• About Me
    • Brand Work
    • Portfolio/CV
  • Family
  • Food
  • Health & Beauty
  • Home
  • Style
  • Subscribe
  • Shop
    • Shop My Amazon Picks
    • Shop My Instagram

Dreams + Coffee

North Carolina Healthy Living + Style Blogger

Summer Vacation 2020 | Traveling During a Pandemic

July 15, 2020 Comments : 7

I️ feel very fortunate compared to the stories I️’ve heard from some families who planned trips and weren’t able to go this summer – and they didn’t get refunds. Yikes. My family lives on the Outer Banks, so we have a permanent summer vacation spot that doesn’t require us to book a beach house and make plans a year in advance.

Summer Vacation During a Pandemic

This post contains affiliate links

At the beginning of the year (before the pandemic struck), I️ signed us up for a beach photo session with our favorite photographer, Amanda Hedgepeth and we planned our vacation around that. To be honest, as the date got closer, we weren’t sure if we were going to be able to go or not – but since the state opened back up and travel restrictions were lifted, we decided to head to the beach after all. I️ felt comfortable because we were staying at my parents’ house (vs. a rental where anyone could have been sick during their stay) and ultimately, we didn’t need to do all the extras we usually do, like putt-putt and shopping. This time around, we had a very simple vacation of going to the beach and coming back and making dinner at home – and maybe saved a couple of dollars because of it!

At the beginning of our summer vacation, the ocean was a little chilly, but it quickly warmed up and turned the prettiest blue-green color for the majority of our stay. With three young kids, going to the beach requires a lot more STUFF and it was super hot, so we opted to go to the beach in the afternoons when the sun was a little less intense. A few times, Michael and I️ snuck away for a mid-day beach date and it made me glad we didn’t bring the girls at that time of day – I️ could feel myself getting sunburnt as soon as we got out there!

We had a hard time deciding whether or not to attempt a real date night, given that we’ve been strictly staying in for the past few months. We decided to give it a try and went out to a real restaurant (one of our faves, The Black Pelican) one night. I️ was impressed overall by how they were managing the 50% capacity, enforcing masks, etc. We ended up sitting on the outdoor deck and had a nice view of the ocean during dinner. Even thought it was a little strange compared to a normal date night, it was nice to finally have some time alone after being home with the kids 24/7 for the past 4+ months straight!

My Dress Is Linked Here

We vacationed over the 4th of July holiday, so it was a bit more crowded than I️ anticipated on the Outer Banks. Most of the towns had canceled fireworks, but we lucked out and people all around us were lighting off their own fireworks on the 4th. We sat on the porch and watched for over an hour – it was pretty neat!

We originally planned to stay just a week, but as the end of summer vacation neared, we decided to stay another week. Even though Michael is working from home (and my freelance work can be done anywhere), his work computer has so many connection issues and he likes to be close to the office in case he needs to switch it out for a new laptop. He was able to login and work from the beach house, so we decided to take the risk and hope it worked for the additional week we stayed. Luckily, it did!

Summer Vacation Travel During a Pandemic

One of the biggest unknowns I️ had before we left for the beach was the travel situation. I️ know that some stores and restaurants haven’t fully opened and was a little nervous about the bathroom break situation, especially with two young kids who would need to go from time to time. We lucked out and actually made it 3.5 hours without having to stop at all, which is basically unheard of. We finally stopped at a Starbucks and I️ was worried they wouldn’t have the bathrooms opened up (some Starbucks around our house only had curbside pickup available), but this one was completely open, thankfully. On the way back, we had to stop at a Sheetz for gas and the restrooms there were open as well. I️’m never a fan of public restrooms, but especially not during a pandemic when everything around you seems to have germs. Ha! We masked up, tried not to touch anything and then washed our hands followed by hand sanitizer in the car afterward. Overall, it wasn’t so bad and I️ wouldn’t let it keep me from traveling.

We did grab Chick-Fil-A on our way out of town, but other than that, we brought our snacks and water, which meant minimal stopping during our trip. You can read about my favorite road trip snacks here.

Patriotic Charcuterie Board Ideas the Whole Family Will Enjoy
Check Out My Charcuterie Board Tutorial Here

I️ know there are so many pros and cons of traveling right now with everything going on in the world, but for us, it was worth it and a nice break from the quarantine life we’ve been living for over 4 months. My oldest daughter will be starting Kindergarten in a month (with a combination of in-class and virtual learning….), so it was nice to sneak away for some R&R before life gets crazy!

Wednesday Link Party

Welcome to the Wednesday Link Party! Meet your hosts:
Jaclyn from Coffee, Pancakes, and Dreams
Brittany from Dreams and Coffee
Mary Leigh from Live Well Play Together
Tiffany from Lake Life State of Mind
Lindsay from Lindsay’s Sweet World
Keri from Cultivate an Intentional Life

Holly from Simply Holley Marie

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter
brittany worrell boyce

Related Posts

  • How to Stay Fit During the Summer Months

    This post was sponsored by Optimum Nutrition as part of an Influencer Activation and all…

  • How to Slim Down for Summer Vacation

      I'm very health-conscious and over the years have learned that lifestyle changes rather than…

  • The Best Stylish Swimsuits This Summer

    I don't know about you, but there's been a giant void in my swimsuit shopping…

7 Comments Categories: Family

Comments

  1. Tiffany says

    July 15, 2020 at 9:59 am

    I’m so happy you all still got to do your vacation. I’m equally happy you decided to stay an extra week! Working from home definitely comes with a few benefits and that is one of them for sure. Love all the pictures too. The photographer you had is amazing.

    Reply
    • Brittany says

      July 15, 2020 at 11:36 am

      Aww thank you! Yes, working from home can be crazy at times, but so worth it! I️ love our photographer so much – she also took our wedding photos! <3

      Reply
  2. Jaclyn Musselman says

    July 15, 2020 at 11:40 am

    So glad you got to go on your trip. We have a trip to a lake in michigan in august and we plan to do the same things as you with sticking at home mostly. I hope it happens!

    Reply
  3. Keri says

    July 15, 2020 at 4:02 pm

    I am so glad you went! Love that pic of you and your husband!

    Reply
    • Brittany says

      July 16, 2020 at 8:47 am

      Aww thanks, Keri! <3

      Reply
  4. Joanne says

    July 22, 2020 at 5:47 am

    I’ve always wanted to go to the Outer Banks; what a beautiful area! My husband and I just got away for an overnight trip to Maine last Monday and it was fabulous.

    Reply
    • Brittany says

      July 22, 2020 at 12:00 pm

      Oh, I️ bet that was wonderful, too! I️’ve always wanted to travel up north – I️ know it’s beautiful!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

About Me

Hi y'all! I'm Brittany, a wife, mama to three little ladies and the creator behind Dreams + Coffee, a North Carolina lifestyle blog. Grab a cup of coffee and catch up on my latest family, food, health and lifestyle posts.

read more
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Categories

Search

Follow
BrandBacker Member

Subscribe

Follow My Instagram

brittanywboyce

Wife | Girl mama | Pure Barre & Peloton obsessed | Dairy + gluten free | Freelance writer | Owner @somethingbleuclt | CLT | Order GS Cookies ⬇️

Brittany | Mom Life + Style
When your cat loves @cleanjuice as much as you do When your cat loves @cleanjuice as much as you do 😘🤪
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Last week to this week ➡️ We’re SO grateful Last week to this week ➡️ We’re SO grateful for a quick recovery from pneumonia — having a sick child is scary enough, but to top it off with no space in our local hospitals’ PICU and being flown to Asheville, you can imagine we were beyond stressed last week 😩 So so grateful she’s back to normal and on International Women’s Day, it felt like a good time to celebrate Brynn 🥰 Thank you to all of our friends & family who reached out, lent a helping hand and kept us in your thoughts & prayers ❤️ 
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
We still have Girl Scout cookies 🥳 *Online ship We still have Girl Scout cookies 🥳 *Online ship-to-home orders* begin Monday, 2/27! If you’re not local to CLT and would like to place an order with shipping, I’d be happy to share the link - my girls would love your support 🥰Also, the newest cookie, Raspberry Rally, will be available in limited quantities online — I plan to place a bulk order and can deliver boxes locally in CLT if you’d like to try them 😘
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
45 degrees and snow tubing yesterday…75 degrees 45 degrees and snow tubing yesterday…75 degrees and windows open today ❄️🤷🏼‍♀️☀️
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
These beauties went camping at the @schielemuseum These beauties went camping at the @schielemuseum with Troop 2997 last night ⛺️ Proud of them for being brave because when I was their age, you couldn’t catch me sleeping away from home…ever 🤣
Finally took the girls back to our favorite place Finally took the girls back to our favorite place in Virginia — @colonialwmsburg ❤️ We loved it so much, we even took our engagement photos here back in 2011 😉
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Prolon Day 3 | The day started off really good — Prolon Day 3 | The day started off really good — I felt very clear-minded and awake this AM 🥳 Truly, I was nervous because today was a very low-cal day and I wasn’t sure how I’d feel 😅 I did grab a plain iced espresso because my energy was depleting super quickly and that def helped 👌🏼 After lunch, though, I started to hate depriving myself of real food and disliked that I couldn’t push myself in my workouts like I usually do 😒 After dealing with three kids who clearly woke up on the wrong side of the bed 😆, slicing my hand open with a knife and being cranky and irritable because I’ve been hangry for 3 days, I caved. And sorry, not sorry ✌🏼 I just wanted a dang salad and some protein so I can lift heavy things 💪🏼 Moral of the story, listen to your body and what it needs. And maybe try a 1-2 day cleanse/fast because that’s about all mine could handle 🤪
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
@prolonfmd Day Two | Overall an easier day than ye @prolonfmd Day Two | Overall an easier day than yesterday 👌🏼 Time went by faster and I didn’t have any nausea from being hungry…I looked forward to and savored all of today’s meals — the black bean soup for dinner was actually really good (esp with a little cumin + paprika!) 🙌🏼 I did @pure_barre this AM and then a @onepeloton walk this afternoon…keeping it light because of how little I’m consuming this week 😅 Not gonna lie, nervous for day 3 because it’s the lightest day of food and I’m already pretty hangry in general 🤣 Interestingly, I’ve felt pretty amazing today other than just craving a real meal 👌🏼 Btw, was so hungry for dinner that I forgot to share it in the reel 🤦🏼‍♀️
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Load More... Follow Me on Insta
Design by SkyandStars.co
Back Top

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.