We went to the Northwest for our unofficial “Babymoon”. We visited my brother-in-law and his girlfriend for a couple of days, and then we hit the interstate to do a road-trip along the coast. We saw a lot of seagulls, lush forests, and misty beaches. It was beautiful.
As always, we tried to keep things cheap. We stocked up on groceries to avoid eating out, took advantage of free parks and road-side attractions, made photographs our souvenirs, and even ran across a restaurant named Frugals. I tell you what, it was meant to be;)
How do you try to save money when you travel? Do you do Babymoons? What are your thoughts on them?
Great pictures!
I’ve gotten pretty good at bringing airport food (a salad or sandwich to eat after I check in).
And last time I baked biscotti (they weigh next to nothing) to take with me for those times when you’re pretty hungry but want to check out one more bookstore before they close or just need a little something to tide you over so you can decide what to do about dinner.
Love the biscotti idea and hadn’t thought about how good it would be to have a lightweight snack like that on hand. You’re clever!
I am a born and raised Pacfic Northwesterner who just moved to the Midwest….the pictures were a feast for my homesick eyes!
That’s so good to hear! You’re lucky you got to grow up out there. So stinking pretty!
Such an amazing area of the country…I must visit one day.
I remember those count-down months before baby very, very well. Before I knew it, baby was running around the living room.
Now Baby 2 is crawling around the living room.
Aww… it will be fun to look back on this time and remember what I “thought” having a baby would be like compared to what it actually will be like. Trying to savor this time.
This makes me want to go on a pacific northwest road trip so badly!!! (more so that usual, too!)
Looks like you had an amazing time, so happy for you :)
<3 dani
It was a lot of fun… I miss it already:'(
Looks like you two had a blast! The west coast is a beautiful place to visit. Great idea to get away one last time as a couple. :)
It’s so gorgeous. I’m glad we did the trip too:)
Great pictures! Looks like so much fun!
Thanks! It was a ton of fun!
Best camel rides in Ocean Shores??? I’m scared to hear if there were others to choose from. LOL! Makes for a good vacation story though. :) I’ve never been that far west before. Actually I’ve only been past the Mississippi twice in my 36 yrs. Once to Tuscon to visit my college roomy & once to the Badlands & surrounding area for some geology field work. Your pics make me want to head that way. :)
As for saving money on vacation, I just try to find good deals for air/hotels. Often I don’t go to Expedia or the other big travel sites because I’ve found I can find better deals going directly to the source. I mostly just use them for price comparison. I book where ever it’s cheaper for what I want. Use city passes! I cannot stress this enough. It saved us tons of time & money in both Chicago & NYC. Sometimes they run sales on the passes too, so even better. If you’re in a big city with a subway USE IT. I have done both the DC & NYC subways on 1st time visits & found them both easy to navigate. A 7 day unlimited subway pass is about $30-$40/person, so you get 2 passes for a week for the price of a one day economy car rental. In NYC the same pass is good for the buses too. Out side of those savings I’m somewhat forgiving w/ vacation expenses. I see it as our time to do whatever & enjoy it… within reason. I do have a budget for each trip & save for it, but if it fits in the budget we don’t really worry about it. We’ve never come in over budget & often we come home with $$ left over. ;)
Such great tips!
Lol! I know… that sign surprised me;) Couldn’t tell if it was a joke or not. If you get the chance I would recommend checking out the Northwest. It’s so pretty!
Fun! You were in my neck of the woods! I grew up near the Bremerton ferry, which we would take to Seattle all the time, and I would request that my mom bring home Frugals burgers for dinner on her way home from work :) Ocean shores was a frequent family vacation spot, along with any destination on the OR coast. I’m just outside of Seattle now. Glad you love the PNW!
How awesome! What a beautiful place to live. Also, how are the Frugals burgers? We spotted the restaurant after they were closed for the night and I got the photo the next morning before they had opened.
Hi Anna!
Wow I’ve been so out of the loop, I totally missed that you’re pregnant! Congratulations, so excited for you!!
The pics are great, I love the way you presented them too.
Thanks Marianne! It’s such an exciting time :)
Really lovely!! I dig your blog :) What a great trip for you two pre-baby! How did you make the bubble photos? How cool!!!
Thanks and the trip was a lot of fun! The bubble photographs in the layout are actually from a template that I got from Pugly Pixel. She has a ton of cute, easy-to-use blog photo templates. Highly recommended!
I love all your pictures! Looks like a fun trip. We went to Seattle for the first time for our honeymoon last October, and we loved it! I was looking through the pictures the other day, and it made me miss it. I hope to go back sometime.
Also I love your layout! The bubble pictures and scribbled notes are cute.