A buddy of mine from work and I drove from Virginia to Florida for Spring Break in ‘89, two years after I got out of college. We hit Daytona Beach first, and yes, there was considerable debauchery and a good time was had by all (as much as I can remember, anyway). We swung through Vero Beach to catch a spring training game (Reds vs. Dodgers at Dodgertown with Fernando Valenzuela starting, which was sweet). We ended up in Fort Lauderdale, which was DEAD. They’d finally run most all the students off. The high point of the two days was getting cursed out in French by some Quebecois snowbird as we walked in front of the motel she was staying in. The only partying going on was in a few bars, and that largely during the daytime. The streets at night were absolutely jammed with police and they were arresting any college-age person that even looked at them funny.
The odd thing about Daytona was that we were there that weekend where Bike Week ends and the biggest week of Spring Break begins. The place was absolutely slammed with bikers and college students both, yet there was very little obvious police presence. And the bikers we ran into were amazingly chilled-out and friendly. Considering the immense crowds, everybody was laid-back and there didn’t seem to be many problems at all.
}:-)4
I had a similar experience in Daytona Beach in ‘81. Went into a biker bar on a whim, was obviously a college kid. Shot a game of pool with a biker dude (and made sure I lost). He bought me a beer with the $5 he won from me.
A great life experience.
If you came to where I live now (Delray) you’d mostly be in danger from old folks. And believe me, they ARE dangerous....