Fun Day at Sailfish Marina and Peanut Island

Kennedy Bunker on Peanut Island

Enlarge Photo

I recently had a chance to share some favorite places with friends in from out of town. On a postcard sunny day we headed for a drive north on A1A beginning in Delray Beach and meandering all the way to the new clock tower at South Ocean and Worth Avenue (part of a $15.8 million-dollar spruce up). After drooling past all the lux shops on the tony Palm Beach street, we made our way to C’est Si Bon on Sunset Avenue, a gourmet shop that's near the iconic Breakers. There we chose cheeses and delicious salads for our next stop — lunch on Peanut Island. 

Wouldn’t you know it; we had just missed catching the water taxi from Sailfish Marina to Peanut Island. The next one that could ferry us over wasn’t till 2 p.m., so we decided there was plenty of dock space to throw down a towel and enjoy our picnic lunch. As for C’est Si Bon’s offerings, we munched on (among other things), carrot salad (can’t wait to return for more) and a fantastic Spanish manchego with fresh crusty bread. Dangling our feet above the water off the dock, we were transfixed by all of the tropical-hued fish zipping back and forth below. After, a visit to the resort shop off the dock was a must. I loved a cool embossed Sailfish Marina logo hat, so of course, I had to have it!

Our water taxi ride over to Peanut Island was quick, but still enough time for the captain to tell us a bit of history. The land mass dates back to 1918 and is composed of material dredged during the digging of Lake Worth Inlet. Once dubbed Inlet Island, it shifted to Peanut Island when there were plans to use it as a peanut oil shipping terminal. While the plan was discarded in 1946, the name remained. Alternatively, some say if you fly above the island and look down, it’s shaped like a peanut!

If you go, enjoy being completely surrounded by water (a 1.25 mile walkway encircles Peanut Island Park) and don’t miss the tour of the Kennedy Bunker. It’s a retro step back in time into the bomb shelter that was built in 1961during the Cuban Missile Crisis. It’s worth the price of admission ($10).

Insider’s Tip: If you visit Peanut Island during the week, it’s a lot more serene than on weekends.

Tags: C'est Si Bon Gourmet Shop | Palm Beach | Peanut Island | Sailfish Marina | Singer Island | Water Taxi