Two weeks ago we reported on Jimmy Buffett’s attendance at a University of Florida football game. Buffett joined head coach Urban Meyer (pictured right / AP photo by Mark Humphrey) and the team in the locker room after the game. In today’s edition of the Miami Herald, they expand on Meyer’s love of Buffett’s music and escapism:

At heart, Meyer — one of the country’s best college football coaches — is a fan of Jimmy Buffett. That’s right. Meyer is a Parrot Head. He even owns an official pair of Margaritaville flip-flops.

”Urban doesn’t just like Jimmy Buffett, Urban wants to be Jimmy Buffett,” said Shelley Meyer, Urban’s wife.

“To Urban, Jimmy just has the greatest life because he gets to be laid-back. That’s Urban’s dream, just to be relaxed and have fun.”

There will be no relaxing for Meyer in the next few days. His Florida Gators, ranked No. 2 in nation by The Associated Press with an 11-1 record, play No. 1 Alabama on Saturday in Atlanta for the Southeastern Conference championship.

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The playful side of Urban Meyer can be traced back to a warm summer day in Cincinnati where he was a college player and worked part-time at the Timberwolf Amphitheater. That’s when Meyer met Buffett.

”He really loves the guy,” Shelley said. “We have every Buffett CD ever made and from February to August they literally play nonstop.”

Read the entire article here.

Jimmy Buffett recently treked down the east coast for his annual pilgramige from New York to Florida and wrote about it in his online diary that you can read at Margaritaville.com. He flew his Cessna Caravan from New York’s East River down to First Flight Airport in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina… site of the Wright Brothers National Memorial. Jimmy describes what it’s like to be a pilot and visit the spot where the Wright Brothers first flew:

I am a creature of habit, and to me, the birthplace of aviation, is a place worth visiting more than once. In fact, I would say it is more than a photo op, a gift shop visit or buzzing the Wright Brothers Monument in your plane. It is a spiritual place to me, as powerful as Diamond Head or Machu Pichu in that regard. It is a sandy piece of land, where one can stand at the exact spot where man left the planet for the first time, and reflect in these troubled times, on what it means to soar above the earth and go traveling amongst the stars. Those kinds of thoughts are the things that separate pilots from passengers.

Buffett also writes about a great local seafood place, the throwback cottage that he stayed in, and the stand-up surfboard that he tried out on the trip.

Read the entire Outer Banks diary here. There are also several photos from Buffett’s trip on Margaritaville.com.

Jimmy says at the end of the diary entry that there will be a part II, and possibly a new song or two from this trip, so stay tuned!

Jimmy and his son Cameron attended the Florida Gators football game on Saturday in Gainesville, Florida. Coach Urban Meyer was ecstatic, not only because of the 50 point beatdown the Gators put on South Carolina, but because Jimmy joined Meyer on the sideline and in the locker room.

From GatorSports.com:

“Jimmy Buffett was in our locker room, he was,” Meyer said, almost giddy.

“In all seriousness, that’s a big deal,” said Meyer, whose favorite Buffett song is “It’s 5 o’clock somewhere.”

Meyer met Buffett at Super Bowl XLI in Miami. It was raining and Meyer offered the singer a dark Gator jacket, which Buffett also wore to Saturday’s game.

“It’s great to be back in Gainesville seeing the Gators playing this well,” said Buffett, who had his son, Cameron, with him. “It’s been a long time. I like what Coach Meyer is doing here. This has just been a lot of fun tonight.”

TCPalm.com has more:

“In all seriousness, that’s way up there,” a smiling Meyer said. “And I don’t get awed by many people. That’s a hell of a deal, man. You guys don’t believe me.”

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“We’ve been inviting him for three years,” said Shelley Meyer, Urban’s wife. “Urban’s only birthday wish every year is to see a Jimmy Buffett concert, so we go see him in concert. It was great to have him here.”

Funny thing is, the Gator players were oblivious.

“I didn’t really know who he was, but coach loves him so he must be a pretty good singer,” WR/RB Percy Harvin said.

“I didn’t know him,” LB Brandon Spikes said. “He sings margarita something, right?”

They may not know who he is, but they liked something he said.

“He said it’s a pleasure meeting me, he loves watching me and hopefully, we’ll see him in Miami,” QB Tim Tebow said.

Real Kiteboarding of Cape Hatteras, NC has a writeup on Jimmy Buffett’s recent stop to the Outer Banks to do some surfing and fishing:

There’s not too many days that you get to take a session with someone as cool, laid back and talented as Jimmy Buffett. Two years ago we were lucky enough to bump into Jimmy in the British Virgin Islands and spent a day surfing head high point break waves with light offshore winds. Tons of long waves, big smiles and lifelong memories were had that day.

On Tuesday, November 10th, Jimmy Buffett caught up with us again at the new REAL Flagship Store in Cape Hatteras, NC. Jimmy was on a road trip from New York to Charleston, SC in his vegetable oil powered diesel 4×4 van nicknamed “The Green Tomato”.

Read the entire article here.

And here is a video from Real Kiteboarding that features a photo slideshow and some video of Buffett’s visit:

(hat tip to Tara for passing this along)

Following services on Saturday in Key West for Captain Tony Tarracino, a street party and parade will take place on Greene Street to celebrate his life:

Visitation for Tarracino will be held at Dean-Lopez Funeral Home at 418 Simonton St. Friday from 4 to 8 p.m. Services will be Saturday at St. Mary Star of the Sea Church at 1010 Windsor Lane at 11 a.m.

That likely will be followed by something he would have rejoiced in: A parade and street party in his honor.

The parade, if approved by the City Commission, would start at noon and run down Greene Street — in front of Captain Tony’s Saloon — between Duval and Whitehead. Following the parade, the same area will be closed to traffic from 1 to 3 p.m. to accommodate the crowd expected to gather in honor of Tarracino.

Tarracino was a dear friend of Buffett’s. Read more about him here.