One of our favorite parts of Maui was the snorkeling out at Molokini Crater, which is literally a giant crater in the middle of the ocean. Yes, where sharks live.

Boat tour companies take you out there (it’s about an hour ride if that gives you an idea how far it is from shore) and you snorkel for a couple hours.  I was pretty sure I’d stay on the boat and not get in the water. Not only does it terrify me when I am in the ocean and can’t feel the sand under my feet (who knows what is swimming around my legs!) I also just never really understood the whole snorkeling thing. You mean you just swim around with goggles and basically look at coral and little fish swimming around? That’s cool, I guess?

Well fortunately our boat had a little glass bottom section so I scoped that out once we “parked.” The water was super clear and to my great delight, I didn’t see anything that resembled that giant gilled sea monster. I don’t know what came over me but I decided to check out the scene and went in! Turns out snorkeling is pretty rad. It totally depends on where you go though. I can see why the crater is such a hot spot. It’s essentially a marine sanctuary, with tons of fish to see. I know, that still sounds so lame, but I have photos to prove it wasn’t!

Sorry there aren’t any photos of me. I just don’t think the world is ready for the coolness that is me and my snorkel gear.

Side note: do you think fish compare themselves? Some of them are so beautiful and unique, and some are just weird and scary looking. I can’t believe I just said that, but I was seriously wondering.

One more side note: We went with the tour company Four Winds Maui, and I highly recommend them! They are a great family owned company that only has two boats, so they really focus on their guests. They provide lunch and have other options on the boat like the glass bottom, and little mini floating boats with plastic view finders for kids. They even rented out water cameras which was worth it since I didn’t have anything of my own to capture this all with. And the captain was from Chicago! Bonus. He had moved to Maui about 25 years ago and was just such a great guy. You could tell everyone on the boat really loved their job

I lived in Albuquerque, New Mexico from August of 2011 to December of 2013. I knew very little of the Land of Enchantment most of my life, and now I can’t believe I was fortunate enough to have experienced first hand one of the most remarkable places in the country. New Mexico truly is a well kept secret. However, during my time there, I never made it down to this amazing landmark, the White Sands National Monument. On a recent work trip back to New Mexico, I planned a little day trip with some friends. The 6 hour round trip in one day to get here? Totally worth it.