Honeymooning & Healing

Last year when we got married, we booked our Honeymoon in the Bahamas at the Sandals Emerald Bay resort. Unfortunately for us, Hurricane Irma also decided to visit that same week. After following the storm closely and contacting guests who were currently staying at the resort, on the day of our rehearsal dinner we decided we had to postpone our trip. Hurricane Jose was also forming and following in Irma’s path, so we ended up pushing the trip back to May 2018, which is outside of hurricane season. It cost us more money to change the dates, and my poor husband argued on the phone with Sandals Customer Service literally for hours, but we knew that we would not be able to enjoy the trip when most of the resort was shut down and/or damaged. Irma ended up being the most catastrophic hurricane ever to hit the Caribbean. We are very thankful we were not stuck there during the storm, like so many people were.

When we found out in January that we were pregnant, we knew we would have to cancel, or at least postpone, the trip yet again. The Bahamas was grounds for the Zika virus, and my doctor said there’s no way could we travel there without any risks. Catching Zika while pregnant can cause serious birth defects, such as your baby being born without a brain. Luckily, we didn’t get around to calling Sandals during the month of January like we had planned.

After losing our baby, we still thought about canceling the trip, as there are also risks for traveling while trying to conceive, and it can take months for symptoms to develop. On a whim, I checked the status on CDC website, and the Zika risk has been lifted from the Bahamas as of February 2nd, two days after I miscarried. Now we can go, risk free!

While it is meant to be our belated “honeymoon,” I started thinking of our Bahamas trip also as a “healing” trip. Lord knows we will need some peace and relaxation in our lives after these past two months, and this gives me something positive to plan and look forward to. Even if I am turning 30 a few days before we leave. Eeeeek. We booked our flights the other night, and we are avidly following all of the posts and photos on the Sandals EB fan page. They have an on-site spa, and unlimited golf at their exclusive Greg Norman designed course — both of which we will be taking full advantage of.

Finally, we have something we can be excited about.