First Trimester Road Trips - DC & Nashville

It's official.  I'm pregnant!  We're ecstatic!  Of course, constantly having the baby on my mind doesn't bode well for travel blog writing or traveling in general.  Nonetheless, we've braved some road trips, lived to tell about them, and even have a couple more planned for this summer!

If you've ever been with child, or traveled with a woman who was, you know it can sometimes be tricky depending on morning sickness and her oversion to odors.  We road-tripped to Washington, DC to visit family for the Easter holiday when I was only 8 weeks in.  I was just getting used to the idea of this living, peanut-sized person swimming around in my belly, let alone constant nausea and waxing fatigue.  "What's happening to my body!?" "Can people tell?" "Should I tell people yet? or wait it out a little longer?"  My usual I-can't-wait-to-get-there giddiness was replaced with "will I have time for a nap?" 

Some Tips for travel during your first trimester:

1. Bring plenty of bland snacks -- saltines, pretzels, granola bars, etc.  We've been told that you're better off with something in your belly, and it turns out it's true. 
2. Lots of water!  -- which results in a pit stop about every hour or so.  It's good for you though, so drink it.
3. Pack your prenatal vitamins -- You don't want to forget those, especially since we all tend to veer off course (as far as diet and nutrition is concerned) while traveling.
4. A fluffy pillow and room to stretch your legs. -- Try to share the driving with a pal so you can stretch out in the back seat.  Keeping your feet elevated will also help decrease ankle swelling and back soreness.
5. Get out and stretch your legs, walk around and get the blood flowing every chance you get.

Once you arrive, eat mini meals like you do at home, rest when you can, plan on hitting the sack early and rising frequently to use the restroom.  Bring super comfy shoes and loose-fitting clothes for walking around, and drink plenty of water during the day too!  If you're comfortable telling your news to those you're traveling with, they might be more understanding when you need to stop and rest more often than usual.  I chose to tell the family members we were with and chatting about it made it even more fun!

Next, we headed to Nashville, TN for the Rock 'n Roll Marathon and Half Marathon.  We went with a large group of friends, mostly from OU so it was difficult to hide my non-alcoholic ways in the bars.  I ended up spilling the secret to the group to make things a little easier. 

Lucky for me, after running a half marathon, the rest of the group was just as tired as I was, often leading to early bedtimes and afternoon naps. I fit right in! 

Nashville was pretty cool, but I can't help but think it's a million times better when you're able to party sans nausea and fatigue.  Maybe we'll go back someday. 

Just remember, you're still yourself while traveling pregnant, you just need to be patient, give yourself plenty of extra time for pit stops, frequent meals and naptime.  The advice people keep giving me is "get out and do stuff while you can before the baby comes."  So, that's what I intend to do!

Trips on deck :: a relaxing trip to East Hampton, NY to play on the beach; and a long weekend on a houseboat on Lake Cumberland, KY.  Stay tuned for second trimester trips!

Finally, Nashville, TN is on the List

A runner I have never claimed myself to be. Swimmer? Sure. Dancer? Oh yeah. A Country Music fan? Yup! But a runner? I wish. Nevertheless, I couldn't pass up an opportunity to cross off a travel wishlist city of mine -- Nashville, Tennessee -- for this gigantic annual sports event.

The Country Music Marathon & 1/2 is coming up this spring and several of my friends are geeked up to run (or at least attempt to run most) of it. I'll be there with my camera and a sign, cheering for them along the sidelines.

Whenever a long-weekend trip comes up, the question is always whether to fly or drive. Should we use the airline miles we've worked so hard to obtain, or save them for a longer, pricier trip? I typically choose the latter, since I'm usually not the driver anyway. And in this case, after researching our flight options, it would in fact, be cheaper and more efficient to drive to the great country capital. We'll carpool with a friend and bunk up for the weekend, exploring every curve of the city and hidden restaurant and pub gem we can find.

Following my own past advice, I'll take the next few weeks to delve into some Nashville tourism sites and tip guides to compile a list of maybes to accomplish while we're in town. That's the fun part! The open-ended realm of possibilities your maybe list presents is the most exciting part of a trip, save the simple idea of skipping work for a couple days. That's also glorious. Everyone needs a breather now and then to remind them that there's a life outside of your cubical. Cubical smubical. Vacation is truly on the horizon now.

Now I've got some research to do.