Babymoon in North Carolina

Ever heard of a Babymoon? I hadn't either until I was pregnant and itching to get away with my darling husband before our baby comes. It's like a Honeymoon but for an expectant couple. It's the last real hurrah before your lives change forever in the best possible way. We'd discussed the possibility of having a Babymoon but weren't sure when or where we could go. Should we do a combined Anniversary/Babymoon trip the second weekend in May? How far away are we willing to go with 4 weeks lefts til D Day? Then an opportunity presented itself.

Scott had the opportunity to travel to Raleigh, NC for a conference related to programs for work from May 1-5. It was a big, geeky (my word, not his) geography and tech conference. He loved it! He flew down Sunday evening and had meetings up through Thursday. This week coincided with my NOVA finals week but I only had two so no big deal really. (Note: These were my last two pre-requisite classes for PT school! Hooray!) I finished my last final at 11:40am on Wednesday, went to work and then came home to pack.

I washed some of her clothes one day Scott was gone.
SO many! This is just Newborn - 9 months!

Thursday, after much delay and a slight change in plans and vehicle arrangement that I won't bore you with the details, I was on my merry way to Raleigh! When people heard I would be driving the 4.5 hours to Raleigh they asked a little alarmed, "By yourself?!" Me: "Umm, yeah, what's the big deal?" I love road trips and have taken a few short trips by myself and they have been thoroughly enjoyable. This one was no different. I passed the time finishing listening to the book "The Astronaut Wives Club" (very good, historical, interesting) and starting the book "The Time Traveler's Wife" (a concept completely different than I've heard of before). I stopped once for a bathroom break right after crossing the VA/NC border and then 2 hours later, arrived in Raleigh. And the adventure began!

That evening, we walked about 3 blocks to a little local restaurant called Beasley's Chicken and Honey. We got the traditional southern food of cheesey grits for an appetizer and chicken and waffles to share as an entre with mac and cheese custard and pickled beets on the side. Never had chicken and waffles before and we both agreed, it is delicious! Not sure I could handle all that for breakfast or by myself. If I weren't pregnant, that whole thing would have been mine! Then we walked around the downtown area to burn off some of the food then back to the hotel. We each had our own bed to spread out in which was awesome (see, very different from a Honeymoon!) and watched Paper Towns on Showtime. An interesting little movie adapted from the John Green novel of the same name. I wouldn't have sought it out to watch of my own volition but since it was on and entertaining, it wasn't bad.

Friday we toured the local college campuses. For those who don't know, Scott and I love to visit college towns and tour the campus. These are usually the prettiest spots in towns and always have a fun atmosphere. I'm not sure if it's because we met in college and loved it so much that this tradition began but it is always a highlight of any trip we go on. The first college to visit was the University of North Carolina or UNC in Chapel Hill, NC. Holy cow was it beautiful! The buildings are old and historic as are the trees and grounds that surround the campus. UNC was gearing up for graduation that weekend so banners and graduates were around every corner. We saw the Old Well which is a real functioning water fountain, the main quad, the bell tower, the football stadium, botanical gardens and the bookstore along with many other buildings. I purchased my quintessential university shirt (my university shirt collection is now up to 8 I think, not counting BYU shirts of which I have a plethora) and was half tempted to get the UNC Women's Soccer athletic t-shirt. Mia Hamm, one of the most famous female soccer players of the last 2 decades, played for the Tar Heels back in the early '90s. Ultimately I just got one UNC long sleeve shirt, something different than my usual Ts.

Next was lunch. After talking to some locals, we went 10 minutes away from campus to eat some classic Carolina BBQ at Allen and Sons BBQ. Pretty good eats. After lunch, we drove the 15 minutes to Duke's campus. It was amazing to us how close these two rival schools are from each other. Duke graduates this coming weekend (May 14-15) so the campus was a little quieter but still gorgeous. The buildings there were very prestigious, Ivy-league looking. The most breath-taking building we saw was the Cathedral. It was closed due to finishing renovations but the exterior was incredible. It was Gothic style and reminded me of pictures of churches from England and Europe. Sadly, we didn't spend nearly enough time here because my sad, tired, pregnant body wouldn't allow us to keep walking anymore. After 2 straight hours walking around UNC, I'd used almost all my energy and enthusiasm for touring. We were able to visit Duke's gardens and library before calling it quits. No shirt for me here. For some reason, I felt getting one shirt in the Raleigh area was enough. And if I change my mind, there is always internet shopping.

Friday evening we ate dinner at a local burger place called b.good. All ingredients were fresh and local and yummy. We spent the night lounging in our hotel room watching more HBO and Showtime.

Saturday we staying in Raleigh. For breakfast we drove about 15 minutes away from the main downtown to eat at Angie's Restaurant and local haunt for delicious breakfast and man was it popular! We waited to be seated and it was packed but so tasty. And since Mother's Day was this weekend, they gave all the women long-stemmed carnations. They handed me mine and said, "Happy Mother's Day-to-be!" It was really sweet.

After breakfast we went to the campus of NC State which is located right there in Raleigh. We didn't do as much walking after my hard learned lesson the day before but still saw pretty much all of the North Campus. NC State's campus is very vast and spread out so we were only able to see a small portion of it. We saw the bell tower and older, original buildings of campus. NC State was also graduating this weekend so there were many graduates in red robes taking pictures all over the place. We were lucky and hit the student union building right before a major college's graduation ceremony got out and we ate delicious, on-campus-made, ice cream during the jubilation.

Baby is taking a picture on NC State campus

After our campus tour, we went to the Raleigh Flea Market just to have a look see. Lots of people out and about. It was a beautiful day. When we'd finished at the flea market, we went to the Raleigh Museum of Art, not for the art but for the walking trail. Again, sadly, my energy and enthusiasm for the day had hit a wall and I was not up for any more walking. We traversed a small portion of the trail and then came back to the car.

Dinner was next on the agenda and I wanted Italian food. After looking at the map and identifying a few Italian restaurants, I decided on Caffe Luna. I ate their fettuccini alfredo with mushrooms and Italian sausage while Scott got the most delicious pasta I've ever tasted in my life. Fiocchi. It was a fresh pasta stuffed with four Italian cheeses and sauted pear in a cream sauce. Sounded a little strange to me and I'm not a huge pear fan so Scott got it and I'm so glad he did. It was just the right amount of sweetness with the savory. Wow! So amazing! After dinner, we did a little bit of walking to help us digest and then got some more ice cream at treat. Yup. The name of the shop was treat. Very good ice cream! We wandered the streets towards the Capitol Building and then back down to our hotel. The night was spent as the previous ones had, relaxing at watching movies on TV.

Sunday was our final day in Raleigh. We checked out of the hotel, packed the car and ate a late and large breakfast at IHOP. It was Mother's Day and it was my choice and I really wanted IHOP. We then drove the 2 or so hours to Richmond, VA to see some Roadside America treasures. If you've ever been on a boring road trip then you need to visit Roadside America's website! There are literally thousands of little places to visit in America that you'd never have known about. These little gems range from abandoned concrete dinosaurs (seen on a roadtrip from Utah to VA) to giant lurking Indians which we saw this trip. We saw the lurking Indian, Mr. Smedly and a 90 foot Confederate pyramid all in Richmond. Pretty amazing stuff. The next 2 hours in the car were full of battling traffic, fatigue and hunger but long story short, we made it home! Just in time to unpack and go to bed to get back to real life on Monday.

I'm so glad we were able to have a little time away just the two of us. We both can't wait to meet Baby Girl but we hope we can prepare a little more before she does. 36 weeks and counting!