Some may say I'm spoiled...

Which may be true.

However you look at it, I found myself on this airplane last Friday...

Where was I going you ask? 

Off to the island of Oahu.

Partly to see a little of this:

But mostly to see this:

And to see the paradise that my brother has been living in for the past 2 years.

Because it truly is divine.

He must have managed to study and get some work done,

because he just graduated with a Bachelor's in Accounting.

Which is even more impressive now that I have seen the potential distractions.

Like this beach:

It's called Keiki Beach.

It is a beautiful, pristine beach on the North Shore of Oahu.

And it was virtually empty.

As we were driving along the North Shore on our first afternoon, I spotted this church.

And I sort of fell in love.

It must have caught fire at some point, but now there are trees growing inside the sanctuary.

On another day we went to this beach.  My brother calls is "Secret Beach".

Unbelievable.

Later we went to see the La'ie Hawaii Temple.

When we got to the top of the hill by the doors of the Temple, I was blown away by this view.

These beautiful grounds literally extend all the way to the shore.

As I was walking along these sacred grounds with my brother, he told me that there is a small hill just behind the Temple.  And this was where they would gather when there was a tsunami warning.

How appropriate that the high ground for my brother was at the Temple.

For truly it provides the sanctuary that we need from the hardships of mortality.