Why babymoons are great, and also, why they should be done before 7 months

We took our babymoon this weekend, which actually ended up being a family-sized "moon," since my brother is leaving for his mission next month and we all wanted to have one more getaway together. We went to the central coast of California, which is second only to the southern coast. These are the greatest two places in the world, I'd argue. 

We visited Solvang, Morro Bay, Hearst Castle (San Simeon), San Luis Obispo, and Santa Barbara, all in the span of two days. 

I love the way my family travels. We go on a trip with a few main sites as our goals, but stop whenever we see a restaurant or place or thing that we'd like to go to. It's very relaxed, we never spend more than an hour or two in the car at a time because we stop so much, and everyone gets to see whatever they want to see. 

Hearst Castle was amazing. I had been there once, several years ago, and it was nice to see it again as an adult. So here's why babymoons should be done before 7 months: contractions, swollen feet, hunger-related irritability, and general fatigue. Since we tackled so many different sites so quickly, I was exhausted. My poor baby bump just kept tightening, especially at Hearst Castle with all its stairs. The two pools were just calling my name (or calling, "Bump! Come float in us! Ankles! Come be relieved of the weight of 165 pounds!). Conrad was awesome. He would walk behind me going up the stairs and push on my hips to help me (to an onlooker, it looked like there was some major groping going on, but I assure you, there was nothing sexy about it). 

This time of year, elephant seals beach themselves in preparation for mating season. If I wasn't terrified of actually being confused for one of the animals, I would have joined them on the sand. They know what's up. (Also, they're super dangerous, so there's that)

Freud wasn't kidding. We reveal our subconscious whenever we talk or think. The Morro Bay Rock seriously reminded me of myself, all protruding and heavy and whatnot. Right around this time of the day, my ankles went pffft and decided they were pretty done carrying me and the baby around. So we went and grabbed some pizza at Woodstock's, a place in SLO that came recommended by some locals that we had asked, as well as a friend who spends a lot of time there. The folded-over pizza crust was a revelation. Why has no one done this before? Even at the end of the slice, you still get sauce and cheese and toppings, not just dry bread. Genius, says the pregnant one. And apparently, the tall one agrees.

Thus concludes Day One of our two-day babymoon! Yes, we did all of that in one day. You see why my ankles went pffft?