Summer Vacation, 1986.
Diary #4 (#2 and #3 seem to be missing)
In June of 1986 I took a trip to Florida with my dad. We camped the first week and then my stepmother and baby half sister (I’ll call her M) flew down to meet us. I documented it in my journal. For context, Richard was a friend from school who very much had a crush on me. I liked him but didn’t like-him-like-him. Except that I apparently did? Wow, here we go:
6-9-86
The driving was long and awful but now we’re at Fort Clinch State Park. We’re staying for one night and then tomorrow it’s more driving. I miss Richard so much! I’m going to send him many postcards and I’m looking for something to bring back for him. The locusts here just won’t shut up.
6-11-86
Last night it rained so hard that we had to stay in a motel. Today we went to Sanibel and Captiva islands. I have written three postcards to Richard of which I’ve mailed two. We went on a canoe trip that was very tiring and kind of boring. Tomorrow we will go to the Mucky Duck and to the shell factory.
6-13-86
Today we went to the Thomas Edison house. It was pretty cool. I still miss Richard. In about 10 minutes we will go to the airport to pick up Stepmother & M. Yesterday we went to the Mucky Duck and it was cool. Tomorrow it’s off to the Keys!
6-14-86
The Everglades are real weird. We’re going through them now. They are ugly yesterday they are beautiful. They hold a sort of looming power like the sky.
6-18-86
I had the best day in Key West. We are staying in a boring cabin on a boring island called Conch Key this week. Today we drove to Key West. First we went to the aquarium where I got to pet a baby nurse shark. Its skin felt like wet sandpaper. I also saw rays, sharks, giant turtles, rainbow parrot fish (my favorite) and barracuda. Then we ate lunch at Billie’s and there was a really cute British waiter working there. After that me and daddy went to the Mel Fisher Treasure Museum and it was incredible. There were 40 pound silver bars laying in stacks all over the floor where you can touch them. Also there were many interesting things to look at that this guy found in ship wrecks and under the ocean. We got a glimpse of him later in a restaurant. Then me and Dady took a snorkeling boat trip out to a reef. It was fab! The reef was beautiful and I even saw barracuda and a tarpon. On the boat there was a rather cute guy that was a mix between Dolph Lundgren and Tom Cruise1. Seriously! Then we met with Stepmother and M (she was being an awful brat) for dinner at the rooftop cafe. They had excellent key lime pie. I finally found a present for Richard. It’s a Spanish pirate coin duplicate! I also go one of those wooden parrots with the clip. I named him Hawkins after Jim Hawkins in Treasure Island. There are a lot of gay guys in Key West!
6-19-86
Only one more day of this shit. I have never been so bored in my life. Some vacation. Trouble is that they enjoy it! I miss Richard and Richmond more than anything. I can’t wait til Sunday. The absolute first thing I will do is to call Richard. I hate Florida (except Key West.) or at least what I’ve seen of it. This place is a prison. We’re at Conch Key Cabins2. It truly sucks. I can’t watch TV except for two certain days. I’ve run out of good books and the “beach” here doesn’t deserve to be called that. Man, I want to go home.
6-21-86
Although the drive is a long one, I’m glad that we are going home. We have been going for 5 hours now. It’s Claudia’s birthday and I want to be there. Home seems like such a luxury now. I wish I was there!
When I got to this part I was laughing so hard I had to type it three times. Like, WHAT.
Yes, I’m being a dramatic brat but that cabin was dank and only had one bedroom. I had to sleep on a saggy daybed in the living room.
Gah, I love everything about this. It's so fab!
That first family vacation where you have to leave a boy behind. I remember being at Disney and all I could think about was Cruxen. Yep.