Knee Deep in Paradise thru 30Ez Vacation Rentals

09/03/2024

Tonight’s sunset…what a beautiful way to close out the unofficial end to summer.

07/01/2024

Out of town guests have lost their dog. A week ago today, Monday July 1st.
Please read the flyer and contact the owners if you see their dog.
Keeping them in my prayers she is found safe and sound and returned to her owners.

05/14/2024

Missing teenager
Gulf County
Missing from WeWa area

04/20/2024

❤️….

03/31/2024

Happy Easter from our family to yours
It’s Resurrection day….because He lives we can face tomorrow!

11/23/2023

Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours!

10/31/2023

Yippee!

09/27/2023

😂😂

09/27/2023

💔

FOLLOW IN MY WAKE
A1A - The Official and Original Jimmy Buffett Tribute Show
September 2, 2023 - The Boot Barn Hall - Gainesville, Georgia

Three weeks ago today, I woke up to a world that was much less colorful, happy, and musically joyous than when I had laid down to sleep just a few hours earlier. The night before, the band had performed a very entertaining and successful concert in Tucker, Georgia. Everything was as it should be. The weather was beautiful, and a large audience was smiling, dancing, and singing along with the band, who were feeling great and playing wonderfully. All that was forgotten when I turned on my phone at 7:00 a.m. to discover that Jimmy Buffett had passed away the night before, most likely while I was performing one of his songs onstage.

The 24 hours that followed were an unexpectedly painful, frightening, heavily emotional, and confusing blur. As you all know, we had a show at The Boot Barn Hall that evening, which I was prepared to cancel as late as 1:00 p.m. that afternoon. Thankfully, prayers and some words with Mike Davis and Peter Mayer brought me to my senses, and I went on with the show as Jimmy would have wanted. Our show that night turned out to be one of the most inspired, emotional, and best performances I, and possibly the band, have ever given. All our spirits in the room came together as one with the music to sing through the pain and confusion we all were feeling. It was all very difficult, yet magic, cathartic yet heavily draining on me. But when it was all over, I felt we had all sent Jimmy on his way in style and that the evening could not have been orchestrated any better than it had been. I felt that Jimmy may have even stopped by for a minute to help me through some very difficult moments I had onstage.

In the three weeks that have followed, like all of you reading this, my heart and soul have been on a strangely unprecedented, painful rollercoaster. I am on a little steadier ground than I was three weeks ago, and even though it is far from over, my eyes are dryer, and I see how important it is that A1A continue. I have had thousands of messages from fans near and far to drive that point home. To all of you who were at The Boot Barn Hall show on September 2, all of you know how special it was. It will be a day and a show I will remember and cherish for the rest of my life. Now, in accordance with Jimmy's dying wish, it is time for us to have fun and keep the party going. There's still so much to be done.

Bubbles up,
Jeff Pike

www.a1a-live.com
www.linktr.ee/jeffpikeanda1a
September 23, 2023

09/12/2023

❤️💔

From Parade Magazine:

09/12/2023

JB during the pandemic

09/06/2023

❤️

Come Monday, It'll Be Alright
September 4, 2023

I cannot fathom that in five short months, 'Come Monday' will turn 50. I still vividly remember the summer of 1974 when I worked for my Grandfather, helping with construction in Inman and Spartanburg, South Carolina. My job was to sand, caulk, putty, clean up, and paint. I worked nine to five, Monday through Friday, and made $50.00 a week. That was a lot of money to me back then. I was a mere 13 years old and happy to work as hard as possible, for I was saving up my money to buy my first electric guitar. While at work, I listened to the radio all day long, WORD from Spartanburg, South Carolina, to be exact, and Come Monday graced the airwaves a lot that summer. I can still close my eyes, smell the sawdust, caulk, and paint, and feel the putty and sandpaper beneath my fingertips.

I remember one house we worked in that summer for a few weeks. It was a two-story in progress and sat close to a beautiful home next door. The home was attractive, but my eyes were drawn more to the beautiful swimming pool in the backyard. Yes, it was a hot summer, and I loved to swim, but I was more interested in the attractive young girl who lived there, who would swim with her friends every day. I worked hard to impress my Grandfather, but the girls and the music were distracting. (Some addictions start early.) In an odd coincidence, all my memories of her, which have stayed with me all my life, revolve around 'Come Monday.' Jimmy's beautiful melancholy love song embedded itself deeply in my heart that summer and has never left. In case you are wondering, I never had the opportunity to meet her. I would have been too shy to say hello anyway.

I have been listening to Jimmy's music all day today while working, but when 'Come Monday' began playing early this afternoon, I had to pause, look out the window, listen, and reflect. Upon doing so, I suddenly realized that the lyrics would never feel or mean the same to me again. For 49 years now, whenever I listened to my 45, cassette, 8-track, album, CD, MP3, or stream of 'Come Monday,' it filled my heart with many emotions; even when some were sad, I still gained comfort, because I knew things would be alright once the long Labor Day weekend was over.
Then came today.

For countless people like myself, whose lives were deeply touched, changed, and even guided in part by the music, lyrics, books, and lifestyle of Jimmy Buffett, the Monday our then-young Troubador sang about will never again feel as carefree and comforting as it did just four short days ago. The L.A. haze will remain, and from now on, we will all have an aching space by our side that will stay unfilled, for our hero will not be returning come Monday. The Hemisphere Dancer has flown its last voyage into the sunset and taken our beloved Frank Bama with her.

Those of you who have followed my writings and concerts with A1A this past weekend know how difficult this has been for me, as I understand it has been for those who have taken the time to read this far. So much has changed in three short days - three short days that have seemed like a month. I have spent Labor Day 2023 listening to Jimmy Buffett's music and continuing to go through endless emails, messages, texts, voice mails, and social media posts addressed to me. It is nearing the end of the day, and unexpectedly I am starting to see a distant ray of light. No, we will never again have the chance to see Jimmy work his magic in concert. As heartbreaking as this is, today, I have been thinking deeply about the music, magic, friendships, relationships, laughter, tears, and endlessly beautiful memories he gave all of us. These memories are treasures and can easily last for generations.

Ah, the stories we can tell, and eventually, we will, through smiles without tears. In time, the storm shall pass, the heart of Margaritaville will beat again, and there will be songs to sing forever in tribute to a man who touched millions. No, the coming Labor Day weekends will never be the same. The following Mondays will sting, but eventually, the blender will start to spin. We will once again find our one particular harbor, and all live happily ever after every now and then.

Count all your blessings, remember your dreams....

Jeff Pike
September 4, 2023

09/06/2023

🥰🥰

The many colored “butterfly” looking shells of Anna Maria Island, FL.

09/06/2023

More 🦩🦩🦩beauties
The last sentence pulls at my heart strings for these and all the flamingoes displaced (much as I love having the one here jn St Joe Bay and the ones over at St Marks) no one knows how they would get back home or even where home is....

At least the ones at St Marks are on a wild life refuge. Our newest resident isn't even in the St Joe Peninsula State Park....it's out in the bay very close to the street vulnerable where stupid selfish humans can put it in danger. ☹️

It’s amazing to continue to see these flamingos on the beaches of Florida’s West Coast, following Hurricane Idalia.

This is from Treasure Island captured by Captain Vinnie's Boat Tours.

It’s believed that all of these flamingos are from Mexico or islands in the Caribbean! Some experts believe that the birds are from the Yucatan, that they were traveling from Mexico to Cuba, and that Idalia simply blew them off course.

No one knows exactly how many of the great omnivores are in Florida right now, but some ornithologists have speculated on social media that there may be as many as 70 of the pink-and-gray birds that were blown off course.

An American flamingo hangs out with a flock of American white pelicans in the Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve in the 10,000 Islands on Friday, Jan.14, 2022. Dozens of flamingos were reported across the west coast of Florida Wednesday as Hurricane Idalia passed to the north.

This isn’t the first time flamingos or other exotic birds have been blown to Florida during a hurricane or tropical storm. Many flew in with Hurricane Michael in 2018 and have not left. No one’s really sure how they’d get home, or where home even is located.

09/06/2023

Just WOW! 💕

Enjoy every sunset. Have fun…
www.Linktr.ee/jpcoa

09/06/2023

FLAMINGOS NEAR BIG PINE KEY! Some of them even may decide to stay if we give them plenty of room by viewing with binoculars and/or a long telephoto lens. They potentially have been displaced by Hurricane Idalia to: Florida, GA, TN, NC, VA, OH and SC. Whoa! (Thank you for that interesting info Mischa Perez!) Photos © 9/2/23 ValPreziosiPhotos.com

The recent arrival of flamingoes in the lower Florida Keys is causing quite a stir with resident bird enthusiasts and photographers. The birds offer a rare birdwatching experience. Thought to have been hunted to extinction in Florida for their feathers in the eighteen hundreds, any flamingoes sighted in recent decades in the Everglades or the Keys were believed to be escapees from zoos or tourist attractions. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission had them listed as a non-native species. This finally changed in 2018 when scientists from Zoo Miami and the Florida Audubon Society found two flamingoes in the Everglades that were banded as juveniles in Mexico, and monitored the movements of another bird found in the Florida Keys with a satellite tracker. They also discovered several large flocks in Florida Bay that remain there year-round. Their work reversed the FFWCC’s non-native designation and the flamingo is now considered a native Florida bird, with recruits flying in from the Bahamas, Cuba and as far away as Yucatan, Mexico. It is not known where the latest Keys flamingos came from, but hopes are they could be the start of a trend to repopulate their once native habitat.

09/03/2023

Just WOW!
Gorgeous!

How about this cotton candy sunset from Sarasota!

📸 ._dove_

09/03/2023

So close to home in so many ways being a Georgia girl. Such a sad somber Labor Day weekend.
This parrot head will be playing Jimmy's music this week as I usually do being at the beach except this time it will have a new special meaning 💔🏝️

No Plane On Sunday
September 3, 2023

It is amazing what 24 hours can bring. I woke up yesterday to the crippling news that Jimmy Buffett had left us, and today I opened my exhausted eyes to a beautifully written article in the Atlanta Journal Constitution mentioning me, A1A, The Atlanta Parrot Head Club, and discussing Jimmy's passing and how Atlanta was dealing with it.

For so many of us, yesterday was devastatingly difficult. I am humbled, flattered, surprised, and deeply moved by the viral response to my Facebook post yesterday paying tribute to the passing of Jimmy Buffett. You will also be happy to hear that our sold-out A1A show last night at The Boot Barn Hall in Gainesville, Georgia, was a phenomenal success in every way.

I have so many people to respond to and much to share. Everything has changed overnight, and it is hard to take in. I have an emotional hangover today, the size of Texas, but please know that I am reading your emails and texts. Each one is special, and I thank you for taking time out of your life to share your thoughts and deepest feelings with me.

Please enjoy and share the article, play Jimmy's music all day, hell, all week, and find joy in the music, legacy, love, and friendship he left us with. Love to everyone. - Jeff Pike

09/03/2023

First thing I read when I woke up this morning. This was a hard one for me. My prayers for his family and friends and all the other parrot heads out there who loved him so

James William Buffett
Singer/songwriter Jimmy Buffett on a boat looking off in the distance.
(December 25, 1946 - September 1, 2023)

The beloved singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett passed away at his home in Sag Harbor, Long Island on Friday September 1, 2023 surrounded by family and friends. Buffett, 76, had been fighting Merkel Cell Skin Cancer for four years. He continued to perform during treatment, playing his last show, a surprise appearance in Rhode Island, in early July.

With a recording career that spanned more than fifty years and included hits such as “Margaritaville,” “Come Monday,” and “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere,” Buffett was one of the most successful performers in popular music. He filled arenas with fans who called themselves “Parrot Heads,” and popularized a signature blend of folk, country and Caribbean music with lyrics that often reflected Buffett’s world travels. A pilot and a sailor, Buffett wrote songs about his plane being shot at by Jamaican police (“Jamaica Mistaica”), getting lost in the Sahara Desert (“Buffet Hotel”) and smugglers he had known around the Florida Gulf Coast (“A Pirate Looks at 40”).

Although he was best known for upbeat party songs (others include “Cheeseburger in Paradise,” and “Fins”) Buffett first achieved notoriety for thoughtful ballads that showed the influence of Texas songwriters such as Jerry Jeff Walker and Canadian Gordon Lightfoot.

Bob Dylan praised lesser-known Buffett compositions “He Went to Paris” and “Death of an Unpopular Poet” - songs that reflected the observational, storytelling skills Buffett developed in his early career as a journalist for Billboard magazine.

Buffett had a second career as a successful author. He was one of a handful of writers who had number one best-sellers on both the fiction and non-fiction lists of the New York Times Book Review.

He had a third career as an entrepreneur, building a diversified lifestyle brand business, including Margaritaville hotels, restaurants, and retirement communities, along with sidelines such as Land Shark beer. Buffett’s branding and business acumen made him one of the most financially successful musicians of all time.

James William Buffett was born on Christmas, 1946 in Pascagoula, Mississippi and grew up in Alabama. He earned a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Southern Mississippi in 1969. He credited early years playing and singing in the streets and bars of New Orleans with shaping his dedication to connecting with his audience and giving the customers a good show. Buffett had little patience with performers who took themselves too seriously. He liked to say that the job of singing for a living was descended from the profession of court jester.

Buffett is survived by his wife of 46 years, Jane (Slagsvol) Buffett, his daughters Savannah Jane (Joshua) and Sarah Delaney, his son Cameron Marley (Lara), his grandson Marley Ray and devoted pack of dogs Lola, Kingston, Pepper, Rosie, Ajax and Kody. Also survived by his Montana sister, Laurie Buffett McGuane (Tom), their children Heather Hume, Anne Buffett McGuane, Maggie McGuane and Thomas McGuane IV; his Alabama sister, Lucy Buffett and daughters Mara Delaney Buffett O’Dwyer and Melanie Leigh Buffett; and many more wonderful cousins, nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Jimmy Buffett’s Foundation Singing for Change, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Dana Farber Cancer Institute or MD Anderson Cancer Center.