I feel as if I'd been away years. It's shocking returning to a place with traffic lights.

To celebrate finishing the book I rode my baby Vespa into Gustavia, the only town, and rented a wave runner to circumnavigate the island. I love speed. The water was glassy, but still, the thing is so fast that I only flat-out floored it for a short burst of ten seconds or so. It was fantastic. Usually I kept it 3/4. The angry waverunner whine sounds so much like the jangly guitar of the James Bond theme.

Then I Vespaed to the Salines Garden to get my stuff. I was changing hotels because I'd screwed up the reservation and there wasn't any room. Jean-Philippe was nice enough to lend me a board and took me out surfing at Anse de Cayes. The waves were small but fun. Unfortunately, I'm a longboarder and his biggest board is a 6'8". I'm 6'2" and it felt like a potato chip to me. Still, I've regretted not surfing St. Barths since I was here in '91.

Rewriting like mad this weekend, when the kids will let me.