Snorkeling at the Great Barrier Reef is like swimming in the giant tropical exhibits at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Only better, because it’s real! I was laughing underwater as brightly colored schools of fish expertly wove around me.

Ryan remarked that fish are lucky to move freely in three dimensions, and now we could too. I love that observation! That is exactly what this trip is about – living in 3D.

The most amazing creatures are the giant clams with iridescent, plush velvet lips. When you swim too close, they purse their lips to ward off a kiss. There are angel fish, parrot fish, clown fish, barracudas, giant grouper, sea turtles and so many, many more.

The underwater pictures of the fish are from the Cruise Whitsundays tour company, because somebody forgot to grab the GoPro in our dash to make the boat on time. Their photos are a lot better than what I could have captured anyway, and it was really nice to fully experience the reef without feeling compelled to document it.  Fully living it, not just recording it.

The day before Jens and the boys swam under a waterfall. The water was cold and they were a little intimidated swimming up current to duck under the torrent of water, but they did it, and it was awesome. 

Now that’s living the dream while being fully awake.