This post is sponsored by XShadyside Personal Training Pittsburgh.
Hi Ladies and Gents!
I have a very special treat for you today. I’m giving away a $25 gift card to REI to one lucky Cuckoolemon reader. To enter all you have to do is suggest an active, warm weather honeymoon/vacation destination in the comments. You must comment on this blog post to be considered entered into the raffle.
Before I get more into the raffle and the honeymoon planning, I wanted share a rundown of last week’s workouts.
Every time I worked out last week:
Monday: Nothing
Tuesday: Pon de Flo (Please let me know if you’ve tried this, would love to hear what others thought!)

Wednesday: Pure Barre + physical therapy. I mentioned earlier I hurt my back surfing (technically falling while surfing, if we’re going to get real here). Raechel, my PT and guardian angel was able to quickly identify the issue (I jammed my SI joint) and show me two exercises to do and within two days I was feeling 100% back to normal. She is a hero. Go book an appointment with her but not the 7:30am ones because those are mine.
Thursday: 3-mile run in Central Park on an unseasonably warm day
Friday: Short 1.8-mile run in Central Park just to get out there
Saturday: I was in Vermont and skied at Stratton. It was so cold and very icy. I barely took any photos because I didn’t want to take my mittens off.

Sunday: I was on the fence about skiing a second day because I was only starting to feel my toes again by Sunday morning. But I went to the ski shop and purchased glove liners, toe warmers, and a Smart Wool Balaclava and it made a world of difference. (All of which could be purchased at REI if you win the gift card!)

Now, back to the fun stuff. To win the gift card, recommend a destination for an active, warm weather vacation (or honeymoon!) that would be a great spot in December.
What does “active” mean? It means there is a diversity of things to do out side. I’m looking places to swim, things to climb, or opportunities to run and bike.
Leave an idea (or something you’d like to do or have done!) in the comments and you’ll be entered to win $25 to REI.
You must comment by January 30, 2017 at 11:59pm Eastern Time to be considered in the running.
I can’t wait to read your ideas and personal experiences! I may just use one of your suggestions myself 🙂
xo
how about central america? the moon? somewhere in between??
Elephant Nature Park in Chaing Mai! Elephants are so romantic!!
Bali??
Cape Town! New Zealand!
New Zealand!! Queenstown has beautiful hikes/climbing. Also so many nstional parks
Author
FYI This is where we are going!
While I second the New Zealand adventures (you can do any of the great walks including Routebourne, The Milford Trek, the Keppler), another thought is Patagonia. The W-trek in TDP is a world-class hike with glaciers, epic peaks, and unmatched beauty. Add onto it El Chalten for some day hikes and finish the trip in Buenos Aires and you have a perfect vacation. Also, if you stop over in Calafate there is a Glaciarium with an Ice Bar (https://www.360cities.net/image/glaciarium-ice-bar)
Hawaii!! There are lots of hiking trails all over Kauai, and snorkeling, and surfing on all of the islands. We also did stand-up paddle boarding and kayaking which helped since the food was so delicious (and I can give you all of our recs!) The Maui resort areas have paths between the resorts and the beach where you could go for a run. And of course the beaches and pools were amazing for some R&R. The weather was perfect in December 🙂
Boracay or Sydney or Cape Town. Boracay is bananas. It is by far and away the greatest beach holiday but you can do so much and it isn’t touristy. It is far and a pain to get to. Sydney and Cape Town are places I would love to live. Think of a perfect LA day on crack: sun, great food, water and all water activities,hiking, and absolutely gorgeous.
Thailand is amazing in December (or so I’m told, I went in April!) There might be Zika though so may not be ideal. Hawaii instead? So many amazing activities and it’s beyond gorg!
(I was gonna say Kauai, but Dara and Tracey beat me!)
Entonces…I’ll go with Todos Santos, Baja, Mexico. Surfing, hiking, yoga and strolling on miles of amazing empty beaches. Plus, there is great (healthy!) dining!
Australia and New Zealand!!
Sri Lanka is supposed to be incredibly beautiful!
Fiji
I went backpacking in Joshua Tree last winter, which was actually an REI organized trip. Nights in a tent were cold but daytime temperatures were perfect.
Costa Rica!! It is so beautiful and has a lush natural landscape. Their warm season is during December and they have so many adventurous activities such as hiking and ziplining that REI would have so mush useful gear!
U.S. Virgin Islands! Haven’t been since a kid but gorgeous, tons of water-based activities (snorkeling, kayaking, etc), wildlife, hiking trails, coral reefs.
Maui! December is a great month there is much to do, you can do all sorts of physical activities, also see the whales at that time of year!