The Story Of Peanut Island

There is a wonderful place called Peanut Island. It's a place of treasured memories. Mornings of exploration,mornings of shell treasure hunting, mornings of magical sandcastles.Our boys digging,laughing,exploring. Our dogs roaming, running, splashing in the crystal blue water. It's our refuge, it's our place. When we need to unwind from the real world, we come here . The island is open like a welcome home mat waiting for us. We are seduced by the beauty and by how simple life can be and how precious. We began going to Peanut Island in the 90's at that point only local fishermen knew about it. Later we found out the island's historic significance . The island features a blast shelter that was built secretly for President John F.Kennedy shortly after his 1960's election. It was during the cold war and President Kennedy often spent winters in nearby Palm Beach. Peanut Island is a 79 acre island. Originally named Inlet Island, it was renamed Peanut Island for a planned shipping operation which failed in 1946. In 2005 Palm Beach made a major renovation that resulted in campsites, a pier, and a man made reef. The water is "Bahama Blue" as my husband calls it. That's where I find the boy in the man that I married. He shows our boys wonders while they snorkel. They follow hermit crabs and sea urchins,they follow dreams.Daniel searches and finds gifts to give to me,shells, and leaves. I have a leaf he gave me when he was three, he said,"mama,it's shaped like a heart."He wanted to cut it so he and I could share one heart. I will always remember that. This is why this is my happy place where I can just be still with the moment. Our eyes feast at the glory and our souls whisper with gratitude.