Jimmy Wayne Nearly Arrested in Mexico

Jimmy Wayne is thanking his lucky stars he didn't have to wear a prison jumpsuit for Halloween. The singer spent five days in Mexico as part of Darryl Worley's Travelin' Country Cruise Halloween Party, which set sail from Tampa, Fla., headed to Cozumel, where he got into a bit of trouble.

"When you're on a boat for two or three days, you're ready to do something ... get on your feet and explore," Jimmy tells The Boot. "The first thing I saw was an Avis rent-a-car. I got a convertible jeep for the afternoon, and I was driving around having a good time. I found a Starbucks and a Mexican restaurant, and I had some amazing food."

After lunch, Jimmy took a drive down the coast, to check out the waves crashing on Cozumel's white sandy beaches. What he failed to remember during his beach quest was "boat time" and "land time" had an hour difference. "I realized that it was almost 4:00, which meant it was almost 5:00 according to the 'boat time,'" says Jimmy, who at that point gathered his things to head back to the ship. "The first rule on the ship is that it will leave at 5:00; if you're not on the ship, it will leave without you."

Jimmy found himself back on the deserted roads driving through the overgrown weeds, working his way back to the rental car office. When he got closer into town, Jimmy was pulled over by the local police who clocked him speeding. "This police officer walked up to the jeep, and he said, 'Follow me to jail.' I started laughing a little bit because I thought he was kidding."

When Jimmy realized that it was now 4:00 "land time," he knew that getting to the ship was crucial. "I asked the officer how much it was going to cost to let me go. He told me $100, which I did not have. I told him I had $15. He said, 'Give me your $50.' When I explained to him that I said $15, not $50, he searched my passport wallet, my pockets and the car to see if I had any more money than that."

The officer settled for Jimmy's $15 and didn't say anything else to the singer. "I just pushed the gas and drove off at that point," Jimmy recalls. "The police just sat there in their car and didn't do anything else."

Like a scene out of the movies, Jimmy pulled up to the Avis office, which was closed, tossed the keys in the drop box, and bolted on foot to the ship. "I could hear the boat horn blowing, and I realized the boat was leaving. I could see everyone on the boat yelling and waving to me, yelling, 'Run, Jimmy, run!' It was the second time this year that I truly felt like 'Forrest Gump' (the first being when Jimmy walked from Nashville, Tenn. to Phoenix, Ariz. on his Meet Me Halfway campaign for homeless youth). I remember thinking, 'If I can just make it to the ship ...' I didn't think I was going to make it."

Luckily the ship waited for Jimmy and all ended on a happy note. Now that he's home safe and sound, Jimmy is back to work on his first full-length album inspired by his Meet Me Halfway walk across America.