Palm Springs Braces

Hey, Spring Break 2009 has officially started, and as widely reported, Palm Springs offered to stand in for Mexico (parts of which has been deemed too violent by the US for students to travel to). The Associated Press sends a brave correspondent to the desert, and specifically, to a Holiday Inn on the edge of the city to see how the kids are faring. "On a recent morning at the Holiday Inn, 250 students were recovering from the previous day of debauchery, which included tequila races, beer pong, an evening dance and a "king and queen of the beach contest" that ended with one female contestant stripping in front of hundreds of poolside revelers. 'It was real fun, from what I remembered,' said a hungover John Gebhardt, 19, as his friend loaded an autographed beer bong into his car trunk. 'A whole bunch of people came from all different schools (and) stayed together partying. It was sick.'" Check out the AP's Flickr set of the action at the Holiday Inn. According to the AP, some students are staying in the downtown are, but they have arrived in "smaller groups and are more low-key — a trend the city prefers." [AP]