Aloha, KAILUA!

My sister and I are lucky enough to have two amazing aunts that have lived on the island of Oahu our entire lives. In our early years, our parents would fly out with us for an amazing vacation with other extended family, exploring all the islands. As we got older, with our schedules filling up, we weren't able to go throughout high school and college.

Not a bad way to celebrate your 23rd b-day

It had been one year since college graduation and we had been working for awhile, so Marissa and I knew we had to make the trip on our own. I luckily found cheap flights on Kayak.com, round trip from Milwaukee for about $695 (amazing deal!), and we knew our lodging was covered by staying with our aunts. We flew to Denver then Honolulu, where Aunt Val and Jane picked us up to drive us to the north side of Oahu. The drive through the valley from Honolulu to Oahu is incredible, so we didn't mind the hour in traffic it took to take it. Honolulu is a major U.S. city, packed with tourists looking to relax on Waikiki beach, hike Diamond Head Mountain, and shop at all the surf stores. It's a great experience, but only for a day or two, as we were wanting to spend our time in a more relaxed setting.

This was probably the first and only vacation that we didn't plan a thing before we got there, and trust me, there was not a shortage of things to do.

Kailua Beach Park is the beach we spent most mornings on. We rented paddle-boards and boarded out to Popoia Island one afternoon. Probably not the smartest idea as we normally paddle-board in a lake with no actual waves (ask Marissa how that went for her)! We stopped on the way home to grab burgers at Kalapawai Market, which is the cutest dang little market you've ever seen. We walked to Island Snow for a snow cone, where President Obama and the girls famously stop for snow cones on their many vacations to Kailua.

The best part was how we ended our nights: relaxing back at the house, cooking dinner, drinking wine, and playing card games with our aunts for hours. That truly made us feel like we were not just tourists, but locals, enjoying the weeknight at home. In the morning we would go on a walk or play croquet in their beautiful back yard and plan our days. We swam in waterfalls, and drove up the coast along the north shore of Oahu to grab a snack at the famous Shrimp Shack with Jane. We boogie boarded with Aunt Val (you go woman!), surfed on Waikiki Beach, and had margaritas at 5 o'clock on our incredible trip across the Pacific. Seeing Hawaii as adults was a far more rewarding experience than as children.

We were so lucky to have celebrated our 23rd year around the sun, in paradise.