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Thursday, October 29, 2026Oct 29

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Spring Breakdowns: Readers share tales of vacations gone wrong

Ahhh, spring break.

The week of vacation anticipated by students and teachers alike starts this afternoon when school bells ring dismissing classes across Hamilton County. Some families will choose to remain in town and “staycation” — discovering the fun found in Chattanooga.

Others will pack the van tonight and head out to the Smokey Mountains to hike and camp or to Florida’s Panhandle for an idyllic week at the beach.

Or, hopefully idyllic. Sometimes even the best-laid plans fail and Spring Break … well … breaks.

When we asked Times Free Press readers what was their worst spring break experience, they shared these sad tales of woe on Facebook.