For Christmas, my parents so generously gave Tommy and me a week long trip! We decided to use it for our “babymoon” aka the last big trip before baby boy comes in August!

We chose to go to Great Exuma Island in the Bahamas and it was absolutely wonderful in every way. Last June we went the all-inclusive ”route” in Riviera Maya, and although it was absolutely amazing, we knew we wanted to do something a bit more adventurous for this trip!! We also didn’t feel like we would really get the bang for our buck with me not drinking.. ha!

So, we rented an airbnb for the week, a jeep (and got “upgraded” to a Toyota yaris upon arrival LOL), and packed our bags for what turned out to be one of the best weeks ever!

Instead of writing everything right here, I captioned the photos with all of the adventures and day trips we took! Enjoy reading and looking through the photos!

Thank you, Mom and Dad for a truly incredible vacation!

Driving on the “wrong” side of the road and the car was a little intimidating! Tommy did a great job though. When we first arrived, it was late at night (our flight was very delayed… avoid BahamasAir at all costs….) so we had to find our airbnb in the pitch black! With no road lights, no signs, no street names, etc., it was difficult but we somehow made it! Waking up the next morning and seeing that crystal clear water for the first time was amazing!

We stayed in the peach villa on the left! It was great but very basic inside. If we were to come back, I think we would consider an airbnb that at least had a kitchenette so we could store some drinks and make coffee in the morning! Not many places are open until lunchtime, so getting coffee/breakfast was sometimes hard! We did like how remote our place was, though! It was about 30 minutes from town meaning the beach was almost always empty and very private!

At our AirBnb, there was a restaurant and dock where you could rent jetskis, boats, paddleboards, kayaks, etc! The food was delicious at the restaurant (Exuma Point Beach Bar and Grill) and we loved getting to know the owners/our AirBnb hosts, Maryann and Elvis!

On the first day, we took a jet ski around the island and saw a huge sandbar, several sea turtles and fish, a 30 foot blue hole filled with fish, swimming pigs, a giant starfish and more! It was spectacular!

The little piglets melted my heart! How adorable are they?! I want one!!!!

We were surpsied how aggressive the pigs were. They are used to the tourists bringing bread so they immediately swam towards us as we came in on the jet ski!!

The next day, we drove to the other end of the island and visited a few beautiful beaches along the way. Finding them rpoved to be wuite difficult but the view was WORTH IT once we arrived. Our airbnb hosts wrote a guide for us to follow, but because there arent street names, the instructions said thing likes “drive 5 mins after you see a small orange abandoned resturants, when you see a dirt road and a trash can, turn left” HA! There were abandoned restaurants, dirt roads, and trash cans everywhere!!!

We were told we HAD to try the conch nachos at Tropic Breeze Restaurant, and we were so glad we did! They were absolutely delicious! So were the wings!

Homemade carrot cake recipe from the Chef’s mom! We loved all of the local Bahamians we met. They were all so warm and welcoming and excited to have us on their island.

Mid-week, we rented a boat for the day. This was Tommy’s dream day. We went all through the Cays and stopped for lunch at Stocking Island at Chat N Chill Bar/Grill! It was so beautiful and fun! A very popular spot!

Fun to see sailboats from Annapolis!

Chat N Chill

On the last day, we got day passes to a local resort and had access to the pool, kayaks, paddle boards, etc. all day! It was so fun! The bar had swings for seats and we enjoyed drinkin (virgin piña coladas for me, of course!) and swingin!!

…and finally, I just have to include one baby bump pic! I was 18 weeks pregnant while we were away! It turned out to be a really great time to go although still pretty early!

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Something I have been wanting to do for a while is start sharing more personal things on my blog. Not just photo sessions... but stuff from my own life as well!

What better way to begin doing this then sharing one of my favorite trips ever that my husband I took in early June?!

For Christmas this past year, my parents generously gave us a trip to wherever we wanted to go. Seriously nothing better than the gift of travel, right?!

After going back and forth and researching a million places, we decided we really just wanted a relaxing beach vacation. Although our last trip to Africa was absolutely amazing, it was very adventurous and we were ready for something more laid back (not sleeping amongst elephants and lions.. )

So, we were between Aruba, Jamaica and Mexico. Both my SIL and BIL and my Aunt and Uncle visited this resort in Riviera Maya and raved about it, so we decided to go ahead and book The Valentin Imperial for the first week of June.

It was absolutely amazing. The resort was unlike any resort I had been to. It was absolutely huge. The were several two story buildings throughout the massive property, instead of a tall high rise building! It was also all inclusive which was a game changer! So nice to not have to pull out your wallet every time you want a drink or food!

We upgraded when we arrived to an ocean front room with a jaccuzzi overlooking the ocean. Best money we ever spent! The view was incredible and it was so so relaxing!!

We can not wait to go back...hopefully next year ;)! Enjoy these photos!

The view as we flew in!

We were greeted with smiles and lots of champagne!

The main lobby. I don’t know what they infused in this place but it was the best smell I have EVER smelled!! In fact, so many people talk about it in the reviews on trip advisor!!