Love, Daytona Beach, and Pop-Tarts
In college (and even high school), spring break is a magnet. It fires the imagination. For decades, the sheer hedonism that (hopefully) awaits has drawn people to beach locales across the United States and Mexico. There may not be a better-timed week off during the year than spring break. Smack dab in the middle of second semester, the lingering cold weather makes you wish for something—anything—to take you away from the dreariness and transport you to seven days of sun, alcohol, and random hookups.
In 1986, MTV did its first spring break broadcast from Daytona Beach. It eventually moved on to Panama City Beach, South Padre, and Cancun, but not before imprinting an entire generation. That programming may have done more to build spring break as a cultural event than anything. As with life in general, the distance between the myth and reality of spring break is often wide, baby, wide.
I remember taking a road trip down to Panama City Beach in 1991 with a couple friends. We got a crappy hotel room near the beach, milled around in dark, cavernous bars drinking overpriced domestic beer in the evenings, and waited for something to happen. It never did. No random nudity. No wild adventures. We left a couple days later with lighter wallets but nothing resembling the spring break MTV had promised. What a screw.
The further you get in life, the more you recognize that your own experience usually isn’t representative of all experiences. For every pale dope like me walking around the beach, there were beautiful people having the best time in their lives right alongside drunken saps plumbing the depths of despair. The whole circus of human existence. Maybe I just missed it.
For anyone who ever made that trek and failed to fly too close to the sun, this episode is for you. It’s about first love, enduring friendships, grand gestures, and a commitment to finish the mission. High-school friends Jeff and Tom hatched a scheme that stood out to me for its ambition, audacity, and meticulous planning. Love was the inspiration, Daytona Beach was the destination, and Pop-Tarts were the fuel. Enjoy.
