Winter is Chicago is brutal and this winter was worse than most. Freezing cold tempuratures, tons of snow,  icy winds… It was extra awful. In order to get me through mentally I decided to plan a trip to an exotic location for the end of February for me and my little sister, Bekah. That way every time I walked outside and almost lost my nose to frostbite I could just tell myself that in just a couple weeks I’d be on the beach in my bikini. There were days I honestly didn’t think I could stand trudging through knee deep snow one more time but February drew to a close and my sister and I were on our way to beautiful Oahu.
airportgreeting

Well, aloha to a beautiful rainbow that greeted us as soon as we stepped out of the airport.

skyandpalmtree

What a beautiful contrast it was, from ice and snow to sun and warmth.

gorgeouslandscape

They call it paradise and now I know why.

I didn’t have a whole lot planned for our days there because the main goal was to relax and enjoy the warmth. The one thing I did schedule was a surfing lesson for the two of us. I thought it would be a fun little adventure and where better to learn to surf than in Hawaii, right? I had no idea how much fun it would be! Plus, the part I thought would be difficult, standing on the board, wasn’t hard at all. Actually the hardest part was all the swimming I had to do to get back to the waves. That was a work out like I’ve never had. I’m officially hooked now and eventually I need to live somewhere that surfing is part of daily life.

icecream

Yum, ice cream!

usinfrontofdiamondhead

Bekah and me in front of Diamond Head.

sweetsister

My sweet sister. I love her so much.

huladancer

Obviously we had to see hula dancers.

watchingthesunset

Yep, this is heaven.

bbandmeatthebeach

Bekah and me relaxing on the beach. This was the main goal of our trip.

It was a great time spent walking around the island exploring, shopping and of course, plently lying on the beach. It was amazing.