The United Kingdom: A day by the seaside!

Carla and I have been friends for over 6 years! When we met at Royal Holloway at the beginning of February. She was just a sassy girl who sat in front of my at Royal Holloway's Got Talent evening, performed and won the competition and had a stellar voice! Then a couple weeks later, we met again at a small group event in honor of Valentine's Day where her parents spoke about relationships and love and Carla and I got to talk properly and instantly realized we had way too much in common! We were both Pastor's kids, both involved in and passionate about Worship, both single, the same age, and still figuring out what to do with the future! Our hearts were immediately knit together.

We would get lunch occasionally at a pub in Egham during the week while I lived there and then any Sunday where I wasn't off galavanting around England and Europe, I would got to her families church and your parents quickly took me under their wing and checked in with me about how I was doing. He mom had a knack for coming up to me and telling me something she had on her heart or had been praying about in regards to me and it would knock the wind out of me it was so spot on to what God was stirring in my heart or something I had been struggling through or praying about. God ministered to me so much through them and I was so incredibly grateful for their presence in my life while I was away from my family and home.

Carla has been able to come out to visit me a couple times since I went back home and it is always such a renewing time for my heart to be with her. But this trip, was my first time being back to visit her in 6 years and I was so excited to get to spend uninterrupted time with her AND her family again!

The night before when Carla was picked up in Reading by her parents, I was able to tell them our happy news that I was pregnant and so all weekend you would have thought I was an invalid, they didn't let me lift a finger and did everything for me! I didn't fight it, but instead allowed them to pamper and take care of Aaron and I so beautifully. I cannot say enough how incredibly blessed and humble I felt to be loved and protected and cared for by them. I seriously get choked up thinking about it because it was like all the remaining weight of jet lag and exhaustion was able to slip away as I relaxed and just soaked in the relationships and time with them. Aaron and I still think back to this weekend and marvel at how much we needed that weekend!

When Aaron and I were planning our trip out to England, we mentioned to Carla how we wanted to try to get a day at the beach, and she immediately told us that her family and her would love to plan a day that like that for us and so we decided July 4th would be the perfect day to do it! Shara's fiance, Zach had just moved to England from L.A., so we thought he might need some solidarity in celebrating our nation's holiday! So we were a party of 5 South Africans and 4 Americans celebrating The US Independence in England!!

Our day started by being picked up in Reading by Carla and her mom Deborah. We hit the road toward the beach and met up with the rest of the party at a rest stop along the way! Aaron and I got to meet Zach and I got to see Shara again in 6 years! It was so sweet catching up with her. We quickly set the baseline that Carla had shared a ton with me already about her and Zach's story of dating and falling in love, so we were able to dive in about relationships and marriage right off the bat! I loved getting to spend time with them. I also got to meet Carla's new sister Candi Grace, who had been adopted just a couple years before! At 7 she was SUCH a delight and loved the sweet gifts we brought for her from the Disney Store! She also was fascinated by the fact that I had a baby in my tummy, even though my tummy was still pretty flat. She would ask about the baby and tell me she couldn't wait to meet the baby!

It took us a bit to finally make it to the beach as everyone in England seemed to have the same idea we did, especially in light of the heat wave. I slept a TON in the car on the way down there and Deborah, Carla and Aaron got to chat and get to know each other more. Seriously, the nap in the car was probably the greatest gift anyone could have given me!

We made it to Bournemouth and set out to find a spot on the crowded beach!

It couldn't have been a more perfect day to be near the ocean! It was warm in the sun, but there was a cool breeze blowing around us. The water was ICE, but we didn't have plans to swim anyways, and mainly just laid on the beach soaking up the sun and relaxing and eating...

... theme of our time with the Brink family - these people know how to feed you!! They picked up a feast of sandwiches, salads, snacks, and treats to munch on!! At the rest stop we stopped at, we picked up groceries and they were so sweet to make sure to get things we liked and that I was able to and wanted to eat in my condition. So I was happy to grab any food in sight!

This was probably my favorite day of the trip! Aaron and I were just along for the ride and was able to let everyone else to the planning! Aaron and I quickly decided that now that we had done a ton of big must see touristy stuff in England, when we came back some day we just wanted to sit back and let the Brink family show us around the countryside and relax! They know how to host you!

Cabanas and beach gear storage along the beach walk!

Candi and I! She is showing off her Princess shirt we gave her!

Carla and Candi!

Stylin' on the beach!

Aaron and Carla's dad, Stuart!

Zach and Candi Grace

These faces are not forced! This is a picture of 2 very refreshed and relaxed Americans!

After a few hours at the beach, we had gotten out fill, and so we packed up and went for some food! They took us to this amazing fish and chips place nearby that Carla's dad, Stuart, LOVES! It was awesome and the food was amazing! It was so fun to laugh and see the dynamic between the whole family -  teasing and laughing a ton! We gave gifts to everyone that we had brought from the US. Deborah and Stuart were so excited about their See's candy since they had had it before and LOVED it.

We headed back up to Reading and they dropped us at our hotel just as we had hit out wall for the day and were ready to sleep!

This, again, was seriously one of my very favorite days, if not my VERY favorite day of the trip!! Not expectation or timetable and we just got to be loved and pampered and didn't have to lift a finger (seriously, they wouldn't let me).

Thank you Brink Family for an amazing day at the beach!!

Thailand Day 8 - 11: Arriving in Paradise...

Day 8:

For the rest of our time in Thailand, Aaron and I were going to lay on the beach and have a second honeymoon (well... actually a third honeymoon if you count Disneyland AND Mexico). We hopped on a plain to the Krabi region on the coast where some the most beautiful beaches in the world can be found! 

We found an amazing spot called Railay where the only access to the hotel is by boat!

This is all beautiful in theory, but when you come to Thailand at the very beginning of wet season, your boat ride to the peninsula is not the easiest or driest experience of your life.

On the plane to Krabi!

We arrived at the Krabi airport and hopped on a shuttle buss just as HUGE storm clouds were rolling in. The shuttle took us to a golf cart which took us to the end of a pier just as the rain came pouring down. There was not much shelter as we waited for our boat, so our luggage and us started getting pretty wet. The boat workers then came over to grab our luggage, but didn't really acknowledge us. After a moment we realized we should probably follow our luggage onto the tiny boat before it left without us.

waiting on the dock for our boat... starting to get wet!

The boat we took had only a tiny tarp providing shelter and not everyone could even fit under it. This was NOT how I expected to arrive in paradise!

Boat to our hotel

Once we reached the bay in front of our hotel, there was a question as to how we would get off the boat. The tide was out, so we couldn't get all the way to the dock... so a tractor with a trailer attached and another loosely attached tarp shelter can driving out toward us. By this time I was soaked, a bit sea sick, and terrified that "wet season" was not just a chance of rain for a little everyday, but a perpetual downpour for the rest of the week.

Trying to be hopeful that the adventure was almost over and our hotel was literally in sight!

 We finally made it to our hotel and our specially requested ocean view room... but no ocean was to be seen... only rain.

There was the promise of sunshine in the distance, but maybe it was the stress of the trip to the hotel that caused me to have a bit of a breakdown. Aaron assured me that the sun would come and our week on the beach would not be disrupted by storm clouds. We had dinner in our hotel room, watched a movie in our hotel room, and called it a day.

Day 9:

The next day we woke up to sunshine, thank God! We immediately headed down to the beach to enjoy it while it lasted!

views from around the hotel

Views from around the hotel

Signs to each beach

It was low season when we were there, which meant that the beach was practically deserted when we were there. Even when it got busy, it still had wide open spaces between you and the next person on the beach.

Our beach for the morning!

The best part of the beaches are the amazing rock formations all around you. I have never seen such a gorgeous paradise in all my life. Aaron and I took turns running back and forth into the ocean! So glad to see the sunshine!

I laid on beach listening to music and reading books. Aaron relaxed next to me and took walks on the beach. It was perfect for both of us!

The tides were coming in as the morning went on, and when the tide comes in the Railay West beach disappeared, so Aaron and I packed up and went for lunch and then explored the peninsula. We walked around for a bit in and out of the jungle and then settled back at the hotel by the pool.

Even our hotel pool was amazing!

Was is a day at the beach without a nap and then out again to watch the sunset. We chose our sunset viewing for Phra Nang beach. To get to the beach you walked through a cave and then found a completely empty beach waiting for us.

What an amazing beach!

We got there a bit early for the sunset, so we walked around, explored, and sat on our picnic blanket and read and relaxed.

look at this hottie!

A perfect end of our first beach day!

Day 10:

After the perfect sunny day, we were ok that the second day was a bit on the cloudy side. We slept in, had a leisurely breakfast and then headed to the pool until the storm clouds rolled in.

We went to lunch at a restaurant at a neighboring hotel right along the beach. We got deep fried morning glory salad, which was divine!

We headed back to the hotel room and watched movies for the rest of the afternoon!

Day 11:

Since we woke up to another cloudy day, we decided to give the beach a break and head out on a boat to Ao Nang, which is a nearby tourist town.

Oh course it rained in Ao Nang as well, but we found shelter in a restaurant with wifi and enjoyed just hanging out together for the afternoon.

When the rain let up we walked up and down the line of shops and enjoyed the cheap knock offs and ice cream treats. We met one of the shop owners who was overjoyed that we were haggling with him! I love haggling and so it was so fun to hear that it was welcomed. Apparently Europeans don't haggle, which is a cultural norm in Thailand. Needless to say, the shop owner gave me a steal of a deal on the clothes I bought.

the beach in Ao Nang was much more pebbly than in Railay

all those dots are tiny crabs running across the sand when the water came up

Our time in Ao Nang was so wonderful, it is just our luck that the trip back to Railay just straight up sucked. The boat guys gave us the run around about the pricing and tried to get more money out of us since we were sailing back "after 5p during peak time" even though he had made us wait for 30 minutes until it was passed 5p. Then they made up walk out into the water until we were waist deep in the water to even get on the boat back. Aaron and I were so upset! Then as we sat down on the boat, Aaron realized his phone had been in his pocket the whole time and was now completely dead. We were in paradise though, and the waters of Thailand killing Aaron's phone would not defeat us!