On Saturday, August 18, 1990 Joy and Christi drove me to the bus station in Columbus, Georgia where I caught a bus to Macon. There I met my Mom and Bob who, along with Denise and my cousin Susan, were en route to Sebastian, Florida. We were heading to a condo that my Grandma and Grandpa Murphy had traded for their Spring week at their Links Myrtle Beach condo. Grandma and Grandpa were headed to the same destination but were driving seperately. Grandma had fallen while in Myrtle Beach the previous month so her arm was in a sling for the duration of this trip.
Oddly, the one thing I distinctly remember about this trip was that I was in a rather bad mood for its entire duration. It possibly had to do with the fact that I had already been gone from home for a week - or that I missed Christi and Ashleigh, but one definite reason was that after I returned home, I had only about two weeks of ‘freedom’ before I was to start college at Wright State University. I won’t say I was exactly scared at the prospect, but it certainly signalled the end of an era. Childhood was gone. College, parenthood, marriage, and being completely financially responsible for myself and family loomed in the future.
Anyhow, this bad mood certainly tainted the time I had in Sebastian and even our trip to Disney World during the work. This was Bob’s first vacation with our family so he most certainly got a ‘bad taste’ for me - due to my lack of helpfulness. I refused to drive at all. After they picked me up, I laid in the back seat of Bob’s Dad’s van (which Mom and Bob had borrowed for the trip), and listened to the complete Beatles library that I had neatly recorded onto cassette tapes.
The landscaping at the condo in Sebastian
Mom
Although I probably didn’t deserve it, Bob cooked out for us quite a bit during the week
Water-logged Denise
When we arrived at the condo, I carried in my luggage only and plopped down on the family room couch where I was to sleep. Denise, Susan, and I were sharing the living room, alternating between the fold-out couch and a cot. Everyone else slept upstairs. The layout of the condo was similiar to that of Windy Shores.
On Monday, August 20 We traveled to Disney World for the first of two visits during the week - which was nearly a two-hour jaunt from Sebastian. That day we went to Epcot Center from about 10am - 6pm and then went from there to M-G-M until midnight. At Epcot, we saw a few new things for the first time including the Kitchen Kabaret in The Land, The Maelstrom in the Norway pavillion, El Rio del Tiempo in the Mexico pavillion, and the new Wonders of Life pavillion with the movie “The Making of Me”, the ride Body Wars, and the animatronic presentation of Cranium Command. At M-G-M, we saw the new Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular and did the Animation tour. I spent my usual amount of time browsing Sid Cahuenga’s One-of-a-Kind autograph shop, where they had an autographed caricature of Alfred Hitchcock for sale. Although it was in the $200 range and I couldn’t afford it, I regret not buying it. Even with the high prices generally charged for autographs there, this would have been a wise investment. They also had a new fireworks show with a movie theme that we stayed for. This didn’t put us onto the road until after midnight. We all promptly fell asleep and left Bob to do the driving back to Sebastian. He must have hated us indeed.
Postcard I sent to Christi on Tuesday, August 21.
We returned to Disney World on Thursday the 23rd, where we spent the day mostly at the Magic Kingdom, but headed over to cap off the night at M-G-M again. Here I remember going my own separate way to ride the Great Movie Ride one last time. I recall sullenly waiting in front of it for the others to meet me, thinking: “well, one more day of vacation…and then my life is over. College will be starting.”
Since our condo was not on the beach, we went about forty miles up the east coast of Florida to Cocoa Beach where we spent at least one day swimming in the ocean. I didn’t care much for the ocean back then, so I wouldn’t be surprised if I never got in. But photos indicate I did lay out on the beach, scowl on my face, giving the sun a run for its money with my paleness! I also recall taking walks along the shoreline as I often do, amidst the sounds of Cheap Trick’s “Can’t Stop Falling Into Love” blaring from the deck of an outdoor bar.
Miserable on the sand
Grandpa and Susan in the background, some unknown hottie in the middle, and Denise and her raft up front
Denise, Grandpa, and Susan
Poor Grandma had to deal with a sling all week
Bob, most likely in the early stages of his traditional vacation sunburn
My Mom recalls learning a bit about Bob during this trip. He was often prone to just wonder off without telling anyone where he was going. Although we could hardly blame him since he did have to put up with us, he is still susceptible to this disease today. When my Mom could find him, they had some good times walking across the street from our condo to a little outdoor bar where they enjoyed cocktails and shrimp.
On the way home, Mom and Bob wanted to stop at Daytona Beach for another swim on Saturday the 25th. Denise and I were anxious to get home, so we protested this by sitting in McDonalds the entire time that Mom, Bob, and Susan were at the beach. Mom was angry at us - ungrateful punks that we were. We got home on Sunday and I went over to Christi’s to see her and Ashleigh, who had turned five months old while I had been gone. Christi’s cousin Jennifer was now settled in and living with them. This wouldn’t bode well for our future together…
And one final random though which for some reason sticks with me: the September issue of Playboy hit the stands while I was in Florida and it featured Rosanna Arquette. I was obsessed with finding a way to get that issue while we were there, but never did.
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