Auburn 2012

Last Wednesday, after a long day at school, I piled into the car with my husband and two of our closest friends for a 4 day road trip to Auburn, Alabama. This is the third year we've made the trip and it certainly lived up to expectations! Also, I remembered to snap enough photos to share our trip with you! Hooray!

Our plan every year is to drive the majority of the trip after work on Wednesday and make it to Greenville, South Carolina to stay with Beth's aunt Kathy. It's always a late night, but this year we ended up in Greenville in record time (by 12:30 a.m.). The next day we hit up Kathy's diner, Midtown Deli, for delicious sandwiches and her ever popular chocolate chip cookies (they're different than any other CCC and so delicious!) before hitting the road to Auburn.

One of my favorite parts of making the trip from Greenville to Auburn is all the roadside stops and attractions to see along the way. We stopped at a gas station to fill up and I noticed this boiled peanut self-serve station. We definitely don't have anything like that here in Maryland. My friend Lisa happens to love boiled peanuts, so I wanted to snap a photo for her.

My other favorite stop on the ride from Greenville to Auburn is a tiny alcove in Atlanta, GA called Little 5 Points. We stop every year to hit up our favorite vintage shop and record store, and to stop by our favorite watering hole. We only stop for an hour or two, but it's always a lot of fun. In fact, the hand-painted brick wall from the photo above is a storefront in Little 5 Points.

We always get really pumped on the ride from Atlanta to Auburn, as it's only about 90 minutes long. This is when we start getting silly, singing the Auburn fight song and chanting the cheers from the football games.

 

Thursday evening we stayed in Auburn proper with Beth's friend Mark. By this trip, we have hung out with Mark quite a few times. You might remember him as the bride-dude from Rich and Beth's wedding in the spring. Thursday we went out and about downtown Auburn to get to know the locals and check out the sights. Our favorite stop was The Hound, a new restaurant specializing in bacon and bourbon. It is gorgeous both inside and out and the atmosphere was excellent. I love minimal yet woodsy design. The Hound is an ace.

We're really fortunate that the people who give Beth their tickets for us to use also give us access to the condo on Lake Martin. This is one of the most gorgeous places I've ever seen, so it's a treat visiting year after year. This was the view from our balcony:

Saturday is always full of food and football. This year's game wasn't until 6:15, so we had plenty of time to socialize and hang out with Beth's friends from college. I'm always amazed by the sheer quantity of tailgaters that make their way to Auburn for every game. It's serious business down there!

The best part of this trip was certainly getting to see a little bit more of the town and get to know more local establishments. It was nice to check out a new mom & pop game-day gear store and pick up a few gifts for students who are interested in Auburn University.

 

We even had more time to walk around campus and get those same students admissions information regarding scholarships and out-of-state tuition. 

Even though the Tigers aren't having the best season, this trip was certainly a lot of fun and a nice break from the daily grind of teaching. We're fortunate that we're given a certain number of personal days to use each year and that we're given the opportunity to travel.

Auburn is easily becoming a home away from home and I can't wait to get back. Do you have a favorite away-from-home town?

xo,