I never really thought I would have a reason to go to Alabama. Ever. Let alone twice. Not that I have anything against Alabama, it just hadn't been at the top of any list of places to go. But then my nephew decided to go to Auburn University. Tim is 12 years younger and when I was at Villanova, he came to play the part of my younger brother twice for siblings weekend. So obviously I thought I needed to go to Auburn to visit. He wasn't a fan of the idea of me coming for siblings weekend, so we agreed on another weekend. My mom, sister and I went for a long weekend his sophomore year and then of course there was another trip for graduation weekend.

My approach to traveling, anywhere, is to do research (oftentimes at the last minute, ie at the airport) and come up with interesting places to stop. As much as I love to relax and do nothing, I always feel like I need to take advantage of being somewhere new.

I managed to find quite a few things to do around Alabama. Trip 1 we went to a ‘wine & food event’ called On the Tracks in Opelika, Alabama, a short 20 minute drive from Auburn. We got to walk around the historic town of Opelika, sampling wine and small bites in the shops of downtown. Conveniently, we had 20 year old Tim as our DD. The next day, we explored Loachapoka, a town of about 135 people. We visited Lee County Historical Society Museum in the old general store, and had fun taking photos outside the outhouse. We were disappointed to have missed the Syrup Sopping day, apparently a big event in the area.

So up to this point, my Mom and sister were impressed with my local finds, my research gave us more to do than just visit the campus (though it is a very nice campus). But then, I pushed my luck and looked for another cute, historic town where we could stop for lunch on the way to back to the Atlanta airport. It didn't go so well, the town I found really wasn't cute, and in fact we weren't even sure we wanted to get out of the car. So we kept driving, then got lost and couldn't find the road to the airport (aren't airports usually easy to find??), my sister barely made her flight and never did get lunch.

So, fast forward 2 years to the graduation trip. Evelyn and I pick my sister up from the airport and tell her that I have found a great place off the highway to stop for lunch. Needless to say, she was very skeptical, and worried that yet again there may be no lunch to be had. But another blog (www.marieletseat.com), served us well, and we stopped at Sprayberry’s Barbecue, and my sister’s faith in me was restored. It is a great, local, family owned for 85 years type of place, with awesome barbecue.

Other great stops we made that weekend:
   - Mrs Story’s Dairy Bar - ice cream is a must have on vacation. Apparently also known for chili dogs, but we didn't sample
   - Garden in the Park, Opelika arts & craft fair
   - Chewacla State Park
   - Ariccia Italian Trattoria - not my find, but a very nice restaurant in Auburn, perfect for a graduation celebration
   - Shane’s Rib Shack - surprisingly good airport barbecue. We had to get bbq in one last time before heading back north

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