# Did you do the "spring break experience"? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 15, 2012, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-do-the-spring-break-experience/615828 "2012-03-15T04:08:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-do-the-spring-break-experience/615828/21 "2012-03-15T15:50:25Z")
> [@installLSC](#): > > It’s spring break time at a couple of local colleges, which got me thinking about the much mytholigized “college spring break”. You know, the one where you go to South Padre/Arizona/Cancun on your colleges’ spring break to have nonstop drinking and hook up constantly. I was too much the poor college student to afford this, and the people who did go to Arizona didn’t seem to have experiences much different than what they did back on campus. Did you do spring break in your college years? Did it live up to what you thought it should be? Got any good stories? No, not here. I had a girlfriend so could “hook up” any time, and if I wanted to get high, well, I had quality connections in Athens, GA not in Fort Lauderdale, FL. 😉 It was rather nice being “alone” during SB. ---
**Author:** ![SmellMyWort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SmellMyWort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmellMyWort)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-do-the-spring-break-experience/615828/22 "2012-03-15T16:02:04Z")
Nope, I was poor and working the first two years, gone on semester abroad junior year, and then planning/saving for a wedding my senior year. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-do-the-spring-break-experience/615828/23 "2012-03-15T16:56:58Z")
Not exactly. In my sophomore year I saved up and went to NYC with my boyfriend on spring break, but we didn’t do it with the “go-crazy” mindset. I just wanted to go on vacation for the first time as an adult. It was a lot of fun, but we didn’t go wild. Tried a lot of new food (my favorite was the sushi, 2nd favorite was Ethiopian) and visited lots of museums and landmarks. My dogs were barkin’ by the end of it, that was a LOT more walking than I was used to. ---
**Author:** ![Cryptic\_C62](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Cryptic\_C62](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cryptic_C62)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-do-the-spring-break-experience/615828/24 "2012-03-15T17:33:20Z")
I just got back from Spring Break on Sunday. My break was not anything like what was described in the OP. I brought my ladyfriend home to meet my family, and our activities were fairly ordinary – walking the dogs, cooking tasty food, playing board games. We also spend a night in New York City, but there wasn’t any drinking or craziness there either. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-do-the-spring-break-experience/615828/25 "2012-03-15T17:40:16Z")
I always took advantage of spring break to work extra hours. ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-do-the-spring-break-experience/615828/26 "2012-03-15T17:43:48Z")
Once, sort of. Junior year, which was my sister’s first year of grad school. We drove to Daytona Beach from Ithaca (19 hours, straight shot, stopping only to pee and go through the McDonald’s drive through). Once there we didn’t really do the typical spring break thing. We camped, and went to the beach during the day. Did a little sightseeing, ate at Chick Fil-A. Drank a few beers at the campsite at night. Very mellow and non-debauched. We had a great time. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-do-the-spring-break-experience/615828/27 "2012-03-15T17:56:32Z")
Nope. One time my friend and I went to Toronto for spring break (she wasn’t even in college) and it was hilarious because we went through Niagara Falls and there was a blizzard and it was the least “spring-breaky” thing ever. Who goes to Canada for spring break anyway? Well, two fat girls who wouldn’t be caught dead in a bikini, for one 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-do-the-spring-break-experience/615828/28 "2012-03-15T19:47:48Z")
I never had the money - I could barely afford college! ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-do-the-spring-break-experience/615828/29 "2012-03-15T20:16:53Z")
Yes, I spent two wild and crazy spring breaks in Florida. There was much drinking, dancing, puking and…other stuff. Not always in that order. At the time it was awesome. Hotels were jammed full of college kids. Wristbands got you free drinks 24 hours a day by the pool. Other wristbands got you into certain clubs. My friends and I usually made the 14 hour drive home with about a half dozen wristbands and a foggy memory of what just happened. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Il\_Palazzo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Lord\_Il\_Palazzo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Il_Palazzo)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-do-the-spring-break-experience/615828/30 "2012-03-15T20:24:52Z")
My first two college spring breaks, I just went home. For my last two, I joined up with a group from my church and went down to New Orleans to do volunteer work post-Katrina. Both trips to New Orleans were very tame by spring break standards (as church trips are wont to be), though the first did include an episode with me and several other guys dashing back from a bar to our Baptist-operated volunteer shelter with cocktails in styrofoam cups, trying to both finish our drinks and make it back before curfew. Good times. ---
**Author:** ![a35362](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@a35362](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a35362)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-do-the-spring-break-experience/615828/31 "2012-03-15T20:42:43Z")
No, I never had any money for travel. But I’ve never been the Spring Break / PAR-TAAAAY type anyway. It always sounded too dangerous anyway – alcohol-fueled hijinks are NOT my thing. Drinking until you pass out / throw up / fall off a balcony? Theft? Assault? Rape? Um, no thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-do-the-spring-break-experience/615828/32 "2012-03-15T20:55:31Z")
> [@a35362](#): > > Drinking until you pass out / Woohoo! > [@](#): > > throw up / Haha, no doubt! > [@](#): > > fall off a balcony? Um, ouch? > [@](#): > > Theft? …but got away with it!! > [@](#): > > Assault? He started it. > [@](#): > > Rape? Seriously? ---
**Author:** ![jk1245](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/49beb7/32.png) [@jk1245](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jk1245)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-do-the-spring-break-experience/615828/33 "2012-03-15T21:07:53Z")
Yep, 1 year. Paid for by numerous keg parties at our house at $4/cup. Covered the expense of 5 of us. Good time, but it was of those “once is enough” type of experiences. No need to do it again the next year. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-do-the-spring-break-experience/615828/34 "2012-03-15T21:15:18Z")
The whole stereotypical “spring break” experience (drinking heavily, hooking up, partying, “letting yourself go”) is pretty close to my definition of hell, so no, I didn’t nor did I have any desire to. ---
**Author:** ![a35362](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@a35362](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a35362)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-do-the-spring-break-experience/615828/35 "2012-03-15T21:51:44Z")
> [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](#): > > Seriously? Seriously. Go read _Female Chauvinist Pigs: Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture_ for the inside story on those “Girls Gone Wild” videos. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-do-the-spring-break-experience/615828/36 "2012-03-15T21:59:00Z")
Why is Arizona a spring break destination? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Devil_s_Grandmother)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-do-the-spring-break-experience/615828/37 "2012-03-15T22:06:04Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > I always took advantage of spring break to work extra hours. Me too. The one year I didn’t try to work 80 hours over spring break was the year I was on a feild study trip in the desert. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Stilettos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/fbc32d/32.png) [@Red\_Stilettos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Stilettos)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2012, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-do-the-spring-break-experience/615828/38 "2012-03-15T22:53:42Z")
Pretty close. My college roommate’s mother lived in Daytona Beach, so we stayed with her one year. She was very laidback and had no problem with us going out partying. During the day, we’d hang with her, go to the beach/pool, sleep. At night, we’d hit the strip. We weren’t as crazy as most, but we did our fair share of drinking and making out with strangers. My friend even came home with a new piercing acquired in a club. As others have said, once was enough. We both thought the music and the boys were better at our school, so why bother? ---
**Author:** ![mack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mack)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2012, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-do-the-spring-break-experience/615828/39 "2012-03-16T00:19:35Z")
I remember doing a ‘traditional’ spring break once in 1983, but more in the epic road trip style. We were going to school in Boulder, CO. Our one scheduled activity was a Grateful Dead concert in Las Vegas later in the week. We spent a few awesome days in Arches and Canyonlands near Moab, UT, drove out to Vegas (I think just to get tickets), spent the afternoon and night in Death Valley (unexpected awesomeness), went back to Vegas for the Dead show, then after the show drove out to LA and crashed at a friend’s place and saw another Dead show. The next morning was Monday when we should have been in class. We hauled ass back to Moab, spent the night, then got back to Boulder on Tuesday. I’m drawing a blank on the other years. ---
**Author:** ![vix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a88e4f/32.png) [@vix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vix)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2012, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-do-the-spring-break-experience/615828/40 "2012-03-16T00:35:43Z")
Nope. Freshman year, I went with five girlfriends to one girl’s family’s vacation house on Nantucket for the week. Sophomore year, there are no pictures, so I either went home or just hung around the dorms. Junior year, a friend and I tried to do a week-long hike on the AT in Pennsylvania. We got about a foot of snow the second day, and hitchhiked to her car and drove home. Senior year, I did go to Miami, but not to party. I went with a group of women and we worked for Habitat for Humanity on a new housing development. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-do-the-spring-break-experience/615828.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-do-the-spring-break-experience/615828.md?page=3)