an awesome adventure in the Arctic Circle when friends plan an adventure in beautiful Iceland.  Montreal for Food For trendy bars and a hot restaurant scene, foodie friends should make the journey to Montreal, Canada’s second most populated city. Second only to New York City for restaurants per capita in North America, options abound for whatever craving strikes.  Napa Valley for Wine The heart of California’s wine country calls to friends who long to chat over glasses of red or white, pedal bicycles to local wineries on a guided tour, make reservations for indulgent spa services, and dine al fresco with lush green vineyards as a backdrop.  Nashville for Music Quirky and friendly Nashville welcomes tourists to its small town with a big city vibe, complete with the strumming guitars and microphone checks of its toe-tapping music scene. Small venues, large venues, and everything in-between host a variety of live music of all genres, and this bustling scene is the draw to Nashville. The trip is complete with tasty southern comfort food, icy beers, and perhaps a celebrity spotting or two.  Sedona for the Soul
The red rocks of Sedona provide the setting for luxurious boutique hotels, exquisite outdoor dining, and dazzling sunrises that soothe the soul. Known worldwide as an area for spiritualism, energy and soul work, restorative retreats, and metaphysical practitioners, Sedona is the perfect destination for friends to find their Zen.
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 Nestled among lush vegetation and the natural beachscapes of the Uvero Ulto district in Punta Cana, Live Aqua Beach Resort Puna Cana welcomes adults to a luxurious haven designed to captivate the mind, body, and spirit. Live An Amazing Sensory Experience
See See the smiling faces of the dedicated and friendly resort staff greet you upon arrival. Let your eyes sweep across the beautiful property, taking in the modern, clean lines and unpretentious luxury. From the comfort of a chaise lounge in the shade of your beach cabana, watch the turquoise waters of the Caribbean Sea caress the golden sandy shore. Take a dip in the pool and enjoy majestic sea views from a new perspective. Hear Listen to tropical birds call to one another from their perches atop the trees. Let the rustle of the palm fronds and the lapping waves lull you into a peaceful afternoon nap. Hear the tinkling of ice cubes as you sip from your handcrafted cocktail from The Strainer, the resort’s lobby bar, while people-watching or playing cards. Sway to the sounds of the evening’s musical entertainment and be carried away by Caribbean drumbeats.
Feel Bury your toes in the soft sand. Feel the warmth of a sun-soaked towel as you drape it around your shoulders after a refreshing swim in one of the resort’s pristine pools. Allow your cares to melt away in the Feel Harmony by Spa Live Aqua when you treat yourself to a world-class massage. Visit one of the resort’s Zen sections and feel peace when you relax in a water hammock with the background soundtrack of waterfalls. Lie down to sleep at night after a fun-filled day with the silky softness of 400-thread-count sheets enveloping you in comfort. Smell The scents of a delicious dinner tempt you to the resort’s numerous restaurants. Take a deep breath and let the salt air calm your spirit. Inhale the intoxicating aroma of a freshly brewed cup of Nespresso coffee from the balcony of your lavish suite. Immerse yourself in your suite’s lavish tub and enjoy the scents of Molton Brown bath and body products. Taste From a sip of fine wine to the first bite of a sinfully scrumptious dessert, the tastes of the resort’s 7 themed restaurants are sure to delight. Whether feasting upon Italian, Asian, or local Dominican flavors, your taste buds will dance in response to exciting flavors.
If you're dreaming of a luxurious adult-only vacation to beautiful Punta Cana, contact me to begin planning today!
When my daughter firmly decided at about nine months old that she was done breastfeeding, I told my husband, "All right then, let's go on vacation!" (Any mom knows that a vacation with a pump in tow, especially Walt Disney World, is not a vacation.) Traveling has always been important to us, and became even more so when I changed careers to the travel industry six years ago. We knew having a baby would slow us down for awhile (and we are okay with that) but we like to make the most of the vacation time we do have, and for now continue to leave her behind when we travel. I've read plenty of post responses regarding vacationing sans kiddos from the sanctimonious mommies in the Facebook group I have since ceased participating in - one mom proudly (proudly?) declared that she had never left her children overnight once...and they were like 7 and 10! Her tone and continued comments implied that she was obviously a better mom than any others in the group, specifically because she has never been apart from her children. This promptly got an eye roll from yours truly. I love being a mom more than anything, but before I was "mama" I was a wife for eight years, and "just Stephanie" for twenty seven before that. This alone time, and this couple time, is crucial to my sanity and the strengthening of our foundation for the family. For us, knowing our daughter is with family who love her, care for her, and give her the time of her life, is all we need to know. In another year or so, we will start taking her along for family vacations, and I hope one day when she is older she remembers the amazing adventures we shared together. For now, it's adults-only. My husband and I didn't even hesitate to plan our first vacation together post-baby: Walt Disney World for five nights (six, if you count dropping the baby off the day before at the grandparents') was an incredible time, full of laughter, delicious meals, and absolute fun.  Being up at 5:30am for Extra Magic Hours at Magic Kingdom beats an early-morning poop dipe wake-up call.
Our second post-baby vacation was shorter - just a little four-night getaway to Mexico (again, five nights if you count our pre-vacation night without child). My husband was sick while we were there and I was in pain and still healing from a horrific back injury, but we made the most of it. We still connected, talked, laughed, and just enjoyed being at a new-to-us resort together. The sunshine and blue sky weren't too bad either. 
Now here we are, getting ready to celebrate our tenth anniversary, and we are heading out on another vacation, this one a little longer. We'll be leaving behind our little one once again, and now that she's older, the following will make our nine nights away easier on everyone.
We will... - remember to pack the bedtime crew! This includes Baby Goldberger, Reindeer, Marshmallow, Charlotte, and now also Pink Kitty (who my husband has named "Dirty Kitty" following a recent trip to Aldi). Our kid went from a gal who couldn't care less about stuffed animals to one who loves having her squad around when it gets dark. Basically, these guys get their own tote bag now. - pack special foods and snacks. My mom is amazing at having all sorts of great eats and treats on hand for our daughter (we are vegan) but I like to ease this burden on her by supplying some food. This includes boxes of mac and cheese, granola bars, cereal bars, mandarin oranges, Silk brand yogurt, and vegan General Tso's chicken from Whole Foods. - keep with her routine. She goes to daycare twice a week, so she will continue that while we're gone. She loves "school" and it gives the grandparents a little break during the week. - check in with FaceTime. Because we miss her face and hearing her little toddler voice saying her funny toddler things when we're away. I am with my daughter a great deal, so FaceTime with her still feels novel to me, and I love hearing her yell, "Mommy!" - not worry. I don't worry for a second when we're away because we know our daughter is in amazing hands. I focus on where I am, and on my husband. Our time is precious, and so important as we continue to forge this life together. It doesn't matter that we've been at it for a decade - it's still important. One day when our daughter is older, we will show her photos of us on vacation, laughing and enjoying one another so much. We will show her the photos of her having fun with Papa and Grammie. We will tell her we hope she finds someone she wants to spend as much time with as her dad and I do with one another. Parents - enjoy! Go celebrate your love and life together. Your child will be fine. Toast parenthood over a margarita. You've earned it.  On March 1, 2015 I learned I would become a mom, but my husband didn't know he would be a dad until two days later when I had a darker pink line to flash before his eyes. We waited to start a family for seven years (I am pretty sure potential grandparents had given up on us) but we knew parenthood was a responsibility and commitment we wanted to be more prepared for, and frankly, we had other things we wanted to do first as a couple. (Read: TRAVEL. Lots of TRAVEL.) Knowing we would soon be stashing our passports for many months (sad face) to care for our little lady (happy face), we started planning a babymoon for the second trimester. As a travel agent, our plans must always come together last-minute, and our indecisiveness was particularly awful for coordinating this trip - I was really hoping to do a cruise, and my husband was really hoping to stay at an all-inclusive. The plans worked out for three nights at Secrets Silversands and four nights at Secrets the Vine, so that is what we ultimately chose to do. (Next trip, a cruise.) We had always planned on having the sex of the baby be a surprise at birth, but after a few discussions during the week of our scheduled anatomy scan, we decided for many reasons that it was time to find out if it would be a he or a she. Because of my "old age" of 35, we could have found out at ten weeks, but held off for the element of surprise...ten weeks later we were whistling a different tune. Rather than finding out the news in the technician's office, we asked that she seal up the telltale photos in a card I had picked out for us to bring with us to open at Secrets Silversands, one of our favorite resorts.  The plan: the first morning of our trip we would eat breakfast and then take the card to the Barracuda Bar overlooking the beach and Caribbean Sea for the big reveal. With its cool breezes, great views, and comfortable seating options, it's one of our favorite spots to hang out on the property. "How could you wait so long after having the results on hand?!? We had already waited ten weeks. Weren't you tempted to open them as soon as you got them?!?" No, not even a little bit. Honestly. Plus, I was freaking out internally...I really wanted a girl. We got situated, took deep breaths, and opened the card together...
One of the most intense rushes of emotion I have ever experienced washed over me, and I immediately began sobbing upon reading the word "girl". Finding out the sex of our baby made this vacation even more special, and we spent a great deal of time in the coming days making a list of potential names. The entire vacation has been documented in our baby book to share with our daughter when she grows up, but I will never be able to put into adequate wording how thrilled I was to know I would be a mom to a daughter. Random thoughts...We waited until my 20th week of pregnancy to travel - even though my morning sickness had been rather tame, I knew I would not want to contend with nausea while on vacation. I felt pretty good for the duration of our trip, and really only had one evening of ick. I made sure to pack any medications I might need in my carry-on bag for easy access. I consulted my midwives before booking our vacation to be sure I was good to travel, and I would definitely recommend you do the same. I did my very best to stay hydrated and kept out of the sun as much as possible - even with hunkering down under umbrellas and diligently applying sunscreen, I came home with a nice tan. I packed various layers of comfortable clothes that accentuated my little bump and made me feel like a cute pregnant gal. Thanks to Beachbody Chalean Extreme workouts and water aerobics, I was able to rock a bikini as well, which felt pretty great too. I am so thankful that my husband and I were able to share this week together as our final vacation before the arrival of our little girl. It was a wonderful time for fun and making memories, made all the more special because of the opening of that little envelope.  Secrets the Vine lobby  On March 1, 2015 I learned I would become a mom, but my husband didn't know he would be a dad until two days later when I had a darker pink line to flash before his eyes. We waited to start a family for seven years (I am pretty sure potential grandparents had given up on us) but we knew parenthood was a responsibility and commitment we wanted to be more prepared for, and frankly, we had other things we wanted to do first as a couple. (Read: TRAVEL. Lots of TRAVEL.) Knowing we would soon be stashing our passports for many months (sad face) to care for our little lady (happy face), we started planning a babymoon for the second trimester. As a travel agent, our plans must always come together last-minute, and our indecisiveness was particularly awful for coordinating this trip - I was really hoping to do a cruise, and my husband was really hoping to stay at an all-inclusive. The plans worked out for three nights at Secrets Silversands and four nights at Secrets the Vine, so that is what we ultimately chose to do. (Next trip, a cruise.) We had always planned on having the sex of the baby be a surprise at birth, but after a few discussions during the week of our scheduled anatomy scan, we decided for many reasons that it was time to find out if it would be a he or a she. Because of my "old age" of 35, we could have found out at ten weeks, but held off for the element of surprise...ten weeks later we were whistling a different tune. Rather than finding out the news in the technician's office, we asked that she seal up the telltale photos in a card I had picked out for us to bring with us to open at Secrets Silversands, one of our favorite resorts.  The plan: the first morning of our trip we would eat breakfast and then take the card to the Barracuda Bar overlooking the beach and Caribbean Sea for the big reveal. With its cool breezes, great views, and comfortable seating options, it's one of our favorite spots to hang out on the property. "How could you wait so long after having the results on hand?!? We had already waited ten weeks. Weren't you tempted to open them as soon as you got them?!?" No, not even a little bit. Honestly. Plus, I was freaking out internally...I really wanted a girl. We got situated, took deep breaths, and opened the card together...
One of the most intense rushes of emotion I have ever experienced washed over me, and I immediately began sobbing upon reading the word "girl". Finding out the sex of our baby made this vacation even more special, and we spent a great deal of time in the coming days making a list of potential names. The entire vacation has been documented in our baby book to share with our daughter when she grows up, but I will never be able to put into adequate wording how thrilled I was to know I would be a mom to a daughter. Random thoughts...We waited until my 20th week of pregnancy to travel - even though my morning sickness had been rather tame, I knew I would not want to contend with nausea while on vacation. I felt pretty good for the duration of our trip, and really only had one evening of ick. I made sure to pack any medications I might need in my carry-on bag for easy access. I consulted my midwives before booking our vacation to be sure I was good to travel, and I would definitely recommend you do the same. I did my very best to stay hydrated and kept out of the sun as much as possible - even with hunkering down under umbrellas and diligently applying sunscreen, I came home with a nice tan. I packed various layers of comfortable clothes that accentuated my little bump and made me feel like a cute pregnant gal. Thanks to Beachbody Chalean Extreme workouts and water aerobics, I was able to rock a bikini as well, which felt pretty great too. I am so thankful that my husband and I were able to share this week together as our final vacation before the arrival of our little one. It was a wonderful time for fun and making memories, made all the more special because of the opening of that little envelope.  |
