When I discovered that I was pregnant, my immediate intention was to travel with Joaquín as soon as possible and as often as possible. Once I had him though, my desire went away as quickly as it had originally came. I was overwhelmed with the idea of how much is truly involved when traveling with a baby. I read every blog I could find that talked about it and took copious amounts of notes, but I still felt unprepared and extremely nervous. My husband, Lucas, on the other hand, wanted to travel immediately. He is ready to show our son the world and does not care if every single thing is packed like I do. Thus, we decided that a day trip was in order! This way I could dip my toes into the water that is travel, rather than jumping in headfirst.
Located in the heart of North Carolina’s Yadkin Valley is Shelton Vineyards. It is about 90 miles away from our home in Charlotte. What makes this winery so special from others on the West Coast, is that the Shelton wine comes from the unique soil and climate of the Yadkin Valley. This gives it an extraordinary taste that holds its own against any wine from any area in the world. I highly recommend visiting if you should find yourself in the area. It is definitely a hidden gem!
En route to the winery, we stopped at Lake Norman and had some lobster rolls and champagne by the water. As soon as we arrived to the winery, Joaquín woke up from his afternoon nap. One of my favorite things about my son is how curious he is with his surroundings. He is usually very excited to be in new places and his big, beautiful eyes will widen with thrill.
As we began the wine taste, it hit me what a moment in my life this was! I was on my first trip with my child. This is something that I had dreamed about for years. Shelton Vineyards might not be the most exotic place, but it sure is the perfect place to get over my fear of traveling with a baby and to create memories to last a lifetime.
Just as we finished the wine taste, Joaquín fell asleep again. Everything was working out splendidly and I began to relax into the idea that I could handle traveling with a baby after all.
We found a lovely place in the shade to enjoy the bottle of sparking wine we had just bought, along with some delicious truffles. My Mom, Lucas’ Mom, and my grandparents had also joined us. We had decided to celebrate my grandparents 59th wedding anniversary a little early.
Then we all took a stroll through the vineyards with Joaquín in his stroller. He loves the sounds of birds and as soon as he heard some singing in the distance he awoke from his nap.
How adorable are my grandparents feeding the fish while holding hands? Lucas and I can only hope that in fifty years from now we will be doing the same thing!
The only mishap that happened during the day trip, was that one of the baby bottles had leaked in the diaper bag causing a bit of a mess. Thankfully, I had packed an extra of everything — a luxury reserved for those traveling by car — so it was not a complete disaster. I definitely feel like I have more confidence now and I hope that soon we can take a road trip or a trip that only requires a short flight. I am not quite ready for an international trip just yet!
I plan to write a detailed post about traveling with children in the future, however if you have any tips or suggestions please leave them in a comment.
Ahhhh, to think that we are going to Australia this year with a 10 month old…gahhhhhhhhhhhh. Milk spills are the worst!!
You are SUCH a brave woman, but if anyone could do it, it would be YOU!
Sounds like a great day! My suggestion is to travel (airplane)before he learns to walk, and then when he has been walking for some time. We took my then 15 mo old daughter to Mexico and she wanted to run up & down the aisles on the airplane and around the airport. The hotel was not very kid oriented, so we had to be very careful around the pool areas & constantly running after her. When she was 3.5 & my little one was 1.5 we took them to Argentina. It was def an experience. Since you have family there, it’s easier to have a home base, but the sidewalks in BA are not stroller friendly, much less double stroller friendly, lol. Kids loved it & had a great time. I learned not to overpack, they have most of the same things in other countries! enjoy Joaquin!
Thank you so much for all of this awesome information! Definitely taking notes. Argentina will be SUCH an adventure for us, but like you said, thankfully we have family there to help us. Overpacking will definitely be an issue for me.
I was married in Japan, first child born there, and from that time we lived in East and West coasts of the USA and Guam and drove at least 5 times across country, but my children have no memory of these places or travels…fortunately were finally old enough to love and remember Europe and all the travels while there. Too bad. Now I am 82, widowed, had to break up my household and move to a small place and the girls have no understanding of my attachment to so many little things I had to make go or throw decisions about.
Wow I can’t believe the adventures your children went on at such a young age — talk about being blessed! Traveling is the best investment you could ever make.
So glad the little Joaquin is learning about the joys of travel so young!
Thank you!!! I know it wasn’t a huge trip, but baby steps…
Oh, he’s so cute!! It took me 8 years to start really traveling with my son because i unexpectedly found it so overwhelming. But right off the bat he traveled like a pro. It’s so good for them and for us too. Happy Travels!
This sounds like the perfect start to a lifetime of travel!
Yaaaay! 🙂