Caribbean Baby

by Alison Friedman in Mommy's Musings, Pregnancy, Travel Channel

Once upon a time in March 2010, Bryan and I taped an episode of The Newlywed Game that aired on Game Show Network 3 months later. A friend directed us to an audition there and with shrugged shoulders and a “why not” attitude, we went for it and sure enough, we booked the show, taped, and had an unforgettable television experience that was hosted by Carnie Wilson (it should be noted that my parents were on the original show with Bob Eubanks in 1973!).

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Well, most of you know the outcome of the show:

We won!

Yes, we kicked ass, but the other two couples were definitely just not as in sync. We had no idea what we were playing for or when we’d claim the prize back on that day in March 2010.

“Tell ’em what they won, Carnie!”

We won a “2nd honeymoon” — six nights at a resort on the British Virgin Island of Tortola, airfare, and daily breakfast. We booked the trip in August and just a month ago in February, we flew across the country and way down south, to plop our feet up and relax in the Caribbean.

When we won and booked the trip, we had no idea we’d be pregnant on vacation. And despite the lack of rum in my Caribbean rum punch drink, it wasn’t so bad. In fact, it was great to enjoy a last big vacation alone with just my husband. We had a romantic time, enjoyed some adventures, got eaten alive by bugs, made some friends, saw beautiful beaches, and experienced a brand new destination together. We don’t know when we’ll take our next “oo la la” vacation, and we hope to be able to travel with our daughter and introduce her to many cities and cultures around the globe, but it was nice to know that we had one last hurrah before parenthood begins in a mere five months.

Since our baby is currently the size of a mango this week, I thought it would be appropriate to share some tropical vacation photos (mango.l.. tropical fruit… mango… tropical fruit… Get it? Bueller?).

It took three flights to travel from Los Angeles to Tortola. This is the sign before our final flight from San Juan to vacation!

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Flying in a 70-seat passenger teeny tiny propeller-jet aircraft above a cluster of the British Virgin Islands.

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Our first photo at Long Bay Beach Resort, which was great… for free!

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Enjoying the swim-up bar at the hotel and some fruity drinks on our first day!

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Like Hawaii, a sprinkle of rain would refresh the island for just a few minutes. This is one afternoon, just seconds after the short-lived rain stopped.

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Taking in the beautiful beaches of perfect, powdery sand and crystal blue water!

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We started the vacation at 15 weeks pregnant and left at 16 weeks. At the beginning of the trip, I didn’t fill up my new maternity bathing suit, but by the last day, there was definitely some belly pop-ness! And no, it wasn’t from eating too much (food was just mediocre). Since this is a baby blog after all, I thought I’d document a mini maternity shoot we did on the beach during our last afternoon in Tortola.
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  1. Mom/ Sharon/G'ma to be
    3/17/2011 11:46 AM

    Fun times! The Newlywed Game has been one of those shows that comes and goes over the years. So, who knows?–maybe Baby Girl Friedman will become a 3rd generation contestant on The Newlywed Game. And the host–Justin Beiber or even Manny from Modern Family???