This morning over coffee I turned the final pages of A Salty Piece of Land by Jimmy Buffett. The book has been a real companion to me over the past month or so, traveling to Texas, on two backcountry ski trips to northern Maine, to Vermont twice, to Sugarloaf.

Now, I normally don't take this long to read a book. But it's a great book, and with Buffett, I like to turn the pages slowly and savor the adventures. Sailing through the Carribean, visiting the tropical islands and coasts... the Bahamas, Cuba, Belize, Mexico. Skiffs and sailboats, sunsets and palm trees, beaches and warm waters, tiki bars and music and cold Coronas with lime.

There's something about travelling with Tully Mars, er, Buffett, that just puts me off in a different world, far away from the day-to-day, as Buffett masterfully weaves his own philosphy of life--a life very well lived--into the pages, among the many adventures, the twists and turns of the story.

Buffett never fails to ignite that spark of escapism in me that lives, ever-present, just below the surface. You end up wanting to throw a few things together in a duffle, turn out the lights and turn your back on whatever you knew before, and head straight for the unknown, for life's adventure, whatever and wherever the next one is...

"Leap, and the net will appear"
--Jimmy Buffett, A Salty Piece of Land