I finished my last swimming event of the year! It was the big meet of our season – the US Masters Championship for artistic swimming – and it was in Maine! Wow, Maine 😍

It was my first Nationals meet in about 30 years and I had so much fun. As much as I freak out, I really love competing and I’ve missed it so much. My club had two teams and two duets competing. This is everyone:

Here’s my team:

We swam twice. For our tech swim, we’re required to wear black suits and white caps and we have to execute required elements.

For our free swim, we can kind of do whatever we want. Our routine includes a few lifts, one with a backflip. We also have custom made suits and lots of makeup:

After we finished our last swim, we took some fun photos in the warm up pool:

And we got third place!

I had such an awesome time and I really love competing. I mean, it really scares me and I get so nervous, but I love that feeling. It reminds me of when I did harp recitals/performances – it’s a very similar feeling.

After the meet, I stayed in Maine for a few days to relax, sleep, sleep some more, and do a bit of sightseeing. This was one of my best ideas ever. And I loved being a tourist by myself! I haven’t done a lot of solo travel so I didn’t know how I would like it. Turns out…I LOVE IT!

It helps that Maine is a magically beautiful place.

I hope I have the chance to visit Maine again.

Finally, I’ll leave you with this:

A belated happy Halloween! I borrowed the costume from one of my favorites, Steph, and isn’t it just the best?! Easiest costume ever.