If someone is going to kill me, they are going to kill me. (John F. Kennedy , 1962)

We live in one of the country's largest tourism areas, and yet my kids and I seldom take advantage of all the wonderful places around us. Peanut Island is a great example of that.

Peanut Island is actually a man-made island, the result of dredging the shipping channel when they created Lake Worth Inlet back in the early 1900's. It's been developed into a county park, and is a wonderful place to spend the day. There are paved walkways all around the island, places to picnic and swim, and even a small camping area. Of course, the only way out to the island is by boat. On the weekends, the island is surrounded by boaters who weigh anchor and swim to shore. You can also catch a ride on the ferry boat for a small fee, if you don't have a boat of your own.

If you're a history buff, try to get in on one of the tours of the Kennedy Bunker. Back in the 1960's, during the cold war, the government built an emergency bomb shelter to protect President Kennedy in case of a Cuban missile launch. (Kennedy had a vacation home in nearby Palm Beach.) I took the tour a year ago, and would love to go again.