My love for the beach and the ocean is no secret. After months of being away from it, we finally were reunited… only this time it was a new (to me) ocean - the Atlantic. To say that I was happy being there would be an understatement.

In California, it would be rare to wear a summer dress and be able to frolic in the ocean at the end of December. The Pacific Ocean is notorious for being cold year-round, generally becoming bearable in late August through September.

I shared that we have been visiting Florida. While here, we made our way to New Smyrna Beach two days before Christmas. Between getting settled and some rain, we couldn’t visit the beach as soon as I would have wanted to. But the day after Christmas it finally happened.

We woke up to a 76°F day and followed our morning routine, which includes our morning walk. Since we are close to the Indian River, we always walk to it and spend some time there, watching the wildlife before we head back. On this day, we spent more time there than planned since we saw dolphins swimming back and forth.

Once they were out of sight, we realized we overstayed and rushed back.

With the nice weather and being a little late with our day, my husband came up with the idea to make our way to the beach. I jumped at the opportunity and after grabbing the camera and a few essentials in my backpack, we decided to walk to the beach.

When we arrived there, it was misty and cloudy but still beautiful. I couldn’t contain my happiness.

The very first thing we noticed was how “packed” the sand was compared to California beaches. In fact, people were parking on the actual sand on the beach (for a price, of course - $20 I believe, but don’t quote me on that).

Anyway, when at the beach, no shoes are needed. I took mine off and headed to the water. It was as warm as the water in San Diego would be in August, aka bearable. But apart from the creatures (see below the colorful jellyfish we came across) and the nonexistent seaweed, I didn’t notice a difference. Nonetheless, my reunion with the ocean was a happy one!

I hope your Christmas was peaceful and filled with love.

Until next time.

xoxo,

Em