By Undoubtedly, Stef and I’s favorite past time is to travel. We’ve been to so many places together, and because of things like vacation days, we still feel like we didn’t go everywhere we wanted to.
I now have an amazing job at Student Loan Hero where I work remotely, and Stefany runs our company from home, so technically, we could work from anywhere in the world. But is that possible with a baby?
When we got pregnant, we knew we wanted to continue traveling. We wanted to introduce Isabella to different cultures from an early age and we wanted to make sure it didn’t slow down our pace for travel. During the pregnancy we took 2 trips: the first was an incredible road trip in the American Southwest, flying to Colorado and driving for a few days while stopping at some incredible places until we caught a flight out of Las Vegas. We saw Monument Valley, the Antelope River Canyon, and of course the Grand Canyon. We saw snow, drove through forests, desert and rock. Later in the pregnancy, we flew out to Scotland. I had to go for work often when I was at my previous job, and I had long been wanting to take Stef. We had a blast and got to explore some really nice places, including the highlands. Through these two trips, we knew this was something we loved too much to give up, and we wanted to share that love with our baby.
Fast forward to present day, now that Isabella is 4 months, we decided to make it more of an initiative to go out and travel. We decided we would make an effort to take a trip every month—whether it be to a nearby city, or fly somewhere else. This would encourage us to get out of Orlando as well as get Isabella used to the changes in schedule and routine that come with travel. Her first trip—Atlanta!
We’ve got really close friends there and only 6 hours away by car, it was the perfect road trip for us to take. Needless to say, she loved it! The car ride up was fairly easy (except for a piece of debris that flew and cracked our windshield) and she slept most of the way through. While there, we found Atlanta to be very accessible with a baby. We stayed in the Midtown area and were able to dine just fine with our baby. We checked out the Georgia Aquarium, where Isabella would reach out to the turtles in the tank trying to touch them. She was overwhelmed with all the sights and sounds. She got plenty of time being in the arms of our friends—further helping us raise a well socialized baby with no separation anxiety in a world where she practically hangs out with her parents 24 hours a day.
And so, our 4 days in Atlanta were great. The drive back though, slightly frustrating. The traffic leaving Atlanta was rough, and once on the road, Isabella was fussy and really just wanting to get out of her car seat so we could hold her. Stef would distract her, we stopped multiple times, and our 6-hour trip became 8-and-a-half hours. But once we made it home, we knew it was worth it. If we’re gonna deal with fussiness, it’s going to happen regardless where we are, so why not better deal with when we’re somewhere else?
With that, we’re prepping for her first plane trip where we’ll be taking her to our favorite state to explore—Colorado! We got to practice packing the essentials during our little road trip, now it’s off to learning about the nuances of baby travel and going through security with breast milk, a baby stroller and a car seat. We’re excited—we know it’s going to be great!
Being Papa 