Barometer Soup For The Parrot Head Soul
Moderator: SMLCHNG
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SchoolGirlHeart
- Last Man Standing
- Posts: 76424
- Joined: January 11, 2002 7:00 pm
- Number of Concerts: 0
- Location: Wherever the Music is Playing
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Tequila Revenge
- Lester Polyester
- Posts: 7634
- Joined: February 16, 2005 7:07 pm
- Favorite Boat Drink: cubra libre
- Location: Living in a van down by the river
From MrTwain
I know that there are lots of these 'first jb concert" posts, but God help me, I had to write mine, too. You don't have to read it. It was way more important for me to just write it.
It was fun to meet everyone. If I didn't get a chance to say hello to you, I'm sure sorry. We met lots of people from lots of places.
The tailgate party was great. My son and I had a lot of fun meeting all the people. We walked through the parking lot, making sure that everyone had a lei. We witnessed lots of things that day. There's something really neat about seeing otherwise normal people become fruitcakes for a day.
We hung out with some new friends, Joann, Bill, Sam, Angela and Terri, all from Lubbock. It was like we had known one another for years.
Waiting for the show to start, I was simply awestruck with all the colors, people and activity. It was a people watcher's paradise. It was cool because everyone was so nice and we all knew what we were there for. I'll never forget that hour and a half of anticipation. The waiting crowd had a certain reverence that I've not seen anywhere outside of church before.
There on the pavillion lawn, and about an hour before the show started, I received a phone call from my mother in Houston telling me that my father had been diagnosed with malignant basil cell melanoma and that he was going to the MD Anderson Cancer Center on Monday. Although I had expected that report, it still shook me somewhat. You know... Bob Marley died from basil cell melanoma. And, like my father, Bob carted his cancer around for a while without getting it checked, in the hopes that by ignoring it, it would go away. My mother knew I was at the show and I had been waiting to hear from her all day about it. I thanked my mom for the call, told her I loved her and hung up.
After the call, I looked down at my son sleeping on the fresh, wet lawn. I hoped that someday when he was 38 he would look back and remember the time his dad took him to his first Jimmy Buffett concert. I looked at all the nice people, all the wonderful colors and sniffed the air. The mixture of cultures and smells were really cool. My emotions were hovering somewhere between sadness and happiness, balancing between the news of my father and my experience with my own son that day. I remembered growing up playing the guitar with my dad and harmonizing while singing Margaritaville at family events. Lost in my daydream, I realized I was smiling.
Then....... the show started, my son woke up and we got to our feet. It was pure electricity when Jimmy appeared onstage with just his guitar. I imagined that must have been what he was like as a young man playing solo sets in the little Gulf Coast nightlclub. I was so happy to see him. My first spiritual experience came when he played "It's 5 O'Clock Somewhere", witnessing everyone sing in unison at such a big event. Chills.
Later, as he ran through his set, I was surprised at how many of the songs I knew the words to. It occurred to me, that there I was, looking Jimmy Buffett square in the face, and singing along with him and his Coral Reefers. It was like my own personal show at times.
Later, I actually felt a little choked up as I helped Jimmy sing One Particular Harbor. It somehow occurred to me that I felt that I knew the man, and I was grateful for that.
Driving to our hotel after the show, I broke the news to my son about his grandfather's cancer, and we talked about it for a while. He wanted to know more about his grandpa and I was able to tell him a couple of fun stories. Our talk continued through the hotel check-in and even after the lights were out and we were falling asleep.
Then, though the darkness of the hotel room, my boy asked me quitely... "Dad, is pawpaw a Jimmy Buffett fan?", and I answered yes. My thoughts focused on the fact that Jimmy had touched 3 generations of our family. Saying my own, personal quiet prayer, I thanked God for my father, my son, and Jimmy Buffett.
I know that there are lots of these 'first jb concert" posts, but God help me, I had to write mine, too. You don't have to read it. It was way more important for me to just write it.
It was fun to meet everyone. If I didn't get a chance to say hello to you, I'm sure sorry. We met lots of people from lots of places.
The tailgate party was great. My son and I had a lot of fun meeting all the people. We walked through the parking lot, making sure that everyone had a lei. We witnessed lots of things that day. There's something really neat about seeing otherwise normal people become fruitcakes for a day.
We hung out with some new friends, Joann, Bill, Sam, Angela and Terri, all from Lubbock. It was like we had known one another for years.
Waiting for the show to start, I was simply awestruck with all the colors, people and activity. It was a people watcher's paradise. It was cool because everyone was so nice and we all knew what we were there for. I'll never forget that hour and a half of anticipation. The waiting crowd had a certain reverence that I've not seen anywhere outside of church before.
There on the pavillion lawn, and about an hour before the show started, I received a phone call from my mother in Houston telling me that my father had been diagnosed with malignant basil cell melanoma and that he was going to the MD Anderson Cancer Center on Monday. Although I had expected that report, it still shook me somewhat. You know... Bob Marley died from basil cell melanoma. And, like my father, Bob carted his cancer around for a while without getting it checked, in the hopes that by ignoring it, it would go away. My mother knew I was at the show and I had been waiting to hear from her all day about it. I thanked my mom for the call, told her I loved her and hung up.
After the call, I looked down at my son sleeping on the fresh, wet lawn. I hoped that someday when he was 38 he would look back and remember the time his dad took him to his first Jimmy Buffett concert. I looked at all the nice people, all the wonderful colors and sniffed the air. The mixture of cultures and smells were really cool. My emotions were hovering somewhere between sadness and happiness, balancing between the news of my father and my experience with my own son that day. I remembered growing up playing the guitar with my dad and harmonizing while singing Margaritaville at family events. Lost in my daydream, I realized I was smiling.
Then....... the show started, my son woke up and we got to our feet. It was pure electricity when Jimmy appeared onstage with just his guitar. I imagined that must have been what he was like as a young man playing solo sets in the little Gulf Coast nightlclub. I was so happy to see him. My first spiritual experience came when he played "It's 5 O'Clock Somewhere", witnessing everyone sing in unison at such a big event. Chills.
Later, as he ran through his set, I was surprised at how many of the songs I knew the words to. It occurred to me, that there I was, looking Jimmy Buffett square in the face, and singing along with him and his Coral Reefers. It was like my own personal show at times.
Later, I actually felt a little choked up as I helped Jimmy sing One Particular Harbor. It somehow occurred to me that I felt that I knew the man, and I was grateful for that.
Driving to our hotel after the show, I broke the news to my son about his grandfather's cancer, and we talked about it for a while. He wanted to know more about his grandpa and I was able to tell him a couple of fun stories. Our talk continued through the hotel check-in and even after the lights were out and we were falling asleep.
Then, though the darkness of the hotel room, my boy asked me quitely... "Dad, is pawpaw a Jimmy Buffett fan?", and I answered yes. My thoughts focused on the fact that Jimmy had touched 3 generations of our family. Saying my own, personal quiet prayer, I thanked God for my father, my son, and Jimmy Buffett.
got to stop wishin' got to start fishin'....
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Tequila Revenge
- Lester Polyester
- Posts: 7634
- Joined: February 16, 2005 7:07 pm
- Favorite Boat Drink: cubra libre
- Location: Living in a van down by the river
More Mr. Twain
Where Is Your Own Personal Margaritaville?
Nice to meet y'all.
Jimmy talks a lot about his early days in the Catholic church and how he grew up fearing for his eternal soul.
Similarly, I was also a member of a large, organized, world-wide church. Everything I had (my time, my talents, my energy and mostly, my money) went to fund the ideas and dreams of others, who supposedly knew better than I, what I should be doing with my life. It seemed that everything was scripted for me.
Then, one day last year I decided to live by the choices and virtues that I felt were right and good rather than by those imposed upon me by old white men who were convinced they had an "in" with God.
Everyone needs their own personal Margaritaville. So where is my Margaritaville? I think I've found it. My own personal Margaritaville is a small, square office without windows where I spend roughly 50 hours per week to pay for the things I need on my own trip around the sun. The weather is always fine... a brisk 72 degrees and an endless supply of diet coke from the soda machine next door. I have a fan, a comfortable chair, and a never-ending resource of music, courtesy of Radio Margaritaville. I also get to see what other parrothears are up to by checking in at BuffettNews.com.
I'm thankful that at this season of my life I've discovered how to live easier, while loving more and worrying less. Over the last few months, I feel like I've FINALLY started to learn how to live. And, I've learned that living isn't about what you're doing... it's about how you're doing. And right now, I'm doing just fine.
So... where is your own personal Margaritaville?
Where Is Your Own Personal Margaritaville?
Nice to meet y'all.
Jimmy talks a lot about his early days in the Catholic church and how he grew up fearing for his eternal soul.
Similarly, I was also a member of a large, organized, world-wide church. Everything I had (my time, my talents, my energy and mostly, my money) went to fund the ideas and dreams of others, who supposedly knew better than I, what I should be doing with my life. It seemed that everything was scripted for me.
Then, one day last year I decided to live by the choices and virtues that I felt were right and good rather than by those imposed upon me by old white men who were convinced they had an "in" with God.
Everyone needs their own personal Margaritaville. So where is my Margaritaville? I think I've found it. My own personal Margaritaville is a small, square office without windows where I spend roughly 50 hours per week to pay for the things I need on my own trip around the sun. The weather is always fine... a brisk 72 degrees and an endless supply of diet coke from the soda machine next door. I have a fan, a comfortable chair, and a never-ending resource of music, courtesy of Radio Margaritaville. I also get to see what other parrothears are up to by checking in at BuffettNews.com.
I'm thankful that at this season of my life I've discovered how to live easier, while loving more and worrying less. Over the last few months, I feel like I've FINALLY started to learn how to live. And, I've learned that living isn't about what you're doing... it's about how you're doing. And right now, I'm doing just fine.
So... where is your own personal Margaritaville?
got to stop wishin' got to start fishin'....
I tried.. I keep doing too much of this: 
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parrotsgirl
- <font color=purple>I Love the Now</font>
- Posts: 25349
- Joined: May 4, 2001 8:00 pm
- Favorite Buffett Song: One Particular Harbour
- Number of Concerts: 15
- Favorite Boat Drink: tequila
- Location: In NH..but really wherever my "cowgirl" heart takes me
- Contact:
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mommar
- On a Salty Piece of Land
- Posts: 12532
- Joined: November 3, 2004 7:10 pm
- Number of Concerts: 0
- Location: Quickly spiralling downward.
This one is not a tear jerker, just a feeling of phamily and phriendship that I've not since forgotten.
Late one nite I was sitting as I am now alone, later than it is now, and dark outside. The kids were either out or asleep and hubby was asleep as he had to get up at around 2a.m. I had been chatting w/a BN'er who had just told me good nite, when all of a sudden my front yard was as bright as day-light. It's usually very dark and quiet here. My yard is surrounded by trees and there are woods across the street from me. So when the area was lit like daylight by police floodlights all I could do was to type WAIT. My BN friend came back on and asked what was up. I explained it all to him. I was scared to death now and no where near as sleepy as I had been just 3 seconds prior. I didn't know what to do, my heart was beating like a drum, and I had no idea of what was going on, if a madman w/a gun was going to break thru my back door or if gunshots were going to erupt in my front yard. My BN friend stayed on line with me for probably about an hour until the cops had searched the yards and street and woods and finally had taken someone away. I think by the time this whole ordeal was over there were 3 cruisers in my sight. I know there was nothing he could do, nothing that anyone could have done, I was alone and scared, the cops didnt know that, and neither did my family, but my BN friend had done something, he had stayed up late with me, when I was scared, and he was tired, he calmed me down and stayed awake and talked to me til my heart rate was normal and all danger had passed and I could fall asleep without the worry of something horrible happening at my home that nite. He showed me then and there what BN Phamily is. I don't remember now, I hope I did then, but if I didn't.........Thanks Breeze, that's one night I won't forget. XO M
Late one nite I was sitting as I am now alone, later than it is now, and dark outside. The kids were either out or asleep and hubby was asleep as he had to get up at around 2a.m. I had been chatting w/a BN'er who had just told me good nite, when all of a sudden my front yard was as bright as day-light. It's usually very dark and quiet here. My yard is surrounded by trees and there are woods across the street from me. So when the area was lit like daylight by police floodlights all I could do was to type WAIT. My BN friend came back on and asked what was up. I explained it all to him. I was scared to death now and no where near as sleepy as I had been just 3 seconds prior. I didn't know what to do, my heart was beating like a drum, and I had no idea of what was going on, if a madman w/a gun was going to break thru my back door or if gunshots were going to erupt in my front yard. My BN friend stayed on line with me for probably about an hour until the cops had searched the yards and street and woods and finally had taken someone away. I think by the time this whole ordeal was over there were 3 cruisers in my sight. I know there was nothing he could do, nothing that anyone could have done, I was alone and scared, the cops didnt know that, and neither did my family, but my BN friend had done something, he had stayed up late with me, when I was scared, and he was tired, he calmed me down and stayed awake and talked to me til my heart rate was normal and all danger had passed and I could fall asleep without the worry of something horrible happening at my home that nite. He showed me then and there what BN Phamily is. I don't remember now, I hope I did then, but if I didn't.........Thanks Breeze, that's one night I won't forget. XO M
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Gulfbreeze
- On a Salty Piece of Land
- Posts: 12387
- Joined: January 16, 2005 11:38 am
- Number of Concerts: 8
- Location: Gulf Coast of Florida
- Contact:
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East Texas Parrothead
- Last Man Standing
- Posts: 35356
- Joined: April 4, 2002 7:00 pm
- Favorite Buffett Song: Tonight I Just Need My Guitar *and* Southern Cross
- Number of Concerts: 40
- Favorite Boat Drink: Mojito
- Location: In the newsroom
- Contact:
Great stories! I just love this thread.
Thanks, Penny ... for pulling up the Wayland story ..
Here's something good.
I'm on the paper's co-ed softball team. Another big girl was *supposed* to be on the team with me, but she bailed. I'm the oldest one out there. By far! We had our first game tonight ... I hit a single and brought home two runs ... which started a rally ... and we won!
Score TWO for the old, big girl!
Thanks, Penny ... for pulling up the Wayland story ..
Here's something good.
I'm on the paper's co-ed softball team. Another big girl was *supposed* to be on the team with me, but she bailed. I'm the oldest one out there. By far! We had our first game tonight ... I hit a single and brought home two runs ... which started a rally ... and we won!
Score TWO for the old, big girl!
Gentilly ... 42 years is a long time to wait .... a Northeast Texas woman can hope.
My love is an anchor tied to you, tied with a silver chain.
My love is an anchor tied to you, tied with a silver chain.
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alphabits
- God's Own Drunk
- Posts: 24327
- Joined: April 27, 2006 11:03 am
- Number of Concerts: 8
- Location: Bitsylvania
Way to go slugger!!East Texas Parrothead wrote:Great stories! I just love this thread.
Thanks, Penny ... for pulling up the Wayland story ..
Here's something good.
I'm on the paper's co-ed softball team. Another big girl was *supposed* to be on the team with me, but she bailed. I'm the oldest one out there. By far! We had our first game tonight ... I hit a single and brought home two runs ... which started a rally ... and we won!
Score TWO for the old, big girl!
TR - thanks for starting this thread. What a great idea.
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Tiki Bar
- Thank God the Tiki Torch Still Shines
- Posts: 23802
- Joined: August 30, 2002 12:13 pm
- Favorite Buffett Song: One Particular Harbour / Tin Cup Chalice medley!
- Number of Concerts: 30
- Favorite Boat Drink: Friends don't let friends drink tequila! Beer me!
- Location: location location
The Crazy Hug Lady
A couple weeks ago, I had visited my mom at her nursing home, and as I rounded the corner into the hall toward the exit, a little old lady with a cane stepped in my path, stretched her arms open wide, and exclaimed with a friendly smile... "HUG!" I smiled back, said "ok", and gave her a hug. She said "don't mind me, I'm just the 'Crazy Hug Lady'!" I laughed and told her it was a pleasure to meet her! I'm sure my expression was probably worry or concern before that, but that simple little hug sent me away smiling.
Yesterday afternoon, my daughters and I were visiting mom again. While a nurse and I were in the room tending to her, my girls stood outside her door in the hall. The Crazy Hug Lady happened upon them, and when I heard the talking and walked out there, they were smiling from her hugs and kind words. She gave me a hug, and then told the girls of the power of hugs, and of the many people in the home whose spirits she has lifted. "The good thing about hugs is, it feels good when you get them, and it feels good when you give them!"
She gave us all another hug, then before she got very far, stopped to hug a woman passing by in a wheelchair... put a big ol' smile on her face too!
A couple weeks ago, I had visited my mom at her nursing home, and as I rounded the corner into the hall toward the exit, a little old lady with a cane stepped in my path, stretched her arms open wide, and exclaimed with a friendly smile... "HUG!" I smiled back, said "ok", and gave her a hug. She said "don't mind me, I'm just the 'Crazy Hug Lady'!" I laughed and told her it was a pleasure to meet her! I'm sure my expression was probably worry or concern before that, but that simple little hug sent me away smiling.
Yesterday afternoon, my daughters and I were visiting mom again. While a nurse and I were in the room tending to her, my girls stood outside her door in the hall. The Crazy Hug Lady happened upon them, and when I heard the talking and walked out there, they were smiling from her hugs and kind words. She gave me a hug, and then told the girls of the power of hugs, and of the many people in the home whose spirits she has lifted. "The good thing about hugs is, it feels good when you get them, and it feels good when you give them!"
She gave us all another hug, then before she got very far, stopped to hug a woman passing by in a wheelchair... put a big ol' smile on her face too!
You’re still grinning, we’re still winning, nothing left to say
I’m still gliding as I go flying down this endless wave
I’m still gliding as I go flying down this endless wave
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citcat
- On a Salty Piece of Land
- Posts: 10210
- Joined: December 6, 2001 7:00 pm
- Favorite Buffett Song: Pirate Looks at 40
- Number of Concerts: 10
- Favorite Boat Drink: margarita
- Location: Northwest Tennessee
hmmm...good idea ! When I go to the home, I'm gonna be the "Hug Lady" !!!Tiki Bar wrote:The Crazy Hug Lady
A couple weeks ago, I had visited my mom at her nursing home, and as I rounded the corner into the hall toward the exit, a little old lady with a cane stepped in my path, stretched her arms open wide, and exclaimed with a friendly smile... "HUG!" I smiled back, said "ok", and gave her a hug. She said "don't mind me, I'm just the 'Crazy Hug Lady'!" I laughed and told her it was a pleasure to meet her! I'm sure my expression was probably worry or concern before that, but that simple little hug sent me away smiling.
Yesterday afternoon, my daughters and I were visiting mom again. While a nurse and I were in the room tending to her, my girls stood outside her door in the hall. The Crazy Hug Lady happened upon them, and when I heard the talking and walked out there, they were smiling from her hugs and kind words. She gave me a hug, and then told the girls of the power of hugs, and of the many people in the home whose spirits she has lifted. "The good thing about hugs is, it feels good when you get them, and it feels good when you give them!"
She gave us all another hug, then before she got very far, stopped to hug a woman passing by in a wheelchair... put a big ol' smile on her face too!
![[smilie=upyeah.gif]](./images/smilies/upyeah.gif "upyeah"){kind=small}
Do not resent growing old. Many are denied the privilege.
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Tequila Revenge
- Lester Polyester
- Posts: 7634
- Joined: February 16, 2005 7:07 pm
- Favorite Boat Drink: cubra libre
- Location: Living in a van down by the river
THE DAY YOU TRULY BECAME A PARROTHEAD ?
From LivingOutMy2ndChance
October 14, 1992 ... the same night the Braves won NLCS game 7 to go to the World Series. I had been listening to Jimmy Buffett for 15 years already, got every album / cassette / CD when it came out, had been to a few concerts, got my Coconut Telegraph (very sporadically back then), sent Jimmy "Merry Birthday" presents, etc., but I think I was just a huge fan.
Since the baseball game had pre-empted "Later with Bob Costas," they re-ran a show from a few weeks prior with Bubba. Joe Merchant was about to take the #1 slot on the NYT Bestseller List. He talked a lot in that interview about literary influences, musical inspirations, his family, and reconciling with Jane. (A fave quote, "it's a dream come true)." I had sense enough to find a VHS tape and cram in the VCR and hit record. I've watched it several times over the years. Two things he said have really influenced me. I had a puritanical upbringing to say the least. Fun was never anything to be sought out. JB said that humor is an essential part of our existence. He also said that people are very tribal in nature ... we need to be together, have fun, have a sense of community, and went on about fan gatherings and the parrothead phenomenon. Anyway, that's when I really "got" him. My life has changed completely since that time. I am just goofy happy most days!!! I still work hard at everything I do, but I get it that FUN is important. I often think about how much more fun ALL of our lives are here at our home because of JB ... because if Mama's not happy ... well, you know the rest!
From carolinagirl
JUST WONDERING? WHEN DID YOU KNOW YOU TRULY BECAME A PARROTHEAD? I'LL START. FOR MANY YEARS NOW I'VE LOVED BUFFETT AND HIS MUSIC. BUT I WAS TOTALLY SOLD ON FEB. 20TH 1999. MY HUSBAND AND I WAS AT THE WILDHORSE SALOON IN NASHVILLE WITH ANOTHER COUPLE WHO WERE DESPERATLY TRYING TO GET INTO COUNTRY MUSIC. THEY HAD ALWAYS BEEN HARD ROCK FANS. BUFFETT HAD PLAYED THE THEN NASHVILLE ARENA THAT NIGHT AND THE CONCERT HAD LET OUT. A SLEW OF PARROTHEADS HAD COME INTO THE WILDHORSE TO FINISH THEIR NIGHT OF PARTY AND FUN. MY HUSBAND WHO IS THE WORLDS BIGGEST WAYLON AND MERLE FAN EVER SAW THEM AND OF COURSE THOUGHT IT WAS THE CRAZIEST THING HE'D EVER SAW. I HOWEVER SAW ALL THE FUN THESE PHOLKS WERE HAVING AND AT THAT MOMENT WAS TOTALLY SOLD. I HAD BEEN SOLD PRIOR TO THAT BUT THAT NIGHT WAS THE ICING ON THE CAKE. THANK YOU TO ALL THE PARROTHEADS FROM THAT NASHVILLE CONCERT THAT COLD FEB. NIGHT FOR SHOWING ME THERE WAS A BETTER , MORE FUN WAY OF LIFE. I'VE NEVER BEEN THE SAME SINCE!!! THANK GOD!!!
From LivingOutMy2ndChance
October 14, 1992 ... the same night the Braves won NLCS game 7 to go to the World Series. I had been listening to Jimmy Buffett for 15 years already, got every album / cassette / CD when it came out, had been to a few concerts, got my Coconut Telegraph (very sporadically back then), sent Jimmy "Merry Birthday" presents, etc., but I think I was just a huge fan.
Since the baseball game had pre-empted "Later with Bob Costas," they re-ran a show from a few weeks prior with Bubba. Joe Merchant was about to take the #1 slot on the NYT Bestseller List. He talked a lot in that interview about literary influences, musical inspirations, his family, and reconciling with Jane. (A fave quote, "it's a dream come true)." I had sense enough to find a VHS tape and cram in the VCR and hit record. I've watched it several times over the years. Two things he said have really influenced me. I had a puritanical upbringing to say the least. Fun was never anything to be sought out. JB said that humor is an essential part of our existence. He also said that people are very tribal in nature ... we need to be together, have fun, have a sense of community, and went on about fan gatherings and the parrothead phenomenon. Anyway, that's when I really "got" him. My life has changed completely since that time. I am just goofy happy most days!!! I still work hard at everything I do, but I get it that FUN is important. I often think about how much more fun ALL of our lives are here at our home because of JB ... because if Mama's not happy ... well, you know the rest!
From carolinagirl
From saltshaker1carolinagirl wrote:I was about to post how wonderful it is to see the two new babies (newyear and yearend) in posts right after each other... Les and CaptP, you have to post right after each other as often as possible... Those babies are so dear and sweet they bring tears to my eyes! What a blessing! I'm going to love watching them grow on Buffett News!
Then, I saw this post from MY baby!!! I don't see him around here much...
He's such a hard worker! Good to see you, and thanks for the credit for your parrotheadism...
I may have introduced him to Buffett, but he introduced me to Buffett News. He used to go to COBO pre-BN.
I can't recall the exact date I became a parrothead as he can, but it was in my freshman year of college 1976-77, sometime after Cheeseburger and before Volcano. Love you, babe... thanks for posting!![[smilie=hearts.gif]](./images/smilies/hearts.gif "hearts")
![[smilie=coolup.gif]](./images/smilies/coolup.gif "coolup")
Oh! and let me offically endorse this July '07 excursion!!!Parrotthed wrote:The question here is "what day" you truly became a parrothead.
I can tell you the exact day....
Although I was familiar with some of Buffett's songs back in the mid 1970s, it wasn't until my first trip to the Florida Keys that I was truly hooked.
The day? Sunday, July 19, 1987 -- that's the day my wife, Carolinagirl, and I arrived in Key Largo for the night on our way to a week in Key West for the Hemingway Days festival.
All along the way from our home in South Carolina, my wife had been playing cassettes of Buffett albums she had taped from a friend of hers. By the the time we arrived in the Keys during the late afternoon, just a couple of hours before a brilliant sunset, I was hooked on Buffett ... and the Keys!
Buffett became the soundtrack not only of that trip but of many more trips to the Keys (and to many other beaches, places and spaces during the past 20 years).
So, I owe my parrotheadism to my wife and to my first mind-expanding trip to the Keys nearly two full decades ago -- and I'm itching to go back this July for a 20-year celebration!!!![[smilie=gt-happyup.gif]](./images/smilies/gt-happyup.gif "gt-happyup")
![[smilie=superkewl.gif]](./images/smilies/superkewl.gif "superkewl")
JUST WONDERING? WHEN DID YOU KNOW YOU TRULY BECAME A PARROTHEAD? I'LL START. FOR MANY YEARS NOW I'VE LOVED BUFFETT AND HIS MUSIC. BUT I WAS TOTALLY SOLD ON FEB. 20TH 1999. MY HUSBAND AND I WAS AT THE WILDHORSE SALOON IN NASHVILLE WITH ANOTHER COUPLE WHO WERE DESPERATLY TRYING TO GET INTO COUNTRY MUSIC. THEY HAD ALWAYS BEEN HARD ROCK FANS. BUFFETT HAD PLAYED THE THEN NASHVILLE ARENA THAT NIGHT AND THE CONCERT HAD LET OUT. A SLEW OF PARROTHEADS HAD COME INTO THE WILDHORSE TO FINISH THEIR NIGHT OF PARTY AND FUN. MY HUSBAND WHO IS THE WORLDS BIGGEST WAYLON AND MERLE FAN EVER SAW THEM AND OF COURSE THOUGHT IT WAS THE CRAZIEST THING HE'D EVER SAW. I HOWEVER SAW ALL THE FUN THESE PHOLKS WERE HAVING AND AT THAT MOMENT WAS TOTALLY SOLD. I HAD BEEN SOLD PRIOR TO THAT BUT THAT NIGHT WAS THE ICING ON THE CAKE. THANK YOU TO ALL THE PARROTHEADS FROM THAT NASHVILLE CONCERT THAT COLD FEB. NIGHT FOR SHOWING ME THERE WAS A BETTER , MORE FUN WAY OF LIFE. I'VE NEVER BEEN THE SAME SINCE!!! THANK GOD!!!
got to stop wishin' got to start fishin'....
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balcony girls
- Moderator
- Posts: 32352
- Joined: January 31, 2005 1:40 pm
- Number of Concerts: 0
- Location: in the balcony, silly !
. .there aren't a lot of "postable posts " about this . . but wanted to give a few words to all of the " Friends we have not yet met " . .
. .aka. . BN'ers that . .sight unseen . . have been " Roomies " . .
. .staying in a Hotel Room with complete strangers . . except for the fact they ARE BN'ers. .
. .our first was a trip to the Mohegan area . . and I remember us standing on the balcony ( ) deck . .talking on the phone with Jen . .School Girl Heart . . .saying . .
. . SGH . .I'm on the street of the Hotel . . where are you . .? ?
. .BG's . . up on the balcony . . what are you driving . . ? ?
. .SGH . .a Silver SUV. . .
. .BG's . . HEY . .is that YOU . . ! ! ? ?
. .* * waving wildly * *
. .
. .a most excellent time together . . with a wonderful person we had never met . . .good memories . . .! !
. .next was my Birthday trip to Las Vegas last year. . . had no one going with me . . but heard thru the BN cocotel that someone else was also . ." running solo " . .( for a Roomie ) . .
. .I remember standing in the Casino area . .kinda parked by the ATM . .talking on the phone to my newest phriend. . . .Jump Up . .Carol . .! !
. . . .JU . .are you here. . ? ?
. .BG. . yep. . but can't tell you where . .
. .JU . .hold on . . I think I see you . . ! !
. .* * many hugs and giggles * *
. .both have given me/us new phriends that will always share certain memories . .
. .and all came away with the feeling that just about ANY BN'er is born to be our " Phamily " . .
. .wow. . what a great feeling . .
. .aka. . BN'ers that . .sight unseen . . have been " Roomies " . .
. .staying in a Hotel Room with complete strangers . . except for the fact they ARE BN'ers. .
. .our first was a trip to the Mohegan area . . and I remember us standing on the balcony (
) deck . .talking on the phone with Jen . .School Girl Heart . . .saying . . . . SGH . .I'm on the street of the Hotel . . where are you . .? ?
. .BG's . . up on the balcony . . what are you driving . . ? ?
. .SGH . .a Silver SUV. . .
. .BG's . . HEY . .is that YOU . . ! ! ? ?
. .* * waving wildly * *
. .
. .a most excellent time together . . with a wonderful person we had never met . . .good memories . . .! !
. .next was my Birthday trip to Las Vegas last year. . . had no one going with me . . but heard thru the BN cocotel that someone else was also . ." running solo " . .( for a Roomie ) . .
. .I remember standing in the Casino area . .kinda parked by the ATM . .talking on the phone to my newest phriend. . . .Jump Up . .Carol . .! !
. . . .JU . .are you here. . ? ?
. .BG. . yep. . but can't tell you where . .
. .JU . .hold on . . I think I see you . . ! !
. .* * many hugs and giggles * *
. .both have given me/us new phriends that will always share certain memories . .
. .and all came away with the feeling that just about ANY BN'er is born to be our " Phamily " . .
. .wow. . what a great feeling . .
. . " and I finally disappear . . . . BUT NOT YET ! ! "
-
Tequila Revenge
- Lester Polyester
- Posts: 7634
- Joined: February 16, 2005 7:07 pm
- Favorite Boat Drink: cubra libre
- Location: Living in a van down by the river
FINALS: (1) Pirate Looks @ 40 v. (2) One Particular Harbour
From frozen bird
Here's my thinkin...
I sat on the beach in Anguilla not more than 15 feet from Jimmy as he played for almost two hours. He played both songs. The song I'm voting for is the one that gave me chills on an 85 degree day in the tropics; the song that had everyone in attendance, even Jimmy's roadies and Charleston his bodyguard, singing along....
I vote for A Pirate Looks At 40.
From chuck wagon
Gotta be OPH!!
from one of my first posts here ...
... "my 'epiphany' came during a southern Caribbean cruise in Dec. '98. 10 of us spent an afternoon sailing aboard Capt. Spencer's catamaran "Happy Hour" in St. Thomas. His CD player had Jimmy and Bob Marley in it and I fell in love with OPH and No Woman, No Cry."
This was the song that brought it all together for me!!
From pbans
OPH is not just my favorite Buffett song.....but my favorite song, period.
It's the one song that no matter how many times I listen to it, nine times out of ten.....it makes me a little teary.....
When I hear the "Where the children play on the shore each day" I literally see a picture of my daughter playing on the shores of Lake Powell where we spent so many summers......
From frozen bird
Here's my thinkin...
I sat on the beach in Anguilla not more than 15 feet from Jimmy as he played for almost two hours. He played both songs. The song I'm voting for is the one that gave me chills on an 85 degree day in the tropics; the song that had everyone in attendance, even Jimmy's roadies and Charleston his bodyguard, singing along....
I vote for A Pirate Looks At 40.
From chuck wagon
Gotta be OPH!!
from one of my first posts here ...
... "my 'epiphany' came during a southern Caribbean cruise in Dec. '98. 10 of us spent an afternoon sailing aboard Capt. Spencer's catamaran "Happy Hour" in St. Thomas. His CD player had Jimmy and Bob Marley in it and I fell in love with OPH and No Woman, No Cry."
This was the song that brought it all together for me!!
From pbans
OPH is not just my favorite Buffett song.....but my favorite song, period.
It's the one song that no matter how many times I listen to it, nine times out of ten.....it makes me a little teary.....
When I hear the "Where the children play on the shore each day" I literally see a picture of my daughter playing on the shores of Lake Powell where we spent so many summers......
got to stop wishin' got to start fishin'....
-
Tequila Revenge
- Lester Polyester
- Posts: 7634
- Joined: February 16, 2005 7:07 pm
- Favorite Boat Drink: cubra libre
- Location: Living in a van down by the river
Our Anguilla Experience
From Catch&Release
On a cold Monday here in Michigan, I still can't get my mind off of the amazing experience my fiancee Erin and I had in Anguilla. I can't believe it's already been a week since we returned and 9 days since Jimmy and the Coral Reefers put on a truly spectacular show. After reading so many of the other great reports that others had on Anguilla and at the show, I've decided to type out some of our experiences while on beautiful Anguilla.
Our travel began at 7 am on Wednesday March 21st from Detroit to Charlotte to San Juan and then, finally, after a 6 hour layover in San Juan, we had a short flight into Anguilla and would arrive at 10 pm.
When we arrived at the gate for the flight from San Juan to Anguilla, I scanned the crowd of those waiting to depart. It was hard to tell from the generally middle aged crowd whether anyone was going to Anguilla to see Jimmy Buffett. Just seemed mainly like a bunch of weary, untanned travelers (like us) looking for a little Anguillan sun.
The flight from San Juan to Anguilla was very quick and very quiet. No one mentioned Jimmy. Where were the parrot hats? Where was the raucous phlock who we expected would be singing boat drinks and other such songs?
We lined up at immigration and, I couldn't help myself. Erin started to cringe as I started talking to people in line and I began asking who was going to the concert. Well, out of the 50 or so people waiting in line, basically everyone was there for the show, but for quite a few people it would be their 1st show.
Things started to get interesting when we arrived at Anguillan Immigration. Instead of the often curt exchange that occurs at a border entry, we received a big warm smile from the immigrations official. She said "Welcome to Anguilla. Is this your first visit to our island." What should have been a 2 minute review of our passports and itinerary was instead a 10 minute introduction by the immigrations official to the places on the island that she thought we must see during our short 4 day stay.
Of course, I had to ask if they knew when Jimmy Buffett arrived in Anguilla. She said, "He came in yesterday. He is staying at the Cuisinart
next to Bankie's place. You should go to Cuisinart and you may be able to see him. We can't believe all the fuss over Jimmy Buffett! I never heard of him until they announced the concert at Bankie's place. Now our island is as busy as I've ever seen it! We're very excited but we're surprised by all the people coming to see him!"
After the wonderful agent helped us out, I asked whether we should declare to customs the two bottles of rum we bought at Duty Free in Puerto rico. She smiled and said "That's up to you. Our Anguillan rum is the best in the Carribean, so next time buy it here. I will say that if you declare it, it will take you 20 minutes longer."
With that, we side stepped customs and walked out and met Don, the cab driver sent by Allamanda Beach resort to take us to our room.
It was pitch dark and we were taken on a 10 minute drive to Allamanda. Don was charming and told us all about the island and the excitement that everyone had for the concert. He had the key to our room and got us situated. He assured us that we would find Anguilla very much to our liking and wished us a good trip.
The room at Allamanda was fairly large. We could hear the ocean's waves although the beach was about 100 yards from our room. After 15 hours of flights/layovers/and a hurried 3 hours exploring San Juan's old town, we were exhausted to say the least. Just before turning the lights off, I saw a tiny green gecko on the ceiling above where we were about to go to sleep. I pointed it out to we agreed it was likely a symbol of good luck and it had been sent to keep us mosquito free as we slept. So, we turned off the lights and were serenaded by the sound of gentle ocean waves. It turned out that the gecko was looking for love as it made a whistling mating call as soon as the lights went out. It didn't matter, we were asleep within minutes.
About 7 hours later, we awoke to darkness tinged with the faintest amount of beckoning daylight. It seemed like the entire grounds of the hotel were surrounded by cawwing roosters. Basically, every minute a new rooster would call out. It was actually a great way to be awakened as we were eager to take advantage of every minute of daylight.
We were out the door within 5 minutes and took a path that seemed to lead to the beach. The sun was just starting to creep above the horizon. Within 60 seconds we were standing on Shoal Bay east where Gwen's Reggae Bar sits on the beach.
Heaven surely must include watching the sun rise in Anguilla. The sea was flat and we just stood for a moment watching teh sky turn from blueish black to slate grey to a dim red, to a panorama of yellow. orange, red and indigo as the sun fully rose. We watched a jaw dropping sun rise and started to walk along the beach.
Not far from Gwen's there was an large puffer fish that washed ashore during the night. For some reason, I thought that it might still be alive. I gently nudged it into the bay's waters where, after floating for a moment, it started the crazy, wind up toy like swimming pattern unique to its kind. With rapid, frenetic beats of its pectoral fins, the 15 inch long puffer fish swam back out towards the reef from where it no doubt came. Maybe that was our good deed on the island that would yield some good karma? We were happy to see it swim off and based on how strong it was swimming, it is still hopefully swimming happily in its Anguillan waters.
We wandered along the beach which was basically a brilliant carpet of perfect white sand and a calm bay of calm, brilliant blue water that was made up of as many shades of blue beyond what could be described. "Stunning" does not come close to describing the beauty that is Shoal Bay east.
We began our first day on the island achieving a very base, but essential purpose - we soaked up the luxurious Anguillan sun which we had basically not felt for 5 months back home in Michigan.
After a couple hours on the beach, the instructions we'd received at Immigration started to be discussed with seriousness. Would we be able to see Jimmy at Cuisinart? At least we could try!
In making our plans for the trip, I had seen the Cuisinart Reort's web page many, many times. It appeared to be the most luxurious and most expensive resort on the Island. It seemed odd that a resort named for a company that makes kitchen appliances would be one of the best resorts on Anguilla. Staying there hadn't been an option for us because it was sold out for the night of the show and, more importantly, two nights at Cuisinart would cost more than the entire trip would cost with 4 nights at the places we did book.
The most immediate question was whether we would, like gypsies in the palace, even be allowed to step foot on the grounds of the $900 a night
Cuisinart.
We discussed this all important issue as we walked back to our room. Shortly after returning, our rental mini SUV was delivered by Island Car rental and we had our means to explore Anguilla.
Our drive acoss the fairly small island was wonderful. The few roads on Anguilla are a combination of perfectly paved, very nice roads closest to the Valley, the largest town and basically the commercial heart of Anguilla, to washboard, stomach jarring roads the further away from teh Valley one drove. But what a drive! One side of the Island had sweeping views across the blue green Carribean to the Mountains of St. Maarten that seemed to be about 20 miles away. The other side of the island was made up of dozens of pocket beaches with names like Crocus Bay, Meads Bay, with each small bay having its own stunning vista.
Our first order of business though was to try and catch a glimpse of Jimmy. I am a 37 year old litigator and should be too embarassed to admit that I was going to do something I should have outgrown in college - trying to get a glimpse of a musician at the hotel where they were staying before a concert.
How to gain entry to Cuisinart? I supposed they would let us on the grounds if we were going for lunch. We pulled off the main highway and began driving down the long driveway leading to Cuisinart wondering if we'd be barred from entry as non guests.
We pulled up to the security gate. "Look confident and DON'T look like a Buffett stalker" I though as I began to speak to the security guard. "We were wondering if your restaurant still has availability for 2 people for lunch this afternoon" I said. The warm, smiling response was "Sure. No problem. Just pull up. The restaurant is through the lobby and to the right of the pool. Enjoy."
"Well, that was easy!" I happily thought. Erin could sense my excitement as we drove through the magnificent grounds of one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. $900 a night is a bargain, I thought. We were amazed by the truly remarkable resort which is the incomparable Cuisinart.
We parked and walked towards the restaurant. I felt kind of sheepish about walking through the lobby. We walked to the restaurant on one of the outdoor footpaths.
Once we walked to the beach side of the resort, we were dazzled by the Cuisinart's immaculate, tropical flower filled grounds with a hundred yard long infinity fountain which ended just before the beach. The Cuisinart had the best view of Rendezvous Bay with the mountains of St. Maarten forming the backdrop. It was jaw droppingly beautiful.
We decided that, at the risk of looking like rube tourists, we MUST take pictures. So we walked back to the car for our cameras.
After getting our cameras, I decided "the heck with it. Let's see what the lobby looks like." Thus we walked a different path, intending to walk through the hotel to the outdoor restaurant.
As we approached the valet and lobby entrance we saw guitars being unloaded from several vans. No longer was I too intimidated to enter the lobby, now I was excited to see if we'd spot Mac or Peter Mayer or Michael Utley. "No way Jimmy's hanging around with the gear" I thought.
We walked around the van and into the lobby, stepping to the side to be out of the way as the guitars were carried into the hotel. I looked for Mac McAnnally who I thought would be the easiest to spot. "Nope, doesn't look like any of the band is out here" I was thinking as Erin started to nudge me. She whispered "Isn't that Jimmy Buffett walking towards us?"
And it was. What to do? He was 10 feet away and about to walk past us in less than 5 seconds. We were little better than trespassers at a 5 star resort at a place where famous guests stayed largely in part because of the sentiment that they would be left alone by staff and guests.
Maybe it was selfishness. Definitely it was due to my excitement of being a Jimmy Buffett fan since I graduated from law school more than a decade ago. Also, it was because even as I was approaching seeing Jimmy for about the 10th time in as many years, I knew that I would likely never again be standing right next to him. So, just as half of my instinct was to just let him walk bye without bothering him, I decided to impose, if only for 10 seconds.
As he was within a couple feet I stepped over to him and said "Jimmy, thank you so much for making this amazing show happen for us. We are so happy to be here!" With that I stook my hand out, hoping he'd shake hands with me.
And he did. He just stopped walking for a moment, looked at me, smiled and said "No problem, brother. Thanks for coming." Interestingly, he looked at the camera in my hand, the camera in my fiancee's hand and paused for a moment, perhaps thinking that we'd ask for a picture with him. We were more than happy to have just said hello, so I didn't even think of asking for a picture. He smiled and walked away, no doubt as he has done thousands of times in the past when approached by his fans! Even though my approach is likely something Jimmy has to endure many times a day when he's in public, he was so gracious and left me with a big, dumb, glassy star struck gaze that was on my face throughout our stay in Anguilla.
From there, lunch at Cuisinart was eveything we could have hoped. Drinking Pyrat on the rocks, (an Anguillain rum) while enjoying fresh shrimp with hydroponic, locally grown greens as we looked over the blue green Caribbean and St. Maarrten in the distance, well, our 1st day on the Island was PERFECT!
The rest of our time on the Island before the concert involved seeing as many beaches as we could and hanging out at the funky, laid back beach bars such as Roy's and the Pump House. These are in Sandy Ground which is sleepy little Anguilla's closest thing to a night spot.
We did get a chance to check out several of the Island's other top resorts and had lunch at Cap Jaluca, the other Anguillan 5 star resort. Good, but not great like the lunch we had at Cuisinart.
On Thursday night, we made our way back to Shoal Bay East where we arrived just before sunset. We were on the wrong side of the island to see the full sunset, but we were close to our hotel. We walked down to Ernie's Beach shack. It turned out that they were starting to close but Lilly, the manager, waved us in and insisted we sit down. We ordered grilled chicken and rum punches. Lilly sat down and she was wonderful company. She told us about the island and we told her what we had done that day.
She asked if we were in Anguilla to see Jimmy Buffett. We said "yes" and she said "Next year, come for Moonsplash. It wont be so crowded and you'll have many of the beaches all to yourself. We're glad Jimmy Buffett picked our island for his concert but the beauty of Anguilla is its quiet beauty."
After a delicious chicken dinner, we said goodbye to our charming host. Lilly gave us each a big hug and said "See you next year, Paul and Erin. Once you have been to Anguilla, you will come back. There is no place like our island."
The day before the show, we again just wandered around the island. we had to move from Allamanda because they were sold out the two nights before the show. With some effort, we made our way to the apartment in North Hill overlooking Crocus Bay where we were spending the last 2 nights of our stay. We met "Ping" the owner of the apartment and were let into his very nice apartment that offered wonderful views of Crocus Bay. He directed us to a foot path that led down the cliff to the beach. We were not brave enough to traverse what looked like a steep path for mountain goats instead of a foot path to the beach.
Eventually, around 5 pm, we made our way over to Frangipani for the Parrothead Party. Frangipani is located on Mead's Bay and we had gone there each of the two prior nights on Anguilla because Lari, the owner, had posted that she and her husband Steve are big parrotheads.
Lari and Steve threw an awesome party. The two bands they hired were outstanding and we met dozens of Buffett fans who were so fired up for the show.
We also learned about the very small beach show that Jimmy had performed that afternoon. UGGGGGGGGGGGGGH! Missing that unbelievable Jimmy moment was the only slight dark cloud to our stay.
We also met a couple who were having lunch at the St. Regis Golf Resort
that afternoon, when Jimmy walked in several hours after the acoustic beach show. They walked up to his table and asked if they could get a picture. He said "Do you mind if I come over to you in just a little while." They waited and Jimmy walked over and, they said, he sat with them for about 5 minutes. He thanked them for coming and reportedly said "We didn't know if anyone would come all this way for a show."
Everyone we met that night at the Frangipani party was so friendly and so excited about the show. Although the rum punch and Caribs went perfectly with the "cheeseburgers in paradise" served at the party, we left fairly early.
We woke on Saturday like kids on Christmas morning. Our only issue was where we were going to park and how close to the stage we would spend the show.
I think I was in the shower at 5:30 am. Erin picked up on the fact that I was on a mission and just got ready quickly. Because Cuisinart was right next door to the Dunes Preserve, we decided to go there for breakfast to see if we could sneak in there to park.
I thought "Surely, they know that thousands of parrotheads will be descending on them. Surely they'll only allow guests to park in their small lot." Well, I guess we arrived at Cuisinart that morning before their security staff. We just drove through the gate and pulled into the small parking lot. We parked at 7:00 am and still had 5 hours til the Dunes Preserve would open the gates.
When we walked into the hotel, the front desk assistant politely asked if they could help us. I said that we were there for breakfast and they said that the kitchen would be open at 7:30 am. With that he smiled
and told us to enjoy our breakfast.
We walked the beach watching the sun rise. As the sun came up, it was clear that many more boats had arrived since we had last been there two days prior. There were several enormous yachts docked just offshore as well as numerous boats. The sun rose quickly and felt stronger than the two days before.
We made our way back to the restaurant and were again treated to the unrivaled service we experienced at the Cuisinart.
As we ate, I of course was constantly looking for Jimmy or anyone from the band. It was Erin who again spotted him first. "Here he comes" she whispered. Sure enough, Jimmy was being lead by the hostess to a table immediately next to ours. He was with 3 people, including one who had a clipboard. Jimmy sat about 8 feet away from me. My back was to their table. Erin offered to change spots, but I declined, not wanting to act like too much of a star struck fan. Before Jimmy sat down we were finishing breakfast. Once he sat down, Erin said "It's ok if we stay here till he leaves" knowing that I'd of course want to spend as much time as I could in his midst. The restaurant was still empty, so I didn't feel too bad being a table hog.
We could hear the guy with the clip board asking Jimmy how he wanted to spend his day, what he wanted to do, etc. It seemed like Jimmy was very laid back and was just chilling as he ate his breakfast. He was there for about an hour. At one point, someone walked up to him. I couldn't tell if it was a fan or someone with the band. I looked over my shoulder behind me and watched to see what Jimmy did. Whoever it was walked away and Jimmy went back to eating/chatting.
Around 10 am, the restaurant started to get busy. There were a lot of people waiting in line at the hostess stand, including a group of 4 fully decked out in hula skirts. I don't know if it was because they were done with breakfast or if it was because there was about to be a mini onslaught of parrotheads, but Jimmy and his group quickly stood up and walked away. When the newly arrived parrotheads sat down next to us, they couldn't believe that Jimmy had been sitting in front of them as they waited to be seated.
After the longest breakfast of our life in which we laid continued claim to the table by ordering breakfast smoothie after breakfast smoothie (just to sit near Jimmy -it was so worth it!) we finally got up to walk over to the Dunes Preserve to see if there was a line yet.
Even though it was only 10 am and the gates didn't open till noon, a dozen people were already waiting. We took our place in the line and stook our claim on getting as close to the stage as possible.
Even though the sun was already baking us, standing in line with so many parrotheads was fun. About an hour into the wait, the outdoor beach bar was opened up. It was stocked with Landshark Lager and we got our first taste of Jimmy's new beer - pretty good! We passed the time with people from Vermont, Virginia, California, Chicago, New York, LA, Phoenix, etc. Everyone was so nice and so fired up to see Jimmy.
The gates opened at right at noon. Bankie Banx's dune preserve is basically a wide open area as close to a true beach tiki bar I expect we'll ever see Jimmy Buffett play. There is a large coconut tree growing through the structure that comprises what would be loosely considered the bar. The stage is smaller than most high school auditorium stages. There was an open area where we would be standing in front of the small stage until Jimmy and the CRB took the stage in 3 hours.
We walked to the stage and stood next to a great bunch of people from northern Virginia who were in the front.
It was very hot and we had already been on our feet for 2 hours. But time passed quickly. Steadily the crowd went from the 100 or so people who were standing in line when the gates opened to 1,000 then to several thousand people.
People in the crowd made beer/rum punch runs for each other. Mainly, though, it seemed like people were drinking water to counter the 90 degree temps.
About an hour before the show, a camera that was attached to a boom started going into the crowd, filming our antics. A few people were in parrothead attire, but most of the crowd was simply dressed for the beach, steps away from teh venue.
At about ten to 3, Charleston came out. People got very excited. He took the stage and said "You know we're making a DVD. There is going to be a helicopter filming you and when I say fins to the left start waving your fins to the left..." Sure enough, there was a green helicopter moments later and the crowd started waving fins to the left/right/left/right, etc...
We though we'd nailed it. A minute later Charleston came back and said. "I was told that wasn't professional enough. Let's try again." So we did it again. Guess that time worked.
Next, Bankie Banx came out and started to address the crowd. He told us about how he was a long time Jimmy Buffett fan and that in the recent past Jimmy came to his bar and said something like "Bankie, I want to come back here and rock this boat."
Just before the band took the stage, a plane looking like the Hemisphere Dancer flew overhead. Shortly thereafter the band, including Jake, took the small stage. After a minute or two of standing on our toes in anticipation, Jimmy walked out in his bare feet and just said something like "Well, Bankie said it best. Let's rock this boat." No more fan fare was needed. They broke into the perfect song for the event, "Changes in Latitude" and the party was fully under way.
The next three hours passed way, way too fast. We were within 2o feet of Jimmy the entire show. The set list was awesome and seeing Jimmy push his vocal ability to sing the Beach Boys' In My Room was really special.
The set list was posted here on Buffett news quite some time ago. All I can add is that it was so special to hear so many songs that used to be staples before I became a phan which were brought back into play by Jimmy. The band nailed every song. It was truly like a huge party unlike any before.
In learning about Bankie's Dunes Preserve, I found his song "Still in Paradise" on his website. It's a great song. Bankie was brought out early in the show and he sang "Still in Paradise" which Jimmy described as his favorite Bankie song.
The sun started to set as the band with Jake did an amazing version of Desperation Samba. "Uh oh...We're getting towards the end" I thought.
Then came wonderful versions of Margaritaville, Southern Cross and an on fire version of Fins.
In the end, it was just Jimmy with the setting Anguillan sun with 4 or 5 thousand parrotheads there to see him off. He picked up his acoustic guitar and sang "Distantly in Love" It was the perfect ending to a show that was pure magic.
Brilliant job, Jimmy and the Coral Reefer Band. The entire weekend was pure magic. Thank you for a most memorable concert!
After the show, we walked out to to see the sun dipping down into Rendezvous Bay. Thousands streamed out onto the beach where it seemed that hundreds of boats of all sizes were waiting.
We walked the few steps back to Cuisinart to absorb how special this concert had been. I thanked my sweet, beautiful, amazing Erin for spending the entire day standing in the sun so we could see the concert from such a great spot. She smiled and said "of course I knew that's what we were going to be doing. I knew that you'd want to see the show from as close as possible and I'd do it again in a heartbeat!"
We grabbed a couple of cold beers at the Cuisinart's outdoor bar and plopped down in two of their beach lounge chairs. 10 hours of standing in 90 degree heat and we weren't tired in the least.
Slowly the sun faded and the crowds made their way back from where they came. We savored our beer on a very special salty piece of land, thrilled to have been able to experience an amazing concert that will be cherished for the rest of our life together.
We eventually made our way out to dinner. We stopped at a charming Anguillan owned restuarant called E's Oven where we had the best meal we enjoyed during our stay. (Seeing Jimmy from 20 feet away, then dining on fresh coconut and chili lime encrusted grouper - now that's a truly perfect day).
I cannot say enough great things about the concert, how beautiful Anguilla is, all the very cool parrotheads who we met as well as the hospitality of the people from Anguilla who were so helpful and gracious throughout our entire stay.
Our trip home had a couple of hiccups in that we didn't get home until 24 hours after we were scheduled due to what sounded like a bad fuse on the plane. I did have plenty of time to read the entirety of a Salty Piece of Land, which like the concert, was also great.
Just as Lilly from Uncle Ernie's predicted, we will be returning to Anguilla as soon as we can. Hopefully next time we'll actually be guests at the Cuisinart instead of quasi trespassers
Thank you again, Jimmy!
Paul from Grand Haven, Michigan
From Catch&Release
On a cold Monday here in Michigan, I still can't get my mind off of the amazing experience my fiancee Erin and I had in Anguilla. I can't believe it's already been a week since we returned and 9 days since Jimmy and the Coral Reefers put on a truly spectacular show. After reading so many of the other great reports that others had on Anguilla and at the show, I've decided to type out some of our experiences while on beautiful Anguilla.
Our travel began at 7 am on Wednesday March 21st from Detroit to Charlotte to San Juan and then, finally, after a 6 hour layover in San Juan, we had a short flight into Anguilla and would arrive at 10 pm.
When we arrived at the gate for the flight from San Juan to Anguilla, I scanned the crowd of those waiting to depart. It was hard to tell from the generally middle aged crowd whether anyone was going to Anguilla to see Jimmy Buffett. Just seemed mainly like a bunch of weary, untanned travelers (like us) looking for a little Anguillan sun.
The flight from San Juan to Anguilla was very quick and very quiet. No one mentioned Jimmy. Where were the parrot hats? Where was the raucous phlock who we expected would be singing boat drinks and other such songs?
We lined up at immigration and, I couldn't help myself. Erin started to cringe as I started talking to people in line and I began asking who was going to the concert. Well, out of the 50 or so people waiting in line, basically everyone was there for the show, but for quite a few people it would be their 1st show.
Things started to get interesting when we arrived at Anguillan Immigration. Instead of the often curt exchange that occurs at a border entry, we received a big warm smile from the immigrations official. She said "Welcome to Anguilla. Is this your first visit to our island." What should have been a 2 minute review of our passports and itinerary was instead a 10 minute introduction by the immigrations official to the places on the island that she thought we must see during our short 4 day stay.
Of course, I had to ask if they knew when Jimmy Buffett arrived in Anguilla. She said, "He came in yesterday. He is staying at the Cuisinart
next to Bankie's place. You should go to Cuisinart and you may be able to see him. We can't believe all the fuss over Jimmy Buffett! I never heard of him until they announced the concert at Bankie's place. Now our island is as busy as I've ever seen it! We're very excited but we're surprised by all the people coming to see him!"
After the wonderful agent helped us out, I asked whether we should declare to customs the two bottles of rum we bought at Duty Free in Puerto rico. She smiled and said "That's up to you. Our Anguillan rum is the best in the Carribean, so next time buy it here. I will say that if you declare it, it will take you 20 minutes longer."
With that, we side stepped customs and walked out and met Don, the cab driver sent by Allamanda Beach resort to take us to our room.
It was pitch dark and we were taken on a 10 minute drive to Allamanda. Don was charming and told us all about the island and the excitement that everyone had for the concert. He had the key to our room and got us situated. He assured us that we would find Anguilla very much to our liking and wished us a good trip.
The room at Allamanda was fairly large. We could hear the ocean's waves although the beach was about 100 yards from our room. After 15 hours of flights/layovers/and a hurried 3 hours exploring San Juan's old town, we were exhausted to say the least. Just before turning the lights off, I saw a tiny green gecko on the ceiling above where we were about to go to sleep. I pointed it out to we agreed it was likely a symbol of good luck and it had been sent to keep us mosquito free as we slept. So, we turned off the lights and were serenaded by the sound of gentle ocean waves. It turned out that the gecko was looking for love as it made a whistling mating call as soon as the lights went out. It didn't matter, we were asleep within minutes.
About 7 hours later, we awoke to darkness tinged with the faintest amount of beckoning daylight. It seemed like the entire grounds of the hotel were surrounded by cawwing roosters. Basically, every minute a new rooster would call out. It was actually a great way to be awakened as we were eager to take advantage of every minute of daylight.
We were out the door within 5 minutes and took a path that seemed to lead to the beach. The sun was just starting to creep above the horizon. Within 60 seconds we were standing on Shoal Bay east where Gwen's Reggae Bar sits on the beach.
Heaven surely must include watching the sun rise in Anguilla. The sea was flat and we just stood for a moment watching teh sky turn from blueish black to slate grey to a dim red, to a panorama of yellow. orange, red and indigo as the sun fully rose. We watched a jaw dropping sun rise and started to walk along the beach.
Not far from Gwen's there was an large puffer fish that washed ashore during the night. For some reason, I thought that it might still be alive. I gently nudged it into the bay's waters where, after floating for a moment, it started the crazy, wind up toy like swimming pattern unique to its kind. With rapid, frenetic beats of its pectoral fins, the 15 inch long puffer fish swam back out towards the reef from where it no doubt came. Maybe that was our good deed on the island that would yield some good karma? We were happy to see it swim off and based on how strong it was swimming, it is still hopefully swimming happily in its Anguillan waters.
We wandered along the beach which was basically a brilliant carpet of perfect white sand and a calm bay of calm, brilliant blue water that was made up of as many shades of blue beyond what could be described. "Stunning" does not come close to describing the beauty that is Shoal Bay east.
We began our first day on the island achieving a very base, but essential purpose - we soaked up the luxurious Anguillan sun which we had basically not felt for 5 months back home in Michigan.
After a couple hours on the beach, the instructions we'd received at Immigration started to be discussed with seriousness. Would we be able to see Jimmy at Cuisinart? At least we could try!
In making our plans for the trip, I had seen the Cuisinart Reort's web page many, many times. It appeared to be the most luxurious and most expensive resort on the Island. It seemed odd that a resort named for a company that makes kitchen appliances would be one of the best resorts on Anguilla. Staying there hadn't been an option for us because it was sold out for the night of the show and, more importantly, two nights at Cuisinart would cost more than the entire trip would cost with 4 nights at the places we did book.
The most immediate question was whether we would, like gypsies in the palace, even be allowed to step foot on the grounds of the $900 a night
Cuisinart.
We discussed this all important issue as we walked back to our room. Shortly after returning, our rental mini SUV was delivered by Island Car rental and we had our means to explore Anguilla.
Our drive acoss the fairly small island was wonderful. The few roads on Anguilla are a combination of perfectly paved, very nice roads closest to the Valley, the largest town and basically the commercial heart of Anguilla, to washboard, stomach jarring roads the further away from teh Valley one drove. But what a drive! One side of the Island had sweeping views across the blue green Carribean to the Mountains of St. Maarten that seemed to be about 20 miles away. The other side of the island was made up of dozens of pocket beaches with names like Crocus Bay, Meads Bay, with each small bay having its own stunning vista.
Our first order of business though was to try and catch a glimpse of Jimmy. I am a 37 year old litigator and should be too embarassed to admit that I was going to do something I should have outgrown in college - trying to get a glimpse of a musician at the hotel where they were staying before a concert.
How to gain entry to Cuisinart? I supposed they would let us on the grounds if we were going for lunch. We pulled off the main highway and began driving down the long driveway leading to Cuisinart wondering if we'd be barred from entry as non guests.
We pulled up to the security gate. "Look confident and DON'T look like a Buffett stalker" I though as I began to speak to the security guard. "We were wondering if your restaurant still has availability for 2 people for lunch this afternoon" I said. The warm, smiling response was "Sure. No problem. Just pull up. The restaurant is through the lobby and to the right of the pool. Enjoy."
"Well, that was easy!" I happily thought. Erin could sense my excitement as we drove through the magnificent grounds of one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. $900 a night is a bargain, I thought. We were amazed by the truly remarkable resort which is the incomparable Cuisinart.
We parked and walked towards the restaurant. I felt kind of sheepish about walking through the lobby. We walked to the restaurant on one of the outdoor footpaths.
Once we walked to the beach side of the resort, we were dazzled by the Cuisinart's immaculate, tropical flower filled grounds with a hundred yard long infinity fountain which ended just before the beach. The Cuisinart had the best view of Rendezvous Bay with the mountains of St. Maarten forming the backdrop. It was jaw droppingly beautiful.
We decided that, at the risk of looking like rube tourists, we MUST take pictures. So we walked back to the car for our cameras.
After getting our cameras, I decided "the heck with it. Let's see what the lobby looks like." Thus we walked a different path, intending to walk through the hotel to the outdoor restaurant.
As we approached the valet and lobby entrance we saw guitars being unloaded from several vans. No longer was I too intimidated to enter the lobby, now I was excited to see if we'd spot Mac or Peter Mayer or Michael Utley. "No way Jimmy's hanging around with the gear" I thought.
We walked around the van and into the lobby, stepping to the side to be out of the way as the guitars were carried into the hotel. I looked for Mac McAnnally who I thought would be the easiest to spot. "Nope, doesn't look like any of the band is out here" I was thinking as Erin started to nudge me. She whispered "Isn't that Jimmy Buffett walking towards us?"
And it was. What to do? He was 10 feet away and about to walk past us in less than 5 seconds. We were little better than trespassers at a 5 star resort at a place where famous guests stayed largely in part because of the sentiment that they would be left alone by staff and guests.
Maybe it was selfishness. Definitely it was due to my excitement of being a Jimmy Buffett fan since I graduated from law school more than a decade ago. Also, it was because even as I was approaching seeing Jimmy for about the 10th time in as many years, I knew that I would likely never again be standing right next to him. So, just as half of my instinct was to just let him walk bye without bothering him, I decided to impose, if only for 10 seconds.
As he was within a couple feet I stepped over to him and said "Jimmy, thank you so much for making this amazing show happen for us. We are so happy to be here!" With that I stook my hand out, hoping he'd shake hands with me.
And he did. He just stopped walking for a moment, looked at me, smiled and said "No problem, brother. Thanks for coming." Interestingly, he looked at the camera in my hand, the camera in my fiancee's hand and paused for a moment, perhaps thinking that we'd ask for a picture with him. We were more than happy to have just said hello, so I didn't even think of asking for a picture. He smiled and walked away, no doubt as he has done thousands of times in the past when approached by his fans! Even though my approach is likely something Jimmy has to endure many times a day when he's in public, he was so gracious and left me with a big, dumb, glassy star struck gaze that was on my face throughout our stay in Anguilla.
From there, lunch at Cuisinart was eveything we could have hoped. Drinking Pyrat on the rocks, (an Anguillain rum) while enjoying fresh shrimp with hydroponic, locally grown greens as we looked over the blue green Caribbean and St. Maarrten in the distance, well, our 1st day on the Island was PERFECT!
The rest of our time on the Island before the concert involved seeing as many beaches as we could and hanging out at the funky, laid back beach bars such as Roy's and the Pump House. These are in Sandy Ground which is sleepy little Anguilla's closest thing to a night spot.
We did get a chance to check out several of the Island's other top resorts and had lunch at Cap Jaluca, the other Anguillan 5 star resort. Good, but not great like the lunch we had at Cuisinart.
On Thursday night, we made our way back to Shoal Bay East where we arrived just before sunset. We were on the wrong side of the island to see the full sunset, but we were close to our hotel. We walked down to Ernie's Beach shack. It turned out that they were starting to close but Lilly, the manager, waved us in and insisted we sit down. We ordered grilled chicken and rum punches. Lilly sat down and she was wonderful company. She told us about the island and we told her what we had done that day.
She asked if we were in Anguilla to see Jimmy Buffett. We said "yes" and she said "Next year, come for Moonsplash. It wont be so crowded and you'll have many of the beaches all to yourself. We're glad Jimmy Buffett picked our island for his concert but the beauty of Anguilla is its quiet beauty."
After a delicious chicken dinner, we said goodbye to our charming host. Lilly gave us each a big hug and said "See you next year, Paul and Erin. Once you have been to Anguilla, you will come back. There is no place like our island."
The day before the show, we again just wandered around the island. we had to move from Allamanda because they were sold out the two nights before the show. With some effort, we made our way to the apartment in North Hill overlooking Crocus Bay where we were spending the last 2 nights of our stay. We met "Ping" the owner of the apartment and were let into his very nice apartment that offered wonderful views of Crocus Bay. He directed us to a foot path that led down the cliff to the beach. We were not brave enough to traverse what looked like a steep path for mountain goats instead of a foot path to the beach.
Eventually, around 5 pm, we made our way over to Frangipani for the Parrothead Party. Frangipani is located on Mead's Bay and we had gone there each of the two prior nights on Anguilla because Lari, the owner, had posted that she and her husband Steve are big parrotheads.
Lari and Steve threw an awesome party. The two bands they hired were outstanding and we met dozens of Buffett fans who were so fired up for the show.
We also learned about the very small beach show that Jimmy had performed that afternoon. UGGGGGGGGGGGGGH! Missing that unbelievable Jimmy moment was the only slight dark cloud to our stay.
We also met a couple who were having lunch at the St. Regis Golf Resort
that afternoon, when Jimmy walked in several hours after the acoustic beach show. They walked up to his table and asked if they could get a picture. He said "Do you mind if I come over to you in just a little while." They waited and Jimmy walked over and, they said, he sat with them for about 5 minutes. He thanked them for coming and reportedly said "We didn't know if anyone would come all this way for a show."
Everyone we met that night at the Frangipani party was so friendly and so excited about the show. Although the rum punch and Caribs went perfectly with the "cheeseburgers in paradise" served at the party, we left fairly early.
We woke on Saturday like kids on Christmas morning. Our only issue was where we were going to park and how close to the stage we would spend the show.
I think I was in the shower at 5:30 am. Erin picked up on the fact that I was on a mission and just got ready quickly. Because Cuisinart was right next door to the Dunes Preserve, we decided to go there for breakfast to see if we could sneak in there to park.
I thought "Surely, they know that thousands of parrotheads will be descending on them. Surely they'll only allow guests to park in their small lot." Well, I guess we arrived at Cuisinart that morning before their security staff. We just drove through the gate and pulled into the small parking lot. We parked at 7:00 am and still had 5 hours til the Dunes Preserve would open the gates.
When we walked into the hotel, the front desk assistant politely asked if they could help us. I said that we were there for breakfast and they said that the kitchen would be open at 7:30 am. With that he smiled
and told us to enjoy our breakfast.
We walked the beach watching the sun rise. As the sun came up, it was clear that many more boats had arrived since we had last been there two days prior. There were several enormous yachts docked just offshore as well as numerous boats. The sun rose quickly and felt stronger than the two days before.
We made our way back to the restaurant and were again treated to the unrivaled service we experienced at the Cuisinart.
As we ate, I of course was constantly looking for Jimmy or anyone from the band. It was Erin who again spotted him first. "Here he comes" she whispered. Sure enough, Jimmy was being lead by the hostess to a table immediately next to ours. He was with 3 people, including one who had a clipboard. Jimmy sat about 8 feet away from me. My back was to their table. Erin offered to change spots, but I declined, not wanting to act like too much of a star struck fan. Before Jimmy sat down we were finishing breakfast. Once he sat down, Erin said "It's ok if we stay here till he leaves" knowing that I'd of course want to spend as much time as I could in his midst. The restaurant was still empty, so I didn't feel too bad being a table hog.
We could hear the guy with the clip board asking Jimmy how he wanted to spend his day, what he wanted to do, etc. It seemed like Jimmy was very laid back and was just chilling as he ate his breakfast. He was there for about an hour. At one point, someone walked up to him. I couldn't tell if it was a fan or someone with the band. I looked over my shoulder behind me and watched to see what Jimmy did. Whoever it was walked away and Jimmy went back to eating/chatting.
Around 10 am, the restaurant started to get busy. There were a lot of people waiting in line at the hostess stand, including a group of 4 fully decked out in hula skirts. I don't know if it was because they were done with breakfast or if it was because there was about to be a mini onslaught of parrotheads, but Jimmy and his group quickly stood up and walked away. When the newly arrived parrotheads sat down next to us, they couldn't believe that Jimmy had been sitting in front of them as they waited to be seated.
After the longest breakfast of our life in which we laid continued claim to the table by ordering breakfast smoothie after breakfast smoothie (just to sit near Jimmy -it was so worth it!) we finally got up to walk over to the Dunes Preserve to see if there was a line yet.
Even though it was only 10 am and the gates didn't open till noon, a dozen people were already waiting. We took our place in the line and stook our claim on getting as close to the stage as possible.
Even though the sun was already baking us, standing in line with so many parrotheads was fun. About an hour into the wait, the outdoor beach bar was opened up. It was stocked with Landshark Lager and we got our first taste of Jimmy's new beer - pretty good! We passed the time with people from Vermont, Virginia, California, Chicago, New York, LA, Phoenix, etc. Everyone was so nice and so fired up to see Jimmy.
The gates opened at right at noon. Bankie Banx's dune preserve is basically a wide open area as close to a true beach tiki bar I expect we'll ever see Jimmy Buffett play. There is a large coconut tree growing through the structure that comprises what would be loosely considered the bar. The stage is smaller than most high school auditorium stages. There was an open area where we would be standing in front of the small stage until Jimmy and the CRB took the stage in 3 hours.
We walked to the stage and stood next to a great bunch of people from northern Virginia who were in the front.
It was very hot and we had already been on our feet for 2 hours. But time passed quickly. Steadily the crowd went from the 100 or so people who were standing in line when the gates opened to 1,000 then to several thousand people.
People in the crowd made beer/rum punch runs for each other. Mainly, though, it seemed like people were drinking water to counter the 90 degree temps.
About an hour before the show, a camera that was attached to a boom started going into the crowd, filming our antics. A few people were in parrothead attire, but most of the crowd was simply dressed for the beach, steps away from teh venue.
At about ten to 3, Charleston came out. People got very excited. He took the stage and said "You know we're making a DVD. There is going to be a helicopter filming you and when I say fins to the left start waving your fins to the left..." Sure enough, there was a green helicopter moments later and the crowd started waving fins to the left/right/left/right, etc...
We though we'd nailed it. A minute later Charleston came back and said. "I was told that wasn't professional enough. Let's try again." So we did it again. Guess that time worked.
Next, Bankie Banx came out and started to address the crowd. He told us about how he was a long time Jimmy Buffett fan and that in the recent past Jimmy came to his bar and said something like "Bankie, I want to come back here and rock this boat."
Just before the band took the stage, a plane looking like the Hemisphere Dancer flew overhead. Shortly thereafter the band, including Jake, took the small stage. After a minute or two of standing on our toes in anticipation, Jimmy walked out in his bare feet and just said something like "Well, Bankie said it best. Let's rock this boat." No more fan fare was needed. They broke into the perfect song for the event, "Changes in Latitude" and the party was fully under way.
The next three hours passed way, way too fast. We were within 2o feet of Jimmy the entire show. The set list was awesome and seeing Jimmy push his vocal ability to sing the Beach Boys' In My Room was really special.
The set list was posted here on Buffett news quite some time ago. All I can add is that it was so special to hear so many songs that used to be staples before I became a phan which were brought back into play by Jimmy. The band nailed every song. It was truly like a huge party unlike any before.
In learning about Bankie's Dunes Preserve, I found his song "Still in Paradise" on his website. It's a great song. Bankie was brought out early in the show and he sang "Still in Paradise" which Jimmy described as his favorite Bankie song.
The sun started to set as the band with Jake did an amazing version of Desperation Samba. "Uh oh...We're getting towards the end" I thought.
Then came wonderful versions of Margaritaville, Southern Cross and an on fire version of Fins.
In the end, it was just Jimmy with the setting Anguillan sun with 4 or 5 thousand parrotheads there to see him off. He picked up his acoustic guitar and sang "Distantly in Love" It was the perfect ending to a show that was pure magic.
Brilliant job, Jimmy and the Coral Reefer Band. The entire weekend was pure magic. Thank you for a most memorable concert!
After the show, we walked out to to see the sun dipping down into Rendezvous Bay. Thousands streamed out onto the beach where it seemed that hundreds of boats of all sizes were waiting.
We walked the few steps back to Cuisinart to absorb how special this concert had been. I thanked my sweet, beautiful, amazing Erin for spending the entire day standing in the sun so we could see the concert from such a great spot. She smiled and said "of course I knew that's what we were going to be doing. I knew that you'd want to see the show from as close as possible and I'd do it again in a heartbeat!"
We grabbed a couple of cold beers at the Cuisinart's outdoor bar and plopped down in two of their beach lounge chairs. 10 hours of standing in 90 degree heat and we weren't tired in the least.
Slowly the sun faded and the crowds made their way back from where they came. We savored our beer on a very special salty piece of land, thrilled to have been able to experience an amazing concert that will be cherished for the rest of our life together.
We eventually made our way out to dinner. We stopped at a charming Anguillan owned restuarant called E's Oven where we had the best meal we enjoyed during our stay. (Seeing Jimmy from 20 feet away, then dining on fresh coconut and chili lime encrusted grouper - now that's a truly perfect day).
I cannot say enough great things about the concert, how beautiful Anguilla is, all the very cool parrotheads who we met as well as the hospitality of the people from Anguilla who were so helpful and gracious throughout our entire stay.
Our trip home had a couple of hiccups in that we didn't get home until 24 hours after we were scheduled due to what sounded like a bad fuse on the plane. I did have plenty of time to read the entirety of a Salty Piece of Land, which like the concert, was also great.
Just as Lilly from Uncle Ernie's predicted, we will be returning to Anguilla as soon as we can. Hopefully next time we'll actually be guests at the Cuisinart instead of quasi trespassers
Thank you again, Jimmy!
Paul from Grand Haven, Michigan
got to stop wishin' got to start fishin'....
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Tequila Revenge
- Lester Polyester
- Posts: 7634
- Joined: February 16, 2005 7:07 pm
- Favorite Boat Drink: cubra libre
- Location: Living in a van down by the river
From Catch&Release
BEG and WDWGDAS, CIP have gotten to be a little boring at shows, in my opinion. CIP will always be there because it's a great marketing tool for CIP/the Margaritaville restaurants. But, I think it's not that interesting anymore. used to love hearing it because it was 1 of 6 songs I knew for my 1st 2 shows.
CILCIA, APLAF, Son of A Sailor, He Went to Paris, OPH, even Boat Drinks could NEVER get boring, in my opinion, because seeing Jimmy play them IS always special because of the meaning of the songs. I live in snow country (hell, still snowing here in mid April) so Boat Drinks always strikes a chord.
Going to the shows introduced me to Jolly Mon, Great Heart, Diamond as Big as the Ritz, Last Mango, My African Friend, Nothing But a Breeze (amongst others). Although I hadn't heard them before seeing them done live, I loved the songs and bought CDs that had the songs on them. Buying the CD's made me discover so many other great songs that I am pining to hear Jimmy play Cowboy in the Jungle live. Maybe someday.
For many of us, seeing Jimmy live started us on the slippery slope. I wasn't hooked until my 2nd show. Now people think I am insane.
My future mother in law asked at Easter, "You spent all that money to go to Anguilla to see the guy who sings Margaritaville?" to which I replied "Yes. I'd do it again in a heart beat."
So. The Yellow Album songs are kind of like crack for so many of us, I think. You start by getting excited to hear Margaritaville but you keep coming back to hear those gems and to feel the excitement of watching 15,000 to 60,000 waving Fins.
My name is Paul and I am a Buffettaholic
And, I was glad that the final four were songs that I think are pretty special songs even if they are from the sometimes looked down upon Yellow Album.
BEG and WDWGDAS, CIP have gotten to be a little boring at shows, in my opinion. CIP will always be there because it's a great marketing tool for CIP/the Margaritaville restaurants. But, I think it's not that interesting anymore. used to love hearing it because it was 1 of 6 songs I knew for my 1st 2 shows.
CILCIA, APLAF, Son of A Sailor, He Went to Paris, OPH, even Boat Drinks could NEVER get boring, in my opinion, because seeing Jimmy play them IS always special because of the meaning of the songs. I live in snow country (hell, still snowing here in mid April) so Boat Drinks always strikes a chord.
Going to the shows introduced me to Jolly Mon, Great Heart, Diamond as Big as the Ritz, Last Mango, My African Friend, Nothing But a Breeze (amongst others). Although I hadn't heard them before seeing them done live, I loved the songs and bought CDs that had the songs on them. Buying the CD's made me discover so many other great songs that I am pining to hear Jimmy play Cowboy in the Jungle live. Maybe someday.
For many of us, seeing Jimmy live started us on the slippery slope. I wasn't hooked until my 2nd show. Now people think I am insane.
My future mother in law asked at Easter, "You spent all that money to go to Anguilla to see the guy who sings Margaritaville?" to which I replied "Yes. I'd do it again in a heart beat."
So. The Yellow Album songs are kind of like crack for so many of us, I think. You start by getting excited to hear Margaritaville but you keep coming back to hear those gems and to feel the excitement of watching 15,000 to 60,000 waving Fins.
My name is Paul and I am a Buffettaholic
And, I was glad that the final four were songs that I think are pretty special songs even if they are from the sometimes looked down upon Yellow Album.
got to stop wishin' got to start fishin'....
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pbans
- On a Salty Piece of Land
- Posts: 10063
- Joined: July 18, 2003 4:55 pm
- Favorite Buffett Song: OPH
- Number of Concerts: 9
- Location: Northern Utah.....
I love the story of Frankie, Christine & Indy...........
http://www.buffettnews.com/forum/viewto ... d3eb7896d1
http://www.buffettnews.com/forum/viewto ... d3eb7896d1
Paige in Utah
"Don't try to shake it, just nod your head
Breathe in, breathe out, move on"
"Don't try to shake it, just nod your head
Breathe in, breathe out, move on"
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pbans
- On a Salty Piece of Land
- Posts: 10063
- Joined: July 18, 2003 4:55 pm
- Favorite Buffett Song: OPH
- Number of Concerts: 9
- Location: Northern Utah.....
Don't mess up the nice thread, Larry......I'll be forced to...ahem..."deal" with you..................LIPH wrote:They had a 3-way with Harrison Ford?pbans wrote:I love the story of Frankie, Christine & Indy...........
Paige in Utah
"Don't try to shake it, just nod your head
Breathe in, breathe out, move on"
"Don't try to shake it, just nod your head
Breathe in, breathe out, move on"