Where’s Jimmiee?

On June 2 we sailed the short 3.2 miles from Ile de Fourchue to Anse Colombier, a beautiful little bay just northeast of Gustavia, the main port on St. Barts. Voted one of the "Top 10 "Most Beautiful Anchorages in the Caribbean," this one certainly lived up to its reputation. A breathtaking crescent-shaped white sand beach nestled under the towering green peaks of St Barts, it was definitely a Kodak moment. After we got anchored we dinghied the two miles over to Gustavia with Field Trip to check in with French customs.

Commuting via dingy from Anse Columbier to Gustavia at St. Barts.

You'd think by now we'd get the French computer system down but the oddball keyboard and the reversed dates still got me. They also had drop-down menus for the departure port, but sometimes it was the country name and sometimes the port name. So much for consistency. I garnered my usual "you stupid American" looks from the port captain as I fumbled through the online forms.

During the season, St. Barts is the home of "A-list" celebrities and just plain rich and beautiful people (in contrast to the rather feral-looking yachties off the boats). We walked by designer shops that I didn't think we could even afford to walk into.

Our next boat.

It is a wonderful little French port, lined with super-yachts and with all the requisite sidewalk cafes and saloons.

The boys take a breather.

Elizabeth and Michael on a humongous anchor.

We explored the dockside area with Mark, Sara, Elizabeth and Michael. It's always so much fun to see the world through the eyes of young children. Had drinks and ice cream at a sidewalk café and decided to come back the next day when the shops would be open.

At the anchorage we were treated to the usual assortment of French yachties skinny dipping, sunbathing, or just parading up and down their boats in their birthday suits. Oh, those frisky French.

The next day we headed back into Gustavia to do a little shopping. Meryl's snorkeling rash guard had blown off the lifelines the night before so that was our first priority. The good news was there were lots of "end of season sales" but the selection was limited.

She got a bright pink one but later traded it for a white one she found at another shop. We ended up back at the Customs office asking about the restaurant made famous by Jimmy Buffet's "Cheeseburger in Paradise" (someone else said it was at Cabbage Island in Florida). The Customs guy seemed to be a big Buffet fan and let slip that the next night was the 90th birthday party of the owner of Le Select, and rumor had it Jimmy Buffet was going to show up and play some sets. We ambled over to Le Select, an eclectic restaurant/bar with a large outside patio shaded by trees and asked around trying to confirm the rumor. The bartender, in mumbled French, seemed to say that "yes, Jimmiee may show up." That was good enough for us. We sat down and ordered the fabled "cheeseburger" (Dicks Drive In, you don't have anything to worry about) and downed a couple of beers.

Back at the boat we went over to Field Trip and asked if they were interested in staying an extra day and heading to Le Select. We all agreed it was a once in a lifetime opportunity and decided to stay.

The beautiful beach at Anse Colombier, also on the Top 10 beaches list for the Caribbean.

The next morning, we dinghied into shore to explore the beach and do some hiking. We ended up hiking up one of the peaks that overlooks Anse Colombier. It was great to finally get some exercise but hiking in this heat is no picnic.

It was too hot on the hike even for this little guy.

Ran into a big tortoise along the trail moving at about zero miles per hour. He kind of hid inside his shell, but you can tell it was even to hot for him to give it the old college try as his head was still hanging out a bit.

Since we were leaving the next day, we decided to move the boats two miles down to Gustavia to avoid a long dingy ride at night after the Buffet extravaganza. Meryl and I went in around 5:00 pm to secure a table and managed to grab the last ones available. Lots of people were showing up which gave credence to the rumor.

We enjoyed attending Marius' 90th birthday party at Le Select.

I'm sure Marius was thinking "Who are these yahoos?"

Marius seemed to take a long time to pin this ribbon on Meryl.

Meryl had her picture taken with Marius, the 90-year-old birthday boy and got the special purple ribbon pin on her shirt. Field Trip showed up around 6:25 pm with the kids and we began the long vigil of "waiting for Jimmiee."

Sara and Meryl keep the kids busy with a game of UNO.

Sarah, always the mother and teacher, pulled out UNO cards and got the kids and Meryl engaged in a rousing game. Mark and I started drinking.

Getting a beer was a little of a challenge.

The house band showed up and got things moving. It was turning into quite a crowd of locals, French, the occasional American and other hanger-on'ers. Lots of people were showing up which gave credence to the rumor.

The band, whose lead singer was the Customs guy who told us about the rumor, was in rare form. More drinks, more music. Everyone was dancing and watching the local West Indians and French dance was a rare treat. The French do a Latin-type swing dance with lots of gyrating, rhythmic hips . . . whoops, I digress. After more drinks even Meryl and I were up dancing (but no gyrating hips.)

A short Frenchman took quite a liking to Meryl but eventually figured out she was with her husband. Meanwhile, a Goldman Sachs banker chic named Merrill had begun talking with us. She was very friendly, especially with Mark, and Meryl made the class move of bringing over the short Frenchman and introducing him to 6-ft.-tall Merrill from Chicago. Watching them dance was a trip as he came up to about her chest. He was a very happy Frenchman. More drinks.

At about 10:00 pm when we're all about to burst into a "where's Jimmiee?" chant, I notice a couple of American guys standing alongside the band with a guitar and banjo. Could it be?

After a few drinks this guy started looking like Jimmie Buffet.

I rush up with my camera (rushing anywhere is now becoming a problem due to all the drinks) and stare at this guy with the guitar who kind of looks like Jimmiee, but I'm not quite sure. With hopes rekindled, I walk back to our group to try and get confirmation. By this time the "more drinks" are beginning to take their effect. At 11:00 pm Mark and Sara have thrown in the towel and take two very tired kids back to the boat, leaving us to stand vigil. We are now BFF's with our little French friend who is standing on a chair searching for his tall blonde dance mate. We decide to give it until midnight before we bail, and things continue to get stranger. Some tall blonde Frenchwoman with a very low cut dress and a very menacing looking husband bends over to have a long discussion with me about "where's Jimmiee" and I'm thinking "keep making eye contact."

By this time both Meryl and I have given up the last vestige of hope about Jimmiee and slowly walk back to the dingy dock, occasionally looking back to see if maybe he's jumped up on stage, but nothing as the music slowing fades into the other night noises. A fun evening but apparently our parrot head days are over.