Trip to beach near La Romana DR

WE WENT TO THE BEACH! It is about 2 hours from Santo Domingo. We had a beautiful drive with some rain and sunshine. Due to the storm we did not go swimming but did have a nice stroll along the beach. There was a lighthouse near by and a young boy came up to us and asked for money. We said if he would help us find shells we would pay him. He enthusiastically dove into the surf and started looking. I think he enjoyed swimming in the water more than looking for the shells. He did not find much but he was enthusiastic so we paid him. There was an excursion boat that left from the beach we were on that takes tourists out to an island about a mile from shore and caters lunch to them and then brings them back after about 3 hours on the island. All of that costs about 1500 pesos or about $45 per person. We may try that in the future. We also stopped at a cavern that was underground that had been developed into a beautiful display using lights and very nice lighted walkways. Our tour guide spoke English and is a student at the university. He advised us to hold on to the railing as we walked through the cavern due to the slippery walkway and stairs. We talked to him about the Book of Mormon and the story of holding to the rod that is about staying safe and on course. We gave him a pass along card and hopefully he may seek more information in the future. The trip to the beach was beautiful with palms along the highway. We stopped at Burger King on the way home for lunch. It is quite expensive here. A burger combo meal is about 270 pesos or about $8. We made it home through all of the traffic and immediately took a 2 1/2 hour nap. Playing is such hard work! It was a very nice day!