This bucket list item goes hand-in-hand with my last post on visiting a new country. Also, this isn’t my first time swimming in an ocean, just something I wanted to do one more time before the year ended!

As I blogged all about last week, my husband and I took a little getaway to Mexico at the beginning of November. We stayed at Secrets Akumal Riviera Maya which a beachfront resort. We both brought our own face masks but rented the snorkel and life vest from the dive shop to do some snorkeling right off the hotel property.

The water was so clear over the white sand, that you didn’t even need a snorkel mask to see several schools of fish just a few meters from the shoreline. We swam out as far as we were allowed, where a line of bouys marked the end of the “safe zone.” We saw several schools of fish, including some very colorful Sergeant Major fish, a giant stingray, and a puffer fish. I was amazed at how close to shore they were! Growing up in California, the ocean water was so murky that we couldn’t see our toes just standing in the small waves. Since I could never see below the surface of the water, I never imagined there were actually fish and ocean life right along the beach!

The ocean was a comfortable temperature and I liked just floating out there for a while after snorkeling. The turquoise coastline is a view that just doesn’t get old!

Both mornings after snorkeling, we refreshed ourselves again with a Citrus Punch while reading on the lounges at the beach until lunchtime.

I have tons of video footage from this trip that I want to put into a vlog on my YouTube channel. I’ll include a link here when it’s done!

We returned home from the gorgeous tropical vacation to full-blown winter in Idaho. As I type this, it is 25 degrees F and frost is covering the trees out our windows. Since Brynnley also started crawling this past week, we will be spending this weekend baby-proofing the house before we set up our Christmas tree and decorate. I’m excited to get out all of the holiday decor! I just ordered a dozen Christmas books for Brynnley’s nursery book shelf to swap out for the season and I can’t wait to have some new books to read together over the next several weeks.