In popular teen dramas and sitcoms of the late '90s and 2000s, the plotline of a failed spring break is as timeless and delightfully painful as the retelling of a hazy night out with old friends.

Beloved protagonists can find themselves in precarious situations they otherwise wouldn’t be in if, say, they hadn’t taken a cramped bus ride from Yale to Florida (Gilmore Girls) or been thrust into a beachy movie musical at the behest of Frankie Avalon (Sabrina the Teenage Witch). While we tend to remember our favorite characters for their triumphs and intrapersonal growth on our comfort series, these episodes offer something easier to admire upon rewatching: good, old-fashioned, sometimes regrettable spring break antics.

Now that we're officially leaving winter behind and welcoming spring, we've rounded up some of the most memorable episodes from spring break to celebrate the equinox and hopefully serve as a reminder of the good, bad, and awkward moments you'll look back on after your seasonal getaway to the beach!

After braving the Connecticut winter rush to raise awareness for political prisoners in what was then Burma, Rory (Alexis Bledel) and Paris (Liza Weil) decide to ditch the rain (or “National Baptism Day,” as Weil puts it in her sharp, painfully funny Parisian way) and the pressures of Yale for a trip to Florida. Once they emerge from the hour-long, overcrowded bus ride and run into old Chilton friends Madeline (Shelly Cole) and Louise (Teal Redmann), the girls force themselves to do everything spring break has to offer: flirt unsuccessfully by the pool, accidentally enter a banana-eating contest after taking it literally, and attend a random performance by indie rock band The Shins. This episode, along with Rory’s entire freshman year of college, remains a fan favorite for capturing the typical awkwardness — and drunken beach romps — of freshman spring break.