Red Reef Park

We went to Red Reef park to celebrate Fathers Day, a few days after the actual day since it rained. Red Reef is set up for snorkeling and scuba, as it has coral reefs.

We brought our snorkels & masks and took turns snorkeling so someone would always swim with Skyler. Wearing the mask I am able to swim underwater (contacts) and got quite a lot of swimming, plus an extra work out becuase the water was very choppy. we saw a lot of colorful fish, all about 90% the same ones, and some yellow tails, plus I saw one colorful blue parrot fish. At one point we were swimming around in the shallower area, and I grabbed some sand, like I do to see whats in it, and I had grabbed a pure white crab! Shayna and Skyler were looking at it, and I asked Manny to hold it so I could run and get the camera. when I got back he had dropped it, as 2 men were playing paddle ball nearby and wouldn't you know it they hit the ball RIGHT into the hand Manny was holding the crab with. we spent most of the time in the water, and here are shayna and skyler at the very end playing in the sand at low tide. see the exposed coral tops to the right.
at red reef park, just after you get off the beach area, there is a beautiful shady area with grills. we had brought along chicken to grill and to have a picnic dinner. we also brought salad, fresh fruit, and drinks. they have an outdoor shower so you wash off all the salt and ocean water and sand, I even brought body wash to clean the kids hair. In fact, now I have a special waterproof bag (from boating days) with shampoo, so we all shampoo our hair in the outdoor shower from the beach, going home nice and fresh (this makes a world of difference). Here is Manny at the picnic table and the lit grill. we have never used real coals before, so that was neat.

Just behind the spot we had, was the play area, so while waiting for the food to cook the kids can play:

there are also 2 other full fledged play grounds in the park...good for the cooler months after walking and treasure hunting on the beach. on the way out we saw a raccoon.