Snorkeling, Etc.

We went back to Peanut Island last week, on an afternoon we wanted to salvage from the frustrations of a morning filled with unsuccessful projects (such as a car rental that was reserved but not possible for several reasons, unmanageable laundry thanks to a rambunctious two-year-old who has decided she is ready for potty-training, and some boat maintanence problems)...

We had a great time! The weather was gorgeous, in the mid 80's and humid! Who cares if our "to do lists" didn't get done and that we were running out of clean clothes to wear!

Here is a photo of Brian tying our dinghy to the base of a palm tree on the south side of the island.


Here is a part of the Maritime Museum. Behind this is a JFK Bunker, built during the Cuban Missile Crisis, which would have housed the President and his family and VIPs if needed. In the 1960's, Palm Beach was home to a Kennedy compound for vacations.



Excited, adventerous little boys who were snorkeling and exploring the rocks on the beach all afternoon.


Brian snorkeling. He and I took turns with the snorkel mask and adjustable flippers. The water was so warm! One time, Brian identified 17 different types of fish. We saw a few jellyfish, from a distance.

I love this picture. Brian and Madelyn were together for about 1 hour in the water. Madelyn walked out hesitantly with him, with a nervous laugh I could hear from the shore. Gradually, she became more and more comfortable in the water. I have a video of Brian teaching her to float on her back and swim the "dog paddle". Here he is pointing out a fish to her under the water. Later he swam with her on his back, and by this time she was yelling out confidently to me "Mama! Look at ME! I'm REALLY SWIMMING!".

It was such a tender and meaningful time for me as I listened to them talking to each other, watching them enjoy this special time together, and then look down beside me to watch Katja collecting shells. My novel remained buried in my bag under the towels. That could wait. I wanted to savor this moment. Later, Brian told me that his dad taught him to float on his back in the ocean when he was little. It was a memorable day.

Docked on the island was the tall ship "Bounty." It was built in the 1950s or 60s for the Hollywood movie of the same name, and then used again for another film "Pirates of the Caribbean II", which was more familiar to me.

Our beaming Katja, yes, in her birthday suit (a cropped photo :), enjoying a carefree moment after we got back to the boat. (....if we weren't able to do laundry soon, I think all 4 of us would have possibly been in similar attire for the rest of the week!....)