"Spring Break Outing, 2nd Round" - Time Out #77

The last installment I shared with you was what a wonderful, group, spring break experience my dear friend, Alan, and I had, supervising my youngest, Robbie, and his buddies, during their 10th grade year at Stillwater High School. The Cruise America motor home adventure to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, was that special week in 2000, experienced by 10 of us.

Therefore, the natural thing, of course, the next year, was to repeat another cross country road trip with the same 8 young people and retired E-9, sergeant major, Alan, experienced the next March (2001). Yes, it was another humdinger of an outing! Again, we drove about 3,000 miles round trip to another spring break paradise location, this time, Daytona Beach, FL, on the Atlantic Ocean. The mode of travel this trip wasn't as big as the previous year, but it wasn't small, either. For this adventure, I drove to Tulsa, and rented a 15-passenger Chevrolet passenger van from Capps Rentals. Since there were only 10 van travelers, we had some extra room for supplies, and some space for the riders to stretch out a little. Alan, being the incredible organizer with those many years of army experience, got all our needed supplies and loaded them, I talked to the boys' parents again, as I had the previous year, and we were off in our rented van, headed southeastward for a 2-day drive. Going down, we took the more southern route thru Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, across the Florida panhandle, and, eventually, to the resort, action city of Daytona Beach. Being in a large passenger van with 8 teenage boys for hours upon hours was anything but boring. Alan and I alternated driving chores, and for the second year in a row, kept the vehicle's music system alive with the many CD's he brought along for the journey. This time, however, we had the luxury of having the younger boys help us sing along with the tunes, although, I must admit, many of the songs were not quite on the younger set's hit chart list. Probably by the end of the trip, however, we had played most of the previously unknown tunes to them so many times, the boys had learned the words. As Alan and I would relate to each other in the private space of the front seats, learning the songs' lyrics was a form of "good military training" for the boys! Once we arrived at our Atlantic Oceanside motel in Daytona Beach, the group excitement level greatly increased. The boys piled out of the vehicle, and raced toward the nearby warm sea water, while Alan and I checked into our timeshare unit I had secured a few months ago. We unloaded the van inside the old, single story, 2-bedroom, well-worn, place that had a small kitchen and few other perks. The biggest thing it had going for it, however, was it was right on the beach, and the boys could have cared less how many consumer rating stars it had. In retrospect reality, it would have struggled to have been rated more than a 1-star establishment, but, as I said, who really cared??? We certainly didn't care how many stars it had!!! The unit's lack of amenities took a far back seat to the great human interaction of male bonding, constantly laughing and close companionship that couldn't have been better during that golden week we celebrated together long ago. Alan, being the master cook, prepared the food in our limited kitchen facilities. I tried to assist him, and we both got lots of help from the fellows, too. Day tine activities centered, of course, around the ocean, with lots of young female viewing/talking by our guys with the also vacationing young ladies in the area. I will say, the area wasn't super crowded, however, because Stillwater's spring break is always relatively early on the calendar (mid-March), whereas most of the populated eastern U.S. schools do not have their spring recess times until April each year. When our group wasn't experiencing sun (one member got a bad sunburn despite my attempts to educate them!), surf, sand and beach people, they were shopping in and out of the various curio stories scattered along oceanside Atlantic Avenue where we were located. The guys bought various t-shirts and other souvenirs, but when some came back and showed us the henna tattoos they got on their bodies, I wasn't terribly pleased. I did feel better, however, when I was informed the tattoos were only temporary, and would wear off after several days. That fact instantly made me feel better regarding their parents versus me over tattoos when we returned home. One day, Alan and I and a couple of the guys, toured the nearby NASCAR famous 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway, and paid for guided tours. The famed Daytona 500, which was first run in 1959, had been held only about a month earlier in 2001, the year we made this trip. We all marveled for several hours inside that huge, man-made sporting icon Another full day, all of us loaded in the van, and drove the short distance inland to Lake Buena Vista, and enjoyed the Walt Disney World Resort. Of course, we had a wonderful time there because, as always, it was the "happiest place on earth". For some of the group, it was their first visit to this magical place, and it was so much fun to see the excitement in their eyes! I'm sure my eyes showed similiar excitement, too, even though I had experienced WDW many times before that particular visit. I am/was simply a kid at heart in many ways. As the week came to a close, we headed our van northwest, taking the more northern route this time, thru northern Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Arkansas and finally, Oklahoma, and Our Town. As the previous year's spring break, I cannot remember any major disagreements or loud arguments among our group. Thus,all mind's eye memories of this adventure almost 16 years ago are great ones! So, our tight-knit pack of travelers were 2-for-2 in back-to-back spring breaks experiences. Being the adventurous dad, after I got back to Our Town, I began planning for Robbie's swan song, senior year spring break in 2002. For this one, Alan and I mustered additional adult reinforcements to help us chaperone the much-anticipated event. What was it, you ask??? Not that easy, fellow citizens of Our Town. You MUST stay tuned.........