The ferry ride hardly seems necessary. The crossing to Palm Island is barely a hundred feet. I could probably just wade across. Why not just build a little bridge? It would make access much easier and faster.

A bridge? Forget about it. That's just the kind of thing that will turn a quiet island into Disney. If that's your way of thinking, you probably won't like Palm Island, or Don Pedro or Little Gasparilla, or any of the other flat sandy little islands that make up this Gulf Coast island paradise. No, you'll need a bit of Robinson Crusoe in you to get the most out of Palm Island.

The ferry ride prepares you for life on the islands. It slows you down; it makes you wait. Proceed slowly.

Once on the island you quickly realize that it isn't made for cars. It's arranged for walking, biking and golf carts. A narrow sand/shell road leads north from the ferry landing to the Palm Island Resort where your car is sequestered in a remote parking lot. For the rest of your stay, an electric powered golf cart will be your fastest mode of transport. But your two feet will be all you'll need most of the time.

Palm Island lies just off of Cape Haze, with Boca Grande to the south and Englewood to the north across Stump Pass. On the island, you'll stay in a house with a stunning view of a wide dune field, a white sandy beach and the Gulf of Mexico. You'll spend your time relaxing on the beach, finding shells, watching birds, swimming. You'll be looking out for the resident gopher tortoises, listening to ospreys call, watching for dolphins breaking the surface of the green-blue gulf.

There is but one restaurant on the island (and it's a very good one). The same handful of people you saw on the beach today will probably be dining at the table next to you in the restaurant tonight.

After dinner, hop in your golf cart and take a 10 minute ride up to the north tip of the island to Stump Pass. It will be very quiet. And dark. Go for a walk on the beach. When was the last time you saw so many stars? Look up and count the meteors streaking across the sky.

Now that you're really relaxed, go back to your beach house and sleep a blissful sleep knowing that there is nothing pressing on your schedule tomorrow.

Wake up and do it all over again. That's Palm Island.

You can go there now: http://www.palmisland.com