ATLRetro

With Blast-Off Burlesque’s World Tour about to take off this weekend at 7 Stages (if you haven’t bought tickets yet, book ‘em here! Fri at 9 p.m., and Sat at 7:30 p.m. & 10:30 p.m.), we asked those gorgeous gals and guys about their craziest real-life travel experiences. And did they have some stories to tell—from wicked weather to dodgy directions.

In the second of this three-part series, guest star and regular show contributor Jim Stacy (GET DELICIOUS!, Palookaville, AM Gold, Starlight Drive-In, etc) goes fishing in Florida with his dad. Let’s just say the weather started getting rough and the tiny ship was tossed. If not for the courage of the fearless crew…

I was about 9 years old and my family had gone to Daytona Beach, Florida for vacation. My Father and I decided to go Deep Sea Fishing, a ritual for he and I to this day. As we got further out and started catching fish the Captain came down and said a tropical storm was coming in but should pass to the south of us. We moved a few miles further out just to make sure the storm was well away from us and continued to fish our asses off.

The storm approached land where my Mother and siblings were safe in the Beach House awaiting a fish dinner. The storm had other ideas. It bounces off the shallows and comes at a beeline back towards us.

The Captain stows all gear as green and black asshole clouds bank up on us and we run. Skeedaddle as fast as the 40-foot cabin forward fishing boat will go. The storm gets us. We hunker in the Galley as we race at a 70° up the face of a wave, to crest it, race back down and have another wave smash over the bridge.

Jim Stacy plays with the Wizard of Oz, pictured here with real Munchkin Karl Stover, Blast-Off Burlesque & other Plaza friends. Photo Credit: ATLRetro..

So the waves smash out all the Galley windows and smash the coolers full of Lunch and Dinner. A steady tide of glass, broken wood, styrofoam, ice, fish and gear wash around my ankles as I see my new Chuck Taylor’s get deeper and deeper in the storm water.

We end up being 9 hours late getting back. My frantic Mother and brothers and sister are standing at the dock.

We lost all the fish.

Coming Soon: Vintage Vacation: Road Trips from Hell with Blast-Off Burlesque, Part 3: Barbilicious Gets Lost in Texas.

Read Part 1: Blizzard in North Carolina here.