F
Field Ethos
Guest
By Vincent Bini
Nothing screams America like Spring Break. Teenagers from around the country fleeing the cold—or just plain boredom—for some fun in the sun.
I’d witnessed Spring Break once before, in Fort Lauderdale circa 1984. I spent most of it bobbing on a beat-up, twin-fin Fox surfboard, trying to catch 6-inch waves while thousands of spring breakers swarmed the beach around me. Beautiful girls everywhere, beer-can pyramids stacked floor to ceiling in motel windows. I didn’t fully understand what Spring Break was supposed to be—but from a surfboard, it looked pretty damn good.
Fast forward a decade and I had a much clearer picture—and no desire to be around that many people. So, I did what I normally do.
Fish.
Not having money was my greatest barrier to going places. Still is, I suppose. Being a teenager with no job and no real source of income complicated things. Luckily, I had some birthday money and a dream: camping in the Keys.
I planned a weeklong adventure and invited about eight or 10 of my other broke friends. We piled into a couple of trucks with the boat in tow and headed south. We were loaded with the absolute bare minimums—and I mean bare. Our plan was to catch most of our meals, which, with the crew we had, was not an unreasonable goal.
We reached our destination and started setting up camp. Two or three tents went up, along with a few coolers—some for the cold goods we brought with us and a couple reserved for the fresh fish we planned to catch.
After that, we got the boat in the water and started fishing.
The first couple of days were about as great as it could be, shy of a couple of minor issues. One of them was one guy’s complete inability to shut the cooler after opening it. That little habit quickly depleted our ice supply and eventually caused our lunch meat to spoil.
No biggie.
We’d have fish.
After a few days of fun in the sun, severe sunburn, lost wallets, and the camp beginning to look like it belonged under an L.A. freeway overpass, things started to unravel. It was a bit warmer than usual for that time of year, so tensions were a little elevated—especially during the heat of the day.
I knew we had hit rock bottom when I woke up one morning and saw one of the guys brushing his teeth with vodka. I stared at him with a perplexed look, only to get the response, “It’s just like mouthwash.”
I mean, I couldn’t really argue that point … but come on.
Things went a little more sideways when accusations started flying that certain people were holding out on the rest of us after a Burger King wrapper was discovered in one of the trucks. All-out war broke out, and people started digging through the seats looking for spare change. We must have looked like complete lunatics. The amazing part was we actually found enough money to buy a few cheeseburgers.
Small victories.
We still had a couple of days left when some of our other friends came down to visit us on their way to an actual hotel in Key West. Luckily, they felt bad for us and handed over enough money for a real meal.
Oh—and enough gas money to get back home.
It was definitely one of the most interesting Spring Breaks I ever had. Most certainly the most impoverished.
It was far from the image of Spring Break as most people imagine it, but it had merits of its own. Once you cut through the shanty-town vibe, the real possibility of starving, and of course the savage Burger King fight, we had a group of guys who—despite not having the means for a proper Spring Break—pulled off a pretty memorable trip.
As much as I would have preferred an actual room to sleep in, I’d do it all over again.
Every single time.
The post Spring Broke appeared first on Field Ethos.
Continue reading...
Nothing screams America like Spring Break. Teenagers from around the country fleeing the cold—or just plain boredom—for some fun in the sun.
I’d witnessed Spring Break once before, in Fort Lauderdale circa 1984. I spent most of it bobbing on a beat-up, twin-fin Fox surfboard, trying to catch 6-inch waves while thousands of spring breakers swarmed the beach around me. Beautiful girls everywhere, beer-can pyramids stacked floor to ceiling in motel windows. I didn’t fully understand what Spring Break was supposed to be—but from a surfboard, it looked pretty damn good.
Fast forward a decade and I had a much clearer picture—and no desire to be around that many people. So, I did what I normally do.
Fish.
Not having money was my greatest barrier to going places. Still is, I suppose. Being a teenager with no job and no real source of income complicated things. Luckily, I had some birthday money and a dream: camping in the Keys.
Best Laid Plans
I planned a weeklong adventure and invited about eight or 10 of my other broke friends. We piled into a couple of trucks with the boat in tow and headed south. We were loaded with the absolute bare minimums—and I mean bare. Our plan was to catch most of our meals, which, with the crew we had, was not an unreasonable goal.
We reached our destination and started setting up camp. Two or three tents went up, along with a few coolers—some for the cold goods we brought with us and a couple reserved for the fresh fish we planned to catch.
After that, we got the boat in the water and started fishing.
The first couple of days were about as great as it could be, shy of a couple of minor issues. One of them was one guy’s complete inability to shut the cooler after opening it. That little habit quickly depleted our ice supply and eventually caused our lunch meat to spoil.
No biggie.
We’d have fish.
Descent in Madness
After a few days of fun in the sun, severe sunburn, lost wallets, and the camp beginning to look like it belonged under an L.A. freeway overpass, things started to unravel. It was a bit warmer than usual for that time of year, so tensions were a little elevated—especially during the heat of the day.
I knew we had hit rock bottom when I woke up one morning and saw one of the guys brushing his teeth with vodka. I stared at him with a perplexed look, only to get the response, “It’s just like mouthwash.”
I mean, I couldn’t really argue that point … but come on.
Things went a little more sideways when accusations started flying that certain people were holding out on the rest of us after a Burger King wrapper was discovered in one of the trucks. All-out war broke out, and people started digging through the seats looking for spare change. We must have looked like complete lunatics. The amazing part was we actually found enough money to buy a few cheeseburgers.
Small victories.
Madness Makes Memories
We still had a couple of days left when some of our other friends came down to visit us on their way to an actual hotel in Key West. Luckily, they felt bad for us and handed over enough money for a real meal.
Oh—and enough gas money to get back home.
It was definitely one of the most interesting Spring Breaks I ever had. Most certainly the most impoverished.
It was far from the image of Spring Break as most people imagine it, but it had merits of its own. Once you cut through the shanty-town vibe, the real possibility of starving, and of course the savage Burger King fight, we had a group of guys who—despite not having the means for a proper Spring Break—pulled off a pretty memorable trip.
As much as I would have preferred an actual room to sleep in, I’d do it all over again.
Every single time.
The post Spring Broke appeared first on Field Ethos.
Continue reading...
