Ever since I found out I was pregnant I've been looking forward to this very moment. I dreamt everyday of taking her to see the sea for the first time. For me it is like her getting christened, her meeting the ocean that constantly gives me inner peace was so important to me, and this trip was more than perfect.
On the Friday we arrived in Cornwall around 12 midday and stopped in Newquay to hunt down a wetsuit for Mike so he doesn't have to keep hiring them out. After a long decision making process we then set off to check into our hotel at Watergate. We stayed in the very welcoming WAX which was right next to the beach and was perfect for Mike to run down and surf every morning at 6am while I looked after Kovah. We walked down to the beach that evening, it was windy and a bit grey but no matter what the weather the sea is always a beautiful, unimaginable shade of greeny blue. We walked along the sand, explored some caves and held Kovah close to keep they wind off her face. It was a quick trip as we knew we had a lovely long weekend ahead of us and we both felt at peace knowing where we were.
The Saturday was unfortunate for me a little as I had developed a cold friday night which made me feel awful. But nothing was going to ruin this trip for me. Kovah slept like a dream considering she was in a new place and new room but that didn't phase her (I reckon she knew she was home). Mike got up early for a surf and I sat on the bed with Kovah looking out at the blue skies that met the ocean on the horizon telling her all about this magical place I call home. When Mike returned we had got set up for the day and heading to a place we both fell in love with last summer when we found out we were expecting a girl, Padstow. A place, last time we visited, I was struggling to eat and only craved carbonara pasta and we waiting for 45 minutes at the only restaurant we could find that did it. This time we entered the town feeling healthy and blessed that our daughter was earth side this time. We wondered around the little streets, exploring shops in down little alleys and stopped for a late lunch at the harbour. Kovah once again was a dream and woke up peacefully in her pram to look at the blue skies and the seagulls flying overhead. We revisited the small teddy bear shop on the corner of a street where we bought her first teddy last year and even that was something I couldn't imagine last August.
The Sunday was a very precious day I will treasure forever. I had introduced Mike to a gorgeous beach called Gwithian last year which soon became a place we try to go to everytime we are back in Cornwall. A beach where I have taken my family and closest friends to on my 21st, where my beloved dogs enjoyed the beach for the last time before they passed. It's a magical place to me. We had arranged to meet my extremely talented friend and her family there, Emma Griffin. Anyone who has followed my modelling journey will know this is the woman that got me into it, the woman who shot the image of me that made cover for an international magazine and has gotten me published on so many different occasions. This woman is such an important person in my life, she inspires me to be a better, kinder, more loving person and her family are all rays of sunshine that reflect all those things effortlessly. I consider them to be my Cornish family as I love them far too much to just be my friends. This was the first time they met Kovah and they had all supported both Mike and I throughout the pregnancy so this was truly an emotional day. Needless to say I welled up as soon as Emma held Kovah. We chatted for hours in the glorious spring sunshine outside The Watering Hole bar on the picnic benches, laughing and sharing our stories like I had never left.
The sun had moved across the sky by the point we all go up to head into the dunes to shoot some photos. I had bought Winter wreaths for Kovah and I when we I found out she was a girl. They were specifically winter crowns with little dew drops and winter berries on. I was delighted to finally be shooting in them somewhere that has now made them invaluable to me. We laughed even more as we captured precious moment with Kovah and my Cornish family, definitely my favourite photos of our family that I'll ever have. However the day couldn't last forever and saying goodbye was devastating. Leaving behind those beautiful souls was so hard and I really fought back the tears as they drove off down the lane, but I find comfort in knowing I'll see them again in July.
Bank holiday monday was totally bittersweet. The thought of driving 300miles back to Hertfordshire was draining but we still had a whole day to soak up the sun and get outside. The wonderful people at WAX let us check out when we were ready as, well, checking out with a baby was surprisingly time consuming. Sterilising her bottles before we left meant the countdown was on until we ran out of clean bottles so we had to be home by the one...who knew maths would be involved in early motherhood? 4 bottles, feeding every 3/4hours...what time will we have to be home for...this was actually pretty funny to work out. (Don't worry we did it, turns out Kovah slept for about 5 hours in the day before we had even gotten in the car to go home) Mike went for a surf at dawn, and we waved goodbye to Watergate bay around 11am. We head back to Newquay to do some shopping and then surf picked up so Mike jumped back in at Fistral beach for an hour. I took Kovah to where Mike and I first met...outside Sainsburys...romantic huh? Haha but we did actually need to go in there. We went to see out friends at Watershed before wondering slowly back to the beach to have a cold mixed berry cider at The Stable.
The journey home went fast considering but every time I leave I feel like I leave half of myself there. These are the moments are never want to forget or fade, time is so precious now but I'm counting down the days until July when we get to stay at another beautiful place for a whole week with Mike's family, and I am so excited. In the mean time I will treasure these memories and embrace new memories in the gorgeous countryside here.
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