Crystal Beach Breakout - Vacation Day 4

TUESDAY

The kids woke up a little late this time around, probably because they didn't sleep until 10.  The beach safety flags are still red, still beach hazard warnings about the riptide as well.  But, the winds were only 15mph compared to 25mph, so we decided to give our beach canopy day a go after lunch.

We got all setup with the canopy and anchored it down well.  Thank goodness I bought the anchors even though no one wanted them, haha, we definitely needed them.  We picked an area of the beach where we didn't see any more Man O Wars and, well, hoped for the best.  The waves were still pretty intense, but the kids were desperate to "go surfing."  So Richard took them around for a while and I flew the kite Deanna got us.  We called everyone in every hour to reapply sunscreen and started up our tide pool.

I had bought a small inflatable pool to use this time around, thinking we could put fish and hermit crabs etc in there to observe.  But then I had nothing to observe because the waves were too crazy for Penny to get any hermit crabs.  I finally recruited Richard to help me out while I used the collapsible net we had bought to catch tiny fish at an alarming rate.  I even caught a tiny little puffer fish!  The waves were SO intense.  We had a few hermit crabs and two dozen fish in no time, but it was sunscreen o clock.  I asked the kids to go back to the canopy and play with the tide pool while Richard and I got some hermit crabs, and they agreed.  We stayed out there for about 15 minutes and got 6 or 7 hermit crabs. The waves were so strong that they pulled me pretty far away on one dive, and I had a hell of a time trying to get back to shore.  THAT scared me, thinking of how I had seen Penny floating all over the place and kept having to pull her back.  Got my attention for sure.

We saw tons of birds dive bombing for fish the entire time we were out there.  At one point, they got right in front of us, and Richard went CHARGING into the waves with the net.  He came back out with a. ball of seaweed that had tons of fish in it, including TWO puffed up little puffer fish. One was about the size of a marble while puffed, but the other was just a little poof ball.  It was the highlight of my day, seeing them.  He had also caught a crab in there!  It was about 3 inches wide, maybe?  I wondered if it was big enough to pinch me when I tried to get it out of the tide pool and into isolation so it didn't attack everything.  Spoiler alert, yes pinching pinchies is possible.

We spent about 4 or 5 hours at the beach, and it was really wonderful.  After the riptide experience, I suggested maybe putting Oliver in the carrier for future water experiences so we could keep both kids close.  Richard put him on his back and was walking backwards in to the water while talking to Penny and I when I spotted two Man O Wars right behind him. I yelled for them to come back inside.  Did you know their tentacles can be 30 to 100ft long? Yeah.  Everyone got out of the water, and eventually one of the Man O War washed ashore.  We watched it wiggle around and it was very bizarre.  Thus ended that beach experience, and I can't say I am feeling very good about going back in the water... but maybe most of them are washing ashore in the big waves in the evenings only? I don't freaking know. I just know I can't bring them to the beach and refuse to let them get in the water.  But I kind of want to!

I say that, but we always end up back in there anyway.

Everyone is in bed, I am going to go to sleep too.  

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