That moment at the table when old friends are visiting and they start to tell the tale of Spring Break in Daytona Beach 1988.
I thought that one stayed in The Vault forever?
Yah, but.
Yah, but what!??!
Vaulted is Vaulted.
We’ll see.
‘Spreak’ in The Carolinas
This year, let’s call it a rolling spring break as we welcomed a couple of British friends of my children to stay with us. First-timers to America and they land in North Carolina. Must be the allure of my charming but woefully leaf-filled pool.
Day before they board their flights, hurried messages are flying around.
What do you want from England?
Percy Pigs, of course! All you can muster.
Original Percies, the Phizzy Pig Tails, the Reversy-Percies, all of em. Even the Friends.
Unbeknownst to me at the time, but Percy is on Instagram AND Percy is now available at Target. Let’s see how America welcomes him, as seemingly his friends and tails prefer to stay in Blighty for the reconnaissance…
So, the Carolinas welcomed our British Boys with open arms but failed slightly on the weather front. Also failed on the food front. Interesting that these boys that enjoy cooking at home and home cooked food both found our flavors lacking. Anything without ‘hot sauce’ or a Whole Foods price tag around here is frankly rather lackluster.
Head to Costco! That’s an American Experience! People love it…
Umm, really? why? Giant Lots of tasteless food?
Yep. It’s a thing.
Subjects for another day. I highlight it here because it’s something that we - as a family of home cookers - have felt since our arrival. It’s just increasingly harder to find good food here - with flavor and with nutrients in tact. I will try again, Nicole Berrie gives hope with this shopping healthy at Costco insight…
Anyhoo,
Next time I’ll ask for Percies AND all of the contents of Marks & Spencer Food Hall, please. India Knight’s HOME post today made me homesick for Britain again, especially point 5 where she shares what to buy at M&S. It made the whole shopping and cooking for Easter weekend nostalgia feel more real and slightly untouchable in my current Carolina form.
Poor Me. Digressing.
The high points of Spreak with the British Lads?
Teaching them to play ‘Thumper’ of course.
Driving in convertibles with the big blue skies.
And just the banter that comes along with Brits Abroad.
The Vault
But wait. The Vault you say?
As my youngest daughter heads off to her first Spring Break in Florida this year, it’s only fitting that we open that Vault, now that I’ve checked and MTV and TikTok are not hosting any beach parties in her town.
So, it was my first ‘Spring Break’ and whilst we already lived in Clearwater Beach, Florida - arguably a great spot for a break - our teenage brains wanted more of The Action, so Daytona Beach it was. Had to be.
Circa 1988, Thanks to MTV and their beach parties and busloads of college kids… yeppers, Daytona was The Place to Be.
“Like One Big Toga Party”, it’s been called.
Somehow not-quite-16-year-old-me was there too…
Due to the endless cans of Busch beer, I wouldn’t have clear memories of this experience, save for my friends who love to open the vault and tell and re-tell the tale of entering me in a bikini contest at the (infamous) Holiday Inn MTV Pool Party.
Yes, you heard it correctly. They entered me in a bikini contest.
God Help Me.
Along with 9 of the most sexy (college!) WOMEN I had ever seen, I found my High School GIRL self standing on the edge of a hotel pool surrounded by literally thousands of people.
Let’s just say, I felt like my girlhood doll, Holly Hobby. I might as well have been wearing an apron and kneading bread. God knows I wanted a bonnet to hide!
Before I knew it, they were announcing my turn in the spotlight. It was the moment they called my name,
“Let’s welcome ABBB-BY!”
My best friend and biggest fan started shouting… wait for it.
‘SHAKE YOUR TITS’
‘SHAKE YOUR TITS’
Yep. That happened.
What was an inside joke amongst friends was suddenly Out There.
Somehow, no bonnet nor apron in sight, to please my friends. I obliged.
Oh My.
The Cheers.
The Jeers.
The Whistles.
AGAIN! AGAIN.
If my Inner Holly Hobby was conscious she would have cried at what Outer Me just did.
But I did it.
They were out there.
I was all in, but all out there in Daytona Beach.
Oddly enough, the boob jiggle wasn’t enough to get me into the winners’ circle - they must’ve finally realized I was just a child… which was total relief as I was free to leave the ‘stage-pool-side’, seemingly unscathed.
From memory, the Winner was wearing a leopard bikini with a G-string (pretty new and racy at the time but now seemingly the norm) and she had permed and feathered hair with big bangs - all the rage. She was beauty and sex personified. I was school girl Holly Hobby with a big bosom (or, just bigger than my friends), I guess.
Anyway, for the remaining three days of our Spring Break, I couldn’t walk anywhere in that bikini anymore. For anyone who’s ever been to Daytona Beach, it’s really just a cruising strip…
I’d take one step out of my safe beach chair and be met with
WOOOOO
Hey, ABBY!!!!
Hi ABBY!!!
Take me back to my chair. Give me a sweatshirt! And a Bonnet, I mean Hat!!!
Currently thanking All The Gods that iPhones and TikTok did not exist in 1988.
So, you can imagine my fears as my own daughter hits 16 and wants to do on Spring Break. With 9 Friends.
Will there be any hotels or pools?
Will I have any readers after this Teen Years Admission of mine?
If ever there was a safe time to sneak off to The Loo, it’s now. I know we all missed the visit to The Loo during last week’s Wide Games Abroad and clearly NOBODY wanted to leave the table this week for FOMO on The Vault Leak, but needs must.
For fun and love, our loo this week is dedicated to great old childhood friends (who probably helped me to sew aprons for my Holly Hobbie dolls) that are selling their sweet family home in Madison, Wisconsin. This loo, this house (and their former home across the street from ours) hold such dear memories, and I always loved poking around, especially that little staircase. A home full of love that’s always been a feast for the senses, full of beautiful antiques and memories, some of them at one time chosen with my Mom.
The Low Country
With my wild childhood revealed, my inner Holly admits to now preferring quiet days on the beach, any beach. But these days in the Carolina-Georgia Low Country. Much like Chelsea Handegan beautifully recounts in The Big Chill, I’ll take the long slow days, ‘eating shrimp at every meal, picked buckets of strawberries [and staying up late to watch Bob Barker on The Price is Right]’ anytime.
Make my Spreak a long white sandy beach. Not a car, can of Busch, flailing breast, nor cheer-er, nor jeer-er in sight.
But, I’ll always welcome friends bearing Percies.
ABBY
P.S. Look out for some fun Hūset changes happening over the next few weeks…
Imagine all those mobile phones filming you while you were shaking and showing by the poolside! Love that without any picture you can describe a vivid image. No picture needed! A writer and a hotty👙