As race fans pulled out, vacancy signs lit up along the beach-front strip. Linda Pickel, manager of the Budget Cabana Motel, said the Canadian crowds aren't what they used to be three or four years ago, a change she blames on the strong U.S. dollar. We love the Canadian kids. They don't destroy the rooms. Yes, there's lots of drinking, but the Canadian kids seem to be better equipped to handle the pace than the American spring breakers who descend in late March.
Most Canadian students come as part of discount-package bus tours, sold on university campuses.
The biggest, operated by Breakaway Tours, is bringing some 2,000 kids from Toronto, London, Ottawa, Guelph, Montreal and Calgary. We put five people in a room. The hotels spent a frantic day trying to clean up the detritus of departing race fans and turn their rooms around for the incoming Canadians. Even with extra cleaning staff, most were telling guests not to count on getting into their rooms before early evening. The generalized delay, and other complications, made for a lot of unhappy campers.