Designing Women S3 E1 - Take Your Big Knockers and Hit the Road

Oh boy, we’re on the road again! This time, it’s the whole fam jam down at Reese’s condo at the beach. But will it be all out war again between the men and women? Not if Suzanne has anything to do with it.

Oh, yeah, they’re in Florida, so we’re debating its Southerness and talking about beach memories in a Salina’s Sidebar. And stick around for an “Extra Sugar” dedicated to where we are in the show now: 1988.

Want to dig deeper? Here are some references we mentioned:

• Is Florida Part of the South? - The Ringer

• Which states count as the South, according to more than 40,000 readers - Vox

• 1988 History, Trivia and Fun Facts - Pop Culture

And our Florida recommendations:

• Historic Tours of Flagler College | St. Augustine & Ponte Vedra, FL

• Historic District | St. Augustine & Ponte Vedra, FL

• Castillo de San Marcos National Monument (US National Park Service)

Come on, let’s get into it!

Or listen on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts.

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Transcript

Hey, Nikki.

Hey, Salina.

And hello everyone and welcome to Sweet Tea and TV.

It is season three.

Holy Moly.

How have we gotten three seasons through this show?

It's Just been a year.

Oh, my gosh.

Just 52 weeks 365 days.

Uh, I'm kidding.

We're not quite there yet, but we're getting close.

We're getting close to the year anniversary and we're going to stop talking about time because I loved hearing one the other week listening back in A Q and A and we're like talking about snow on the ground and it's like 95 degrees outside.

And I'm like, well, let's be fair.

That's just called Spring in the South.

That could be Monday and Tuesday.

My grandma said we're gonna get a blackberry winter.

So that means we're gonna get one more cold snap.

Oh, because when there's blackberries for them, it's Bad.

It's bad for your plants.

Probably great for blackberries.

It's, it's their winter.

Oh, I just assume it's like hot girl summer.

But for blackberries, hot.

Yeah.

You like that joke.

It's about 10 months old.

And by the time this comes out it'll be about 14 months old.

So that's a goodie.

Just shake the dirt off that.

And the age, will you like a blackberry?

It's actually my favorite fruit blackberries.

Oh, I hate them so much.

Oh, ok.

Well, get out, you get out, get nasty seeds in your teeth.

I love them.

They're my favorite now.

Like I'm frozen too.

I didn't know that about you.

Can we still be friends?

We have a podcast together.

So, I mean, I'll look through the blackberry eating.

Well, what's your favorite fruit?

Strawberries?

Probably an apple, an apple or watermelon, watermelon?

See that?

About where do you sell you?

But I also very much like apples.

Yeah, I don't think mine kind of rotates sometimes but I would be like class fit.

Yeah, I like berries.

I mean, don't eat them, but that would not be my favorite.

I like grapes.

I do like pineapple.

Antelope.

Yeah, honey too.

Yeah, you're not even getting, you're getting into all.

Like what I feel there's not American, but it feels like American fruit.

Like, I like papayas and mangoes and you know, the good stuff doesn't taste as good here.

Yeah.

It's because we don't do a good job transporting fruit here.

So, like, I feel like you may change your mind if I had one in Thailand.

Yeah.

Probably.

Yeah.

Gotta get it from the source.

That's true.

It's V T and TV.

Road trip.

Ok.

Southern Thailand.

There you go.

It works.

It does.

Well, I've got, we started at the end of last season, the, um, in the August transition in my face.

Yeah, I know.

Uh, we started, we, we pivoted from, uh, Proust and started asking some of the James Lipton questions.

That's right.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So we're gonna continue on this journey, I think for a little bit of season three.

I don't know how long it'll last.

So, but, you know, I've gotten some good feedback about it.

Um People like the introspection.

Yeah, they're not having to answer and record it at the same time.

Um But, uh so one question that Lifton asks, are you ready for it?

I guess I'm here.

What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?

So it doesn't have to be all three creatively spiritually emotionally.

Uh Just start talking, you do the Jeopardy music or something.

I maybe I'll go with emotionally because we were just talking about this.

Um Like a really good emotional drama movie.

It is the fastest way to get the waterworks running for me and that turns you on.

This is not, yeah, it turns on the water, work it.

So like if I'm having, like if I'm going through like a, a thing, like I'm feeling a lot of emotion, I'm a very, I'm a big feeler is how I would describe myself.

And sometimes crying is just like the only way to get it out.

But I think I've like, stunted myself over the years because I used to just cry at the drop of a hat.

Like everything can make me cry.

Um, but I've kind of like trained it out of myself or something.

Um, and so I think if I need that release, the easiest way to do it is just to watch a, a Steel Magnolias type movie, just cry straight through it.

And I get to the end and I feel like a, a washcloth that you've run out and I feel better.

I get that.

Yeah.

Uh, I do that with movies TV.

Some commercials will do it for me.

Um, they'll get me, like, in a space where I could, like, cry through like three or four holiday commercials for like public holiday commercials.

Get me every time and the whole family gets together.

I'm more likely to cry at fake stuff than real stuff.

Yeah.

So I get that.

Well, I guess I'll take creatively, um, I don't know why spiritual feels close to emotional.

It's not really, but I'm just gonna take creatively.

Um, what turns me on creatively.

Uh, I think, uh, a challenge.

So, um, but, or like a cup of coffee, I'm, I'm easy.

I don't know, it's just really not that, it's really not that hard.

Um, so on the flip side of that, what turns you off?

Oh, no.

Uh, let's see what turns me off creatively emotionally or spiritually.

You got to go to that place.

I know, I have to close my eyes.

I have to think about it.

I, I, I don't know if this is the right answer and there's no right answer.

There's no stress.

Like, turns off all of those things.

It is absolutely the right answer.

It's just like any time I'm feeling overwhelmed or, like, I'm barely treading water.

I can't do any of those things.

Like I can't be tapped in spiritually, I can't be tapped in emotionally and stress is different than pressure.

I mean, they can feel related but, you know, people really work well under pressure and I consider you someone who works well under pressure.

I like that deadline that quick turnaround time.

So yeah.

And so like I, and I think I want to differentiate that for people who don't know you well, because I do feel like those are two really different things.

And I feel like if it is one thing to be working under a deadline, it's another thing to feel like you're working under the weight of the world.

Yes, I think that's a good distinction.

And I definitely think when I say when I say stress, I mean, when I feel like everything hinges on like one thing or um like if one thing goes off course everything falls apart and then there's just no way for me to get my mind thinking creatively or to feel tapped into anything bigger than myself or like that feeling, you know, how sometimes it feels like everything, they'll laugh.

I will do it for you.

Everything feels like it's going right at work but then nothing feels like it's right at home or vice versa when it's both is when I feel like I'm crater towards the end of something scary and spiry.

Uh, so, but for me, I think it's meanness that really turns me off.

I like it.

I don't like it when people are like, unintentionally mean it gets me in a bad space.

Um Or if you're going to be mean, like put some humor into it, darn it, you know, don't make us suffer through just straight meanness.

So I think that's mine.

How do you feel about Lipton?

Do you?

I like those good questions.

Feel.

Yeah, I was going to say they feel a little more modern than the pro question.

Who's your favorite?

Eating fruit and lounging poet?

While someone waves you with that.

This is a leaf.

I don't know, maybe they're rubbing you with a feather and waving you with a leaf.

I don't know.

We were just talking about turn ons.

What do you want from?

Speaking of turn ons and rubbing with a feather.

Oh my goodness.

Where is this going?

Oh, we Talk About Season three, episode one that it total feathers and waving.

Totally.

Put me in the mind and we're calling this episode Take your big knockers and hit the road.

I mean, it's pretty perfect knockers fans.

Other hit.

Anything so close on it.

So let's do it.

Season three episode one.

Um We're calling it that but um L BT called it reservations for 12th plus Ursula.

So Hulu's description says the ladies and their boyfriends, plus several of their Children and grandchildren.

Look forward to a sunny Thanksgiving at a cozy beachside condo air date, November 14th, 1988.

This one was written by L BT and directed by David trainer.

So you want to jump into some general reactions slash stray observations?

I do.

But do you want me to go first?

Ok.

So actually, I, I feel like all my general reactions are questions all the time.

So I apologize.

That's not gonna change in season three.

But I'm a, I'm I'm saying it as a question but it is more of how I feel.

Which is, is this the companion to our season two finale, reservations for eight or what we renamed?

You're so good when you're bad?

It feels like it is.

Is it the, did you say?

Is it the finale, the companion, the companion?

So I have evidence.

OK.

Go for it.

Ok.

So our characters mentioned the season finale, ski trip twice, uh failed ski trip if you will.

So one they bring up the whole separate room fiasco again.

I was like, Good Lord, didn't we leave that in season two?

And then also late in the episode, Julia demands to know why everything spirals into a lot more between men and women every time they go on a trip.

So it feels like we're continuing on that story to what end though.

Well, what I will say is if it is, if it is the companion piece, the confrontation in this one does feel like it's a little bit more productive.

Now I'm talking about towards the end of the episode where they all, all the women burst, except for Suzanne, all burst into the men's room in the middle of the night right here.

They at least attempt to articulate some things versus just slow dancing, their troubles away.

Right?

So, uh that's a good point.

I was trying to figure out why these two episodes went back to back, back to back.

It didn't because you're using the word companion.

I'm not sure that's how I would describe it.

It's almost like like a companion to me.

Sounds like an arc.

Like we're going to start over here.

We're going to come up here and have some fights and then we're going to end here somewhere worthwhile.

But we had an arc in that last episode, I think like they, even if it was just dancing with no dialogue, they concluded their issues with one another was what I took away from the episode.

So this is just like a, a weird second version.

Now, have you tried with Kyle to when y'all are fighting to just see if you can slow dance?

That's how we end our fights.

Is that not what you, in case you do?

Well, I'm gonna start.

Oh, yeah.

I mean, it's the only way to do it.

I don't know.

Is there another way?

Yeah.

So that's interesting.

That's an interesting point.

I, I just, and you've jumped straight to the thing I didn't like, which is, I don't like opening the season like this.

It makes no sense to me to go from that episode straight into this one, which does, you're right.

It acknowledges this one over here.

This being the old one too similar, too similar and to no useful end in my opinion, although we give Suzanne more to do and this is true.

So which is nice.

Uh Speaking of Suzanne, one of my observations, can I share it, please?

The idea of taking a pig to the Dairy Queen?

Aren't you the person that loves micro pigs?

Could you imagine a micro pig sitting in your cup holder?

I don't know.

Are they that micro?

I don't know.

I would love for them to be with sunglasses on cruising through the Dairy Queen drive and then we would share a blizzard.

Oh, you would share.

I don't think so.

No, he would have his own.

I won't even look like a dog like lick my face.

So, but yeah, I could get them the, the, the real tiny blizzard.

And I'm like, why does this blizzard exist for micro pigs?

Yeah.

It's definitely not for human consumption.

No, I saw it one time.

He just pissed me off.

I was like, what is this?

Why did I waste the gas to come all the way through the drive through to get a thimble of soft?

I need a Large, I'm 100% with you.

Yeah, that was my observation.

It, well, what are your general reactions?

Well, no, they're all, they're all strays.

That's fine.

They're all strays.

Ok.

Well, you wanna share some.

Hold on, let me share my last general reaction.

OK.

And then we'll move into strays because we've got a rhythm.

We're trying to.

Um, so my other general reaction is also a question.

Ok.

Should we talk about this whole women on women jealousy thing?

Do you want me to say more?

Yes.

OK.

My second point to that first point, I'm trying so hard not to laugh because it's gonna make me break out into a cough.

Oh, uh I'll just go ahead and fill folks in.

Nikki is ill.

No, no.

Nikki was ill.

Nikki's recovering.

That's true.

With a lot of coughing.

Yes.

It's breaking up.

That's what I like to say.

Yeah.

So I think it's adding like it's gonna have like a nice little soundtrack to the bottom of it.

Perfect.

Kind of like Top Gun.

That's right.

So at least you have a reason to wheeze.

I'm like laughing.

I'm like, so it's fine.

Uh OK, so my, so I guess, like, would you like to even talk about the women on women jealousy thing?

Did that hit you at all while you're watching?

For sure.

Ok.

I mean, did, did you like it?

Did you hate it?

Did it bother you?

Did it not bother you?

Um, hm.

It felt like at least there was, there was an object that we were talking about.

So, so being the object, ursula, being the object, the subject maybe is a better word.

There was a thing.

But wasn't she the object of the episode?

Yes, that's true.

So, in the last, so the season finale, we're arguing over these um abstract concepts versus a thing and now we have the thing that we're going to argue with.

You're landing on the, what makes it a companion, then it's like an actual stumbling block versus a conversation.

But they are being forced to face a true obstacle to their relationships.

I mean, but that's actually where I'm going to come in because I don't think it's a true obstacle to the relationship was because my thing is I have my personal feeling, but I'm gonna ask the question was Ursula enjoying the attention.

You know, that is, that is interesting because I actually didn't think necessarily that she was, oh, you thought she was like thrown off or something?

I, she was bouncing in a corner at one point.

Was she playing the game?

I thought she was just having fun and the ladies were an unwelcoming crew.

Agreed.

So not the way a friendly group of people, not the way I would play that.

Yeah.

So I, well, ok, so my answer is I think she was, but I think she's doing that normal thing that uber attractive people do.

They feed on it, they feed on the attention.

I don't think I feed on it.

I mean, people like me feed on the attention.

I'm way too humble for all of that.

It's not even necessarily and I don't even mean that in a negative way.

Think about it this way.

Uh Well, I'll use myself as an example because it feels weird to use you as one like any normal human being with blood running through their veins.

If someone starts complimenting me on something, even if it's like something at work or whatever I feed on that.

I live on it.

I'm not saying like I don't, I don't even, I mean, I like it.

Uh but like uh it's something that uh helps motivate me, you know, it keeps me going.

So I mean, it more from that angle, more so than like a suckling vampire or something feeding on it, you know.

Yeah.

Suckling suckling.

That's also for sweet tea after sweet tea TV, after dark.

Um But that's what I mean, like it's, it's almost like it gives her life blood a little bit and I, I feel like that's what I saw but I also don't think that we should punish women for being attractive.

I mean, that feels so terrible to me.

Um, and I do think that happens.

It happened then it happened now.

I don't know, it ever doesn't happen.

Uh, you know, one thing that I think is really, really unfair is that people may automatically think that they're less intelligent or trying to take their boyfriend, partner, husband, wife, whatever.

That's not fair.

The part of them as a human, the part I liked about Ursula though was it wasn't that she was just beautiful.

No, she was all fine, but we'll get to that too.

Ok.

And, well, I'm just going to start a new group called this aggravated me.

But I, well, I think they hit the nail on the head though.

It wasn't Ursula.

They didn't like, not really.

I don't think they knew how to act around someone because she is almost like this unbelievable person.

Right.

But like it was the way J D Reese and Bill were acting around her, making them feel like crappy about themselves.

That's what they didn't like.

But I think they had to figure that out too.

Like this isn't, this isn't an Ursula problem.

This is, uh, our boyfriends, husbands, whatever they are.

They're all sort of being bulls.

They're just kind of maybe not great partners.

It's, I think it's the thing that we're going to continue to come back to do.

You know who I think the real problem is but, uh, yeah, he rears his ugly head again in this.

Yeah, but he makes some admissions too and I don't think, I don't think I covered this in any of anything else that I had on my mind.

But, like, um, this is, I don't think this isn't something that I really, uh, held on to that much because I guess at this point I just don't care.

sometimes he's so annoying to me now.

Like, but he says this thing about like he just liked that she made him feel young but then he made a face.

That's right.

Like he was making it.

Yeah, sure.

That sounds good.

I mean the other thing is like, I'm sorry, but if she didn't look like Ursula, would that have still meant as much to you?

Come on man.

So good point.

Well, I blew that out of the water.

Yeah.

Tell me about your strays.

We had another Mary Jo reference.

We actually had two of them.

Only one was in the episode.

One is going to be a cut line we'll cover later.

Um But she says, well, now we know where they got the name.

Oh Pear, love it.

Yeah, love it.

So uh other stories I only have one more.

What are yours?

Ok.

So it's almost like you think, you know me and that I have more than one.

I am trying to keep it short.

But so my first stray is we'd love to have Anthony in the cold open, moving luggage and then never more stray one.

Yeah.

How did he get left behind on this one?

Yeah.

Why couldn't he have gone?

There weren't enough room.

I wanted him to bring him into the, I wanted them to bring them into the fold.

Even They were in a cozy condo with four bedrooms.

It's just, just a tiny little beach beachside shack.

Um That was too many in it.

Uh Why did Bill and Charlene stick around to interview a pairs?

They don't have any Children?

That was so weird.

That was really weird.

Like, that's what I'm saying.

Like if, if Anthony, why can't Anthony be there, they can be there for the au pair interviews.

The other thing is, is like, I'm thinking if I'm Bill and Charlene, I'm out of there, I'm like, good luck on your hunting.

Yeah, I'll be down at the beach drinking cocktails.

Um, and then this is here.

It is.

This is my point about ursula, why is someone as qualified as she is trying to get a babysitting gig for four kids for a week, two weeks, they're there for Thanksgiving, they were there for like four days, four days.

So as a parent, I'm like, why do you need an au pair?

Well, let's talk about some of her accolades here.

Ok.

She has a master's in psychology.

Uh, she's a graduate of the International Governor.

School in Oslo speaks seven languages.

And for some reason, we also felt the need to know that her mother was the wet nurse for the royal family of Denmark.

Not really sure why we needed to know that, but I mean, I think we know why, uh, we needed to know that.

But, um, all of those things, plus she winds up being a beauty pageant winner but like a Miss Universe or something.

I can't remember which one it is.

So, all of these things and the best thing that she can do is get a job babysitting kids for four days at a condo in Florida.

It's weird.

We're trying a little hard there.

That's all.

Maybe, yeah.

Some people like being an au pair, maybe that is her life.

But she Would have for more than four days.

I can even believe she'd be an au pair.

Well, that four days, I think the au pair for four days is the part that we should be focusing on versus Ursula's resume because I think that that was a flimsy storyline.

They really needed someone to take their kids down to the beach for their four day vacation.

I mean, she, she graduated with the governess from a governess school.

So obviously she's going to be involved with Children.

This just feels like maybe she's in her light chapter of her life.

She's done all the hard stuff now.

She's just taking little jobs here and there to pay the bills.

She's running around Florida.

She needs to tan, she needs to leave tan time.

All right.

Well, why don't you tell me about your final stray?

My final stray is that Charlene got up at 5:30 AM.

This is a level of detail that was included in the episode.

She got up at 5:30 to wash her hair on vacation.

That's weird.

No, let's talk about weird.

Is she feeling some sort of way about Ursula though and trying to look nice?

I had that thought.

I had that thought but I don't know that that's what it was.

She could have gotten up at six and done that or seven.

You know, like the time she was Charlene.

Charlene and like, maybe this condo doesn't have the best like water heater situation.

Ok.

So maybe she's doing it out of like, to make sure that she doesn't take away warm water from other people.

So it does feel like Charlene, have You washed your hair at 5:30 ami know where you're getting around to?

Um, I feel like, uh, the answer is probably no, has it ever happened?

Maybe if like, we were going somewhere and we had to like, drive far away from the condo or something then then maybe.

But I also feel like, uh the spans of time between I wash my, when I wash my hair have gotten much wider as I've aged all part of being hot and sexy.

Um, and so I, I'm gonna go with no, but, uh, while we're on this Florida thing, can we do a little Florida sidebar?

A Florida side bar or a Salina sidebar about Florida?

Ok.

A Salina sidebar about Florida?

Ok.

Uh, I don't even know what my own segments are called.

It's a side bar.

Celina sidebar.

She's got a keyboard looking for a reward but in deep in the obscure, taking us on a deep tour.

What you got Salina in Salina?

Sidebar?

Ok.

Well, let's talk.

Uh, Florida.

Memories.

Uh, but before we even do that, I actually, I got to back up a minute because this really lands us at a very delicate Southern question.

Nikki Florida call it southern, not southern.

I feel like I always have really hot takes on this topic of states that are southern and not.

I say Florida is southern.

Ok.

I do.

Ok.

You want to give any evidence for that or you just want to say?

Yes.

Well, they're in the south.

So, geographically, geographically, uh Florida people have very strong Southern accents.

If they're like native Floridians, they can have very strong southern accents.

Um, so, yeah, those are two ways.

That's fair, not to mention.

I think a lot of other southerners have made their way to Florida over time.

So, even if they weren't Southern, uh, an interesting argument because I feel like I rarely hear the argument about Southerners making their way to Florida because I tend to think about snowbirds.

Um, but yeah, obviously people move to Florida and some of them are going to be southern.

So my answer is yes and no, because I really like to muddy the waters and I, I think it depends on what part of the state you're in.

Uh, which I think is what you were getting at, but you didn't want to say it.

So I'll say it.

Ok.

I said, but especially if, you know, if we're referring to these cultural Southern iss.

So, um, like eating certain certain foods, like grits and biscuits or religions and by that, I mean, college football or like the most obvious indicator which you mentioned, like, accent.

So I, I absolutely think that those things exist in Florida and I, I think somewhere I read the four, unlike the rest of the country, the further north you go, the more southern it feels in Florida.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I definitely agree with that.

Yeah.

So I think the closer we get to the tip of the state, the opposite.

Yes, because I think you get more of a Caribbean influence.

Um, the further south you go Caribbean and Latin American.

And then the further north you go, you're pretty much like there's like a no man's land almost that might as well just be Georgia.

I might as well be South Georgia extended into Florida and I don't mean to call it, no man's land.

I just mean like that space of land where it's just like, I'm highly offended and I'm walking out So vox polled more than 40,000 readers in 2016 and 80% agreed at Southern.

OK.

So the people are on your side, lady.

It feels like there's this thing where people say, like only in Florida, there's this podcast that I used to love listening to um, Matt be uh, whine about it.

And he has this segment where he says, like only in Florida and he tells these really outrageous stories.

You have to be Southern to have those crazy stories.

But Florida is a special brand.

I think I just again saw another one, like a story was in the headlines this week where I was like Florida.

God, it's what's happening there.

They have gators.

That's why I think that it's, it's all the gators, all the sunshine in the gators.

Well, on it, on the show Atlanta, they call it the Florida man, the Florida man.

Everything is the Florida man.

He's almost like, like, uh, like the boogeyman Florida.

So there's more to it than that, but it's pretty funny.

Um, also I just wanted to say that I'm not gonna go into this because I could do a Florida podcast myself at this point.

But there was a really hilarious, uh, Ringer article about whether or not Florida is northern or Southern.

And so, um, we'll put that in the show notes for people to read.

It is really worth the read.

It's pretty funny.

It's northern or southern.

Yeah.

Ok.

Because, see, here's the other thing, I would never classify Florida as northern.

So you can ask me if it's southern.

And my answer is like, yeah, I think so.

They may have just said it may be on its own.

It's just, I think that's eventually what, what it kind of comes around to.

Yeah.

It, it's really, really well written.

Um, it's just the kind of sarcasm you need in your life.

Um, so outside of that great debate, which I'm telling you, it's fueled, it's heated.

It is.

I'm, I'm hoping we can talk a little bit about our Florida experience.

Um, so, like, maybe we can't fully relate to this episode and everything that's going on, but I think we can both fully relate to Florida vacation.

Ok.

I've had all kinds.

Right.

Um, and if you're not from Georgia, you should know Florida is a top destination for us.

One because what I just, you can be there in just like six hours.

Yeah, you don't have to get in a plane.

You can, but you don't have to.

Um, and two, there are legitimately gorgeous beaches there.

You can't take that away from them.

You really can't.

Uh, and three, uh, you also have theme parks.

Disney World, Universal Bush Gardens is somewhere in the mix.

I, I've never been to Busch Gardens.

But I know it's there and then Sea World I have been there.

Um, and then, uh, wilderness adventures.

It's home to the Okefenokee, these amazing freshwater springs, Nikki.

I think you've been to some of those before.

Uh, so do you have any standout Florida memories or maybe plugs for musty places, things to do.

You Just reminded me one that didn't make my list.

The freshwater springs.

They are crazy.

Um, they are literally fresh water in the middle of the state.

They have like, I don't know, 94% visibility.

You can see as far as you have vision to see in the freshwater springs.

They're very cold.

Um But you can see and um you can swim with manatees in Florida in Crystal River.

So it's not a freshwater spring, it's a freshwater river.

Um But I have done that before and uh manatee season is gosh, I'll get the exact months wrong but say like December to March where they congregate toward the center of the river because it's warmer.

So they make their way into the center of the river where it's warmer uh for the winter months and you can get a snorkel and you can go snorkel right next to them and they manatees are sea cows is their other nickname.

They're gigantic, but they are so docile, they will not hurt you.

Um Dolphins are docile, but I have also swam with dolphins in Florida and they are a little bit more scary than manatees because manatees don't move very fast.

Um, so my stepdad and I took a trip down to Crystal River a few years ago and went swim, um, snorkeling with the manatees and as soon as my kids are old enough, I'm taking them.

Um, it's incredible.

We just amazing.

We put one of those videos on social media before too.

Oh, we, oh, good.

Yeah.

There you go.

Perfect.

Uh That's one of my favorite memories and it didn't even make my list.

Well, that's because Florida has everything.

It really does.

You hear us?

Florida Tourism Board, Florida has everything.

Uh, and they're from the south.

Why I don't want to cut you off with anything else.

Well, then my add to that since I've now added 1/4 1, swimming with the dolphins, one of my favorite lifetime trips.

Um, like in my entire life.

So when I was a kid we didn't take vacations really.

But my parents would always take like these long weekends with us.

So, like I never went, going to the beach for a week in the summer is a weird concept to me because I didn't do that until like high school and we only did it a handful of times, but until then we would get in the car because it is like a six hour drive.

My stepdad would get us ready at like three in the morning.

We'd get in the car.

And we'd drive and we'd end up at the beach.

And so we did Daytona.

But one year we ended up at Panama City and that was probably the first time I'd ever been on the Gulf side and ever seen the Gulf of Mexico.

It is amazing.

It's incredible.

And so I don't remember all the specifics.

Somehow.

We ended up with a pontoon boat rental.

I think my parents had to sit through one of those like, um condo tours that they give you.

Anyway.

We ended up with a pontoon boat rental and we took it out into the bay and you can see like dolphin out in the wild.

So what we were going to do is we were going to find like a sand bar and we were going to park the boat, um, like anchor in and then just hang out on the sand bar.

So we get somewhere and it's a little bit deep.

So we send my little brother who's five years younger than me.

We send him off the boat to like dive down and see like how deep is it?

Um He dives down.

He that child like jumped out of the water.

I have never seen someone come out of the water faster and he jumps out and he goes, lobsters, there are lobsters everywhere, lobsters everywhere.

We're like, what are you talking about?

So, one of us went down with our like goggles and looked and it was just covered in crabs, the bottom, the floor like it was too, it would have been too far for us to anchor anyway.

But there were just crabs everywhere.

So we moved and we ended up anchoring somewhere different and we get in the water and I jumped out of the water next because the next thing I knew a dolphin touched my leg because we had found where they were swimming.

And so my, I think my sister stayed in longer than the rest of us because it terrified me.

I don't like to be in the water with things touching me.

But you can actually just like swim with these wild dolphin.

And it was, it was the craziest thing.

It's my favorite trip.

If you ever want to know what it's like to be me and how things usually work out for me.

My swimming with the dolphins story is more like this to get bitten.

We actually paid to go do it.

Oh, no.

And then there was mating season and they're like, stay on your jet skis phone.

It could get dangerous.

Oh, my gosh.

Oh, dolphins are very sexual creatures apparently.

So, like you don't want to get in the water and they can't distinguish between humans and dolphins.

I don't think they care.

So what I'm saying, people is if anybody ever says they're mating, stay out of the water, the dolphins, if anybody ever says the dolphins are made, well, I guess I mean, look, hey, it's not really for me to say, but yes, I am specifically talking to about dolphins.

Wow.

But that really encapsulates my luck in life.

Oh, gosh.

I hope you have better memories than that.

I'm going a different direction than that from.

Oh, ok.

You want me to keep going.

We have more uh, every year we take a trip with our extended family to 30 A which is also on the Gulf side.

Um It's this like 30 A is this lovely highway that runs down the coast of Florida?

Um And it used to be way less built up than it is now and very like rustic and rural and it's a lot more commercial now than it ever was before, but still pretty like rustic.

Um It's not, but there's not a lot of chain restaurants and things yet and a lot of neighborhood feel too.

So we go there every year with my husband's family.

Um my sister in law started planning this trip like 15 years ago and they've gone every year since then and since we had kids, we've started going every year.

Um so we look forward to it every year.

It's uh we have certain things we like to do and um it includes renting a pontoon boat because of that fantastic time I had when I was a kid.

We rent a boat now, but I haven't seen any dolphins.

We did see one dolphin this last year.

Um, hanging around the marina.

But other than that, we just go snorkeling and hang out on Shell Island.

I think it is.

I might have that wrong.

Like, everywhere has a Shell Island, I guess.

Panama City too.

That, that's where it is.

We actually drive into Panama City to the boat, so it's the same thing.

Um, ok.

Well, those are my memories.

Ok.

Uh, you know, I mean, I've been going to Florida since I was practically born.

Like, literally there's a picture of my dad holding me up.

My feet are like in the water and I'm like, and probably an inappropriate age.

Sorry, dad, like maybe I'm two weeks old or something.

He's just like, He was like 23.

He's like dipping my feet in the water, you know, it was perfect to me.

We took Carolina when she was two months old.

Yeah, I mean, I would want to do that.

He should have tossed me in.

I could swim that shit.

She was two months old and not sleeping through the night and I was getting ready to go back to work.

So we were like, well, why would we not just go to Florida and not sleep through the night?

Like, let's just do that.

And so we would be, we were in Panama City and we went to a place that Kyle used to go.

The other thing about Florida, what you remember from when you were a kid is not going to be the same when you go back now.

So Kyle used to go stay at this condo.

I will not name names but it's a very well known condo facility in Panama City.

They went every year and I Know which one it is.

So he tells me about it and I find a place there, we book it and we go, it was awful.

It was super rundown.

It was super dirty, super eighties.

Like the bathtub was black.

He, he doesn't understand why that was so weird to me but, and I had an infant so I had to wash her in the bathtub.

A black bathtub just shouldn't happen.

You can't see what's in there.

You have no idea what's in the bathtub.

Um So it was terrible.

So everything and, but he's like this used to be the greatest place in the whole world like this used to be amazing.

And like he has restaurants.

He used to love to go to, there's a steakhouse in Panama City that he loved.

We went with his parents wasn't the same steakhouse you remembered for being a kid.

I bet you still has the eighties vibe because I think I know which one he's talking about.

Um Captain Anderson's is another popular main stay there.

So actually that's where we rented the boat right next door to Captain Anderson's.

Ok.

That makes sense.

And then there's the, is it really called like Treasure ship or something.

That's the one that closed.

Now, it really, they, they had a fire on our last drive back from Florida.

I had this whole deep dive on it and now I'm trying to remember.

I don't think they've reopened.

They had a fire and I think they just decided never to reopen.

Well, that's no good.

I know.

Well, so, so, uh, circling back to my two week exploit in the water, two weeks old, not two weeks in the water.

Um You know, it's just, I, I have so many memories um that it, it's, I mean, it was really actually hard to narrow down to talk about for here.

But after doing some thinking for the purposes of this segment, my plug is gonna be Saint Augustine.

So, uh Casey and I did this trip uh in 2016, we were actually staying at Ormond Beach, which is a, the, I think it's in the north end of Daytona.

And um you know, we just kind of wanted to see what Saint Augustine was like.

So we drove at least an hour to get there.

We loved it so much that we went back a second time before we left.

Um like on a whole other day, like we just thought it was the best.

We walked around downtown, which has like this really great old world European feel.

Uh It's got like little shops and eateries and galleries and points of interest for history.

Buffs.

It is as you may know, the oldest city in the US founded in 15 65 which is kind of mind blowing because we don't get a lot of that here and in the south, you really don't get a lot of that.

Um So I was, I just remember being really like taken aback by that when we first went, uh if you're the type of traveler who likes to meander and browse, don't miss Saint George Street and a Villa street.

Uh Just beautiful to walk around.

We also went to Castillo de San Marcus.

This is a national landmark and the oldest masonry fort in the country.

It's also the only standing 17th century military construction.

That was a Casey idea.

But I, I don't think I ever would have been like, I gotta get to this fort.

Um But it actually was pretty interesting and I, you know, I actually really enjoyed going there.

But the, my favorite thing we just stumbled onto it, it's called Flagler College, which is, is, it's just beautiful.

There's no other words for it.

Um It is actually considered one of the finest examples of Spanish renaissance architecture.

You know, I'm dumb.

So when we were in there, I was like, I feel like I'm in Harry Potter.

Um And then I go look it like Spanish architecture.

I'm like, mm probably not the same.

But anyway, so we wound up poking around on our own.

But if you find yourself in Saint Augustine.

There are two daily tours there for those who are interested.

And it was actually the Hotel Ponce de Leon built in 18 88 by the railroad magnate, Henry M Flagler.

And then they transitioned it to a college many, many years later.

So, but like even the fact that I was like walking around, I was like, screw you guys.

How do y'all go to such a pretty place?

I was like a Georgia State.

So I was like walking over a speed bump to get to my desk um in like the bottom of a parking garage.

So, um, so I get really angry when I see pretty campuses.

I'm like, oh yeah, you think you're special?

Uh My actual, the other thing that I just wanted to mention is that there's just something amazing about being on the way to Florida.

You were talking about how you would get up at like, well, you wouldn't, but your stepdad would get up.

I mean, we had to get up with him, but then we just go back to sleep.

That's true.

But like there's, there's something about that.

What, what about the process, that feeling of waking up early?

Excited to get out of town.

It's not quite humid yet, especially if you're like going in the spring driving through dot In Alabama was always exciting for me.

This is like the quaintest stretch of little homes on the way to Panama City and other places that side of Florida, um, blinking, you'll miss it.

But if you grew up here and drove to Florida, you know, I mean, because it was just that thing there.

I was like, oh, these houses, I love them.

But it really is, um, stopping by for roadside treats along the way.

Boiled peanuts, which I couldn't care less about.

But I know people really like them.

Vegetables, fruit stands, pecans, little jams and jellies.

And then your trip to Florida is so different than mine.

We had to stop at the scariest barbecue restaurant last year because Landon had to poop.

We had to walk through.

They still smoke in the restaurants.

Oh, the bathroom door had a hole in it.

You were in Florida already?

Yeah.

Ok.

Although I feel like you could get that surprise in South Georgia.

That's true.

If you try hard and that's good.

Um, well, now I feel bad here in the rest of this because I was also thinking about like that first burst of salty sea air as you kind of close in on your destination.

Um, that feeling of relief usually because you have to pee, I'm not gonna lie.

But when you, if you're landing you have to poop, um, pull up and like wherever you're staying, whether it's a condo or a hotel or a beach where you're just there and you're like, so ready to be there and just run on down to the beach.

There's just like really nothing like it.

You know, I just love it so much.

I need a vacation.

I was so I was just saying right before we started recording, I was telling Salina, I needed a vacation and I was like, we have our annual trip to Florida coming up the way you just described.

It has nothing like my experience getting to Florida on the family trips because I don't.

Ok.

And here's the difference.

You travel with siblings.

I did not, you have kids?

I do not like.

So it's just like all this stuff it's like, and yet I keep going back.

I just keep going back and actually I have bucket list Florida destinations.

Can I talk about those?

Oh, gosh.

Yeah, this is something if, if the state of Florida this full bar now because I know I'm sorry if they want, if they want to support this, I would fully do this as a sponsored trip.

I have um, a bucket list trip.

I would love to go to Key West.

It's on my list.

My idea of a Florida slash beach vacation is very rustic.

Like I want to be on the beach in like an old beach house.

It does not have to be fancy, it does not have to be super nice, but I want to be able to walk out my back door and go to the beach every day and I want it to be beautiful.

I want the water to be beautiful.

Um I I'm not trying to get in the Atlantic Ocean.

That's not for me.

I want it to be like the perfect visibility teal blue color that the gulf is.

So I'm hoping Key West is like that.

It is in my head near Key West is a national park called Dry Tortugas.

Um You can, you have to take a ferry to get there.

They only give out so many tickets every day to go.

But it is um like an old fort and it's on an island by itself and it looks incredible.

It looks like you are like in the middle of the Caribbean Ocean.

Like it's incredible.

I want to go there my bucket list and then the last bucket list place is probably more feasible.

Um Is Santabel Island, which I think is south of Fort Myers.

It may be north of Fort Myers.

You're saying Santabel Sanel?

Yeah.

So Kyle and I flew down to Fort Myers um when I was pregnant with the land.

And so for our like quote un quote baby moon And we drove to Santabel Island from Fort Myers.

Um but we didn't have a house there.

And so speaking of like my dream beach trip to be like in a house right off the beach.

Santabel Island is like that.

It's very 30 a um but a little bit more remote almost.

Um so there's just all these beach houses that are very near to the beach.

There are also some beach mansions which I would not be in.

Um, but it's gorgeous.

It's again that crystal blue, like teal water.

I very much want to go there.

They also have a lot of seashells.

That sounds lovely.

Yeah, because the problem with like a Shell Island is no.

Yeah, they've been taken long ago.

It's no Shell Island.

It's really, and that was like the case when I was little and I'm far from little these days.

So I hate to leave Florida.

I don't wanna leave Florida.

We won't, let's talk about what we liked in the designing women.

Florida.

Uh, what, what did you like about this episode?

So I tend to like the destination episodes.

I like where we're out of Sugar Baker.

So I like that aspect.

Um, and this one isn't really easy.

Like this one feels like low hanging fruit.

Like it's almost cheap for me to pick it.

But, um, Suzanne's coming to Jesus with Ursula.

It was just chef's kiss.

It was nice.

My favorite thing is how Suzanne is this.

Like, we're supposed to believe she's this, like, vapid person that brings nothing to the table and is just like, worthless and wasting space and then she like, swoops in and saves the day and does it with like, almost like a, like a pizza maybe is the right word.

But like she owns herself and she Yeah.

And it was, I loved that.

Well, I think we have the same like, I mean, but this is, this is where just the one, just the one.

Well, we can go into others but that was the one that we have in common.

Uh Well, just her telling her to take her knockers and hit the road.

That was different because it wasn't translating.

So she got straight to the point and I really enjoy a straight shooter also.

Why we named the episode what we did.

So thank you, Suzanne, thank you.

That was also low hanging fruit.

Um And I agree it wasn't selfishly motivated like it.

What, what does she care?

She doesn't care about that nanny room?

Oh, that's true.

But she, I when push comes to shove though, I don't think there's anything she wouldn't do for Julia.

And I think she's tired of seeing ju she's also like, didn't we cover this in the finale?

It's time to move on.

She was like, and I don't even have dash here this time.

Not that I'm sure I'm not sure if she wanted a dash there the last time, but Suzanne was my number one like for this across the board.

Uh She's funny.

She's weirdly relatable.

Like Suzanne is not always relatable, funny, but I think sometimes we talked about with the fur coats and just like the excessiveness, you know, we're not always like, oh man, I just right here, me and you eye to eye, you know, but her like losing her luggage and that being a total pain in the butt and it feels like she's almost like the voice of the audience in this one.

Like, move it along.

Come on, come on, come on, come on.

And I really like, this is like my favorite line where she'll say, uh, well, if you'll all, excuse me, I'll just be taking the maid's room till this au pair person arrives.

Why?

Because you will all be in your room, changing clothes and I don't have any clothes and the men will be in their room and I don't have a man and the kids will be in their room and I don't have a kid.

So I'll just be in the maid's room.

I do have a maid and I don't know why, but I was just like, I feel you on that girl, I feel you on that.

Not that I have a maid, but I do not.

But I just thought that was really nicely executed.

Solid writing.

What else did you like in this one?

Was it my other one you cov covered, which was Mary uh Mary Jane Different podcast.

Um Mary Jo is the line after they interview Ursula.

Well, now we know why they named them pair.

So I just thought that was really funny and you know, I love a reference.

So what about what we didn't like?

I got one thing.

Um And this is another case where I feel like didn't, like, just feels a little strong.

Um, but we're working really hard to set up the conflict in this one and doing some things that feel unrealistic, like, um taking time out of your vacation to find local child care versus bringing someone along.

Claudia is an obvious choice who is conveniently missing.

Now, could we make up a reason why she's not there?

She's a band.

She's here.

She's with her dad, blah, blah, blah, you know.

Um, but it just, it feels like she's a built in babysitter who we were like, we need to bring in some big knockers on this one.

Oh, that's a good point.

I didn't think about that was quint there, you know, I really could, I didn't recognize any of the kids who were they on vacation with.

It felt like, like not all of J DS kids were there.

I was, I couldn't tell who was, who was it.

D has a teenager too.

A boy.

Uh Yeah.

Yeah, he, he may be more tweeny.

But yeah, so, well, maybe him and Claudia are dating and they're off on their own.

Maybe they got their own kind.

That also sounds like a different podcast.

It does and it ends in a crime.

Um So again, we talked about this one, this absurdity of Bill and Charlene sitting in, in interviews with great concern.

Like that's not even that they have them there but they're like, hm, I, I just don't know.

At one point I think Charlene even calls, I think it was Charlene calls Bill out on it.

It's like we don't even have kids.

Why are you invested in Ursula?

But too late.

You're right.

You know, like, after they've all, like, checked references, you know, they're like, oh, one day Bill had her test CPR on him just in case you got to make sure they're qualified for the kids, Nikki for the kids.

Uh, and I've already shared my thoughts about Ursula specifically who is way overqualified and again, conveniently available to supervise kids on the beach For a vacation for, as you pointed out four days.

So that's mine.

I just felt like this was such a bummer of an episode to start this season on.

And then it just got me thinking like, did L BT get to choose the order of this?

So, was it intended to be a continuation of the season finale or did the network choose the order of this?

And it just randomly was the one they chose that under unanswerable question?

Yeah.

Yeah.

I think that's a good question because I, I, you know, I think, I think they get say in, um, the episode order, but at the same time, I'm sure the network can come in and, and, you know, put their foot down depending on how strongly they feel about something.

It just seems like such a weird way to kick off the season.

So we end last season thinking about this conflict between the couples.

No one really comes out smelling like a rose in that argument.

Although I think I would argue the men look worse, but the women didn't look all that great in that episode.

Um And then we come right in To this episode and exploit the worst in the women again, which is their insecurity about their looks with their partners to kick off season three.

But it does feel purposeful.

So, but I just, but like it does to you, it, it does, I just don't know that she achieved what she was looking to achieve.

So I don't know what she was looking to achieve that.

I don't know why you put those episodes side by side.

I see, I see what you're saying.

Um And, and, and I, I just don't know that like I said earlier, like I do feel like the conversation will end up being more productive, but I just, I don't know other than Suzanne being amazing in this episode, like, what was the payoff?

Yeah, like there was just some real garbage slung about in the season two season finale and I feel like we didn't reconcile any of that and maybe that's just an indicator of the type of fighter I am.

But I would have been like, and do you remember when you said women are less than men.

Let's talk about that a little bit.

Where does Ursula fit it?

Like, I would have pulled that back out, resolved that issue.

You would have resolved it, scratched that scab and made it bleed again.

At least one of the two.

So that was my, that was my big thing.

Ok.

It's just lame.

Well, on that note, how about a rating?

I forgot to rate this 1000 look at the honesty.

All right.

Well, while you, I'm gonna let you think about that real quickly and I will go ahead and share with you that.

Um, I gave, well, first of all, you know what?

I messed this up, I didn't even say it correctly.

Nikki.

Do you want to rate the sucker?

I do.

You do right now right now in the minute.

Um, so I gave it a four out of five overqualified au pairs.

Like I said, it really bothers me.

Um, but Suzanne is basically what got me from a 3-4 in this one.

That's all in this one.

I think I love her at the same level that you love her all the time.

She, she definitely was tops for me.

Like I don't, I didn't necessarily care about the rest but I loved her.

Huh?

Ok.

Well, I'm gonna revise my rating that I just came up with.

Ok, I'm gonna go with 444 Lonely Beach Children.

Oh, yeah.

I guess they were lonely at the beach for four days with their grand grandchildren were at the beach for four days with grandpa and he had to hire someone to come in and take care of them.

I'm so annoyed by that rich people stuff, I guess.

But Mary Joe is not rich.

Charlene had no kids.

Just, just Julia, I guess.

I think, I think he's paying for all of it though.

I mean, he's like a high power attorney.

I think he's paying for, I just made him high power.

I don't know, he's high power but he's an attorney.

He does.

Well, I think he paid for the whole trip.

I think he paid for the plane tickets because I don't know why they had to take a plane.

I think that, um, I think that he also paid for, um, the pair and, uh, I think he took care of it all of it because I think that's what that generation did.

Yeah.

So I'm gonna give it four because actually you sold me on it.

I was gonna go with three but I'm Up into a four because Suzanne really carried the episode.

She did, she carried it all the way.

I've got something new this time that I'd like to explore.

Um, so it's a new segment where I would like for us to select who in our opinion won the episode and who lost the episode and why, who do you think won this episode?

I mean, 100% Suzanne.

Right.

100%.

She was amazing in that last scene.

Um, I said it already, like, we just give her little credit for being dialed in and, like, emotionally aware and then she, like, swoops in and just does what needs to be done and it's just really impressive.

She's, and she sent packing without being, like, super rude or ugly.

Yeah, I think, I think that's fair.

So graceful.