Winter Break: Trading the Cold and Snow for the Sun!

 

I have loved winter break for as long as I can remember but, with that I remember always loving the snow and cold right up until the day after Christmas. Then, I was ready for the warm weather and summer. But sadly, that is not the case in Ohio. It only gets colder for the months to come and without the holidays to look forward to and having to go back to school, it can be hard to stay motivated. 

This year, I was lucky enough to escape the cold and cloudy weather for a week! Right after new year's me and my dad took a trip to Florida to soak up the sun. First, we flew into Fort Lauderdale for a few days! There, we stayed at a nice hotel right on the beach where we got to spend most of our days at. The weather was perfect because it wasn't too hot but, it also wasn't freezing. I was even able to get a bit of a tan! For a few nights for dinner, we went to this huge boardwalk for dinner where there were a bunch of different dinner spots such as "Margaritaville" (my dad's favorite), shops, and desert places as well. Plus, it was a great place to walk as it was all right on the beach. It was such a nice and relaxing part of the trip!

Then, for the second half of the week we went to the Florida Keys. We stayed in a hotel in Isla Morada but, for a day went all the way down to Key West! It was so fun driving through all the keys and pretty much being right by the water the entire drive. In Isla Morada they had a bunch of cute little shops and cafes to discover. When I am traveling, I love to look at all the different small businesses because there are always things to find that you usually can't find anywhere else! While I was on this trip I also was enrolled in a J-term course. This was tricky at times trying to manage all the course work while also wanting to go out and do things but, once I got in the groove of it, it wasn't bad! My dad also had to work remotely while we were down there so, we both tried to just get everything done early and take a break to go out and do things then come back and finish anything we still needed to do afterwards. I think being in Florida while taking the course made me a little more motivated to get everything done because I was able to sit out on our patio every day and look at the ocean which was a much better sight than clouds and snow here at home. 

Overall, my break had a great combination of snow and cold for the holidays and a little bit of sun and warmth for a week! Now, I am refreshed and ready to head into this next semester!

Comments

  1. Danika DenmanJanuary 27, 2026 at 12:04 PM

    Hello McKenna! I too agree that the months following winter break feel so long and miserable. Up until break we were pretty blessed with not having weather too cold. However, we are seeing now that it's been quite the opposite since we've returned. I'm so glad you were at least able to escape the cold temporarily with your trip to Florida! It seemed so cool! Enjoy the semester!

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  2. Alexa LaneJanuary 27, 2026 at 8:30 PM

    Hi McKenna! I hope you had a great vacation in Florida. It sounds like you had a great itinerary lined up and a nice break from Ohio weather. Also, props to you for doing a J-term class; I have heard that they are a lot of work, but they are so rewarding once you get through them. I know the temperatures being so cold right now isn't super fun, but on the bright side, each day that passes is a day closer to warmer weather. Stay warm!

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  3. AidenJanuary 27, 2026 at 8:56 PM

    Hi McKenna! This is so fun, and I am kind of jealous you got to be in the warm climate versus what we got here, but happy that you got to! Also, that is totally awesome that you were able to do a J-term class with how much the workload is for a 2 week class. Hope you had so much fun and got to get all the warmth you needed to get before coming back to campus!

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  4. Karlie JanningsJanuary 28, 2026 at 9:47 PM

    Hey McKenna! This seems so fun and I am glad you got to go to Florida! Also congrats on doing the J-term! Those seem to be super stressful and I am glad you could get it done!! I hope you had a blast over break and you have a good rest of your week.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Aubrey HatteryJanuary 29, 2026 at 8:39 AM

    A trip to Florida sounds so nice right now with how cold it's been the past few days! I'm so glad that you got to get some sun and go to the beach before classes began and having to deal with more cold weather here in Ohio. That is so cool that you did a J-term class. I don't think I could do that and still be refreshed for the spring semester. It's also really cool that you like to go to local businesses when you travel, I'm sure you've found a lot of unique things.

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