Summer in the South Roadtrip

When life gets tough, I like to pack my bags and hit the road. I needed a few days of "Me and God" time to escape some drama, clear my head, and regroup so I picked up a rental car and headed South. Anyone that knows me, knows I am Southern to the core and I am slightly obsessed with college football so I planned myself a little road trip to some notorious college towns.

First stop, was a must and my little piece of heaven, Clemson, South Carolina! I visited with my best friend from college, Tiffany, and we had a girls night out at the Esso Club and Tigertown Tavern, toured the campus and saw all the new buildings that have been built since I graduated and had much needed girl talk.
 

Athens, Georgia  is supposed to be an awesome town with a fun music vibe, but I was on a mission to see the field between the hedges, home of the GA Bulldogs! I spent all of 1 hour in Athens and I accomplished my goal of gawking at the infamous Southern football field and making people mad by stopping at my own created parking spots so I could run take pictures of the stadium.


 

My brilliant timing had me driving through Atlanta traffic at noon, but I made it to the beautiful state of Alabama and Auburn University. Now, people had told me that Auburn resembled Clemson, but I was not prepared to scream "Tillman!" when I saw Samford Hall! It was unbelievable how much the 2 campuses looked alike. I called my Momma and told her she can be glad I saw Clemson University before I ever saw Auburn because the campus was simply beautiful and their downtown had the cutest boutiques! I bought the perfect souvenir bracelet that says "Travels and Explores" from an adorable shop called Wrapsody. Thanks to Auburns $0.25 per hour parking fees downtown, I was able to take my time exploring the campus and the downtown area. As is Clemson, Auburn is very much a walkable campus and town. I walked through campus, past Samford Hall, past the President's House, past the Greek housing, and all the way to the football stadium before getting just a little lost and finding my way back to downtown. The June heat was scorching so I found historic Toomer's Drugs downtown to escape the sun for some lunch and their famous lemonade.   

 

 

After staying in Birmingham for 1 night, I drove two more hours down the road to the infamous University of ALABAMA! Roll Tide! I work with a girl who is a diehard Alabama fan and she would have loved my time in Tuscaloosa! I headed to the Paul "Bear" Bryant Museum first to reminisce about the incredible football history of the university, then I wandered around the campus and saw the gorgeous sorority homes , excuse me, mansions, and then all of a sudden...there it was...Bryant-Denny Stadium! An incredible sight to behold! The stadium was enormous! I wandered through Bryant-Denny Plaza and read all of the sidewalk memoirs. I ventured to Tuscaloosaa Tavern for brunch and then checked into the hotel because it was a another blistering Summer day. After cooling off, I drove to the campus and saw more of the buildings and the President's mansion and then I made a return visit to the delectable Dreamland BBQ! I went to Dreamland BBQ 2 years prior with a class trip from Clemson so I was thrilled to be able to sit inside the smoky walled building and taste the amazing ribs again - don't worry, a plastic bib is included with your meal!

 

 

Sundays in the South bring peaceful quiet mornings that are perfect for driving the rolling hills and back roads toward Mississippi. I made it to the quaint town of Oxford with just a stop at the state line visitor center and instantly fell in love with Ole Miss. All I really knew of Ole Miss came from a little research after watching my favorite movie, The Blindside. 

Ole Miss is home to conservative Southern values and grace. Tailgating is an art to behold in The Grove, Southern Living Magazine names the women of Ole Miss the belles of the South, and sororities and fraternities are a way of life. The town of Oxford is a quintessential small town revolving around the courthouse square which is home to award winning restaurants like The Grocery, bookstores, and boutiques.
 

                           

 

I continued my Sunday drive just across the Mississippi border to Tennessee and the river city of Memphis. I checked into my downtown hotel and made it to the Peabody Hotel with 30 minutes to spare before the infamous Parade of Ducks! Yes, there are actual ducks that walk in a line on a red carpet to and from the lobby fountain every day at 10am and 5pm. I arrived at the Peabody Hotel at 4:30pm and apparently I was late to the party! I was hard pressed to find a spot where I could see the parade of ducks! At 5pm the Duck Master, not to be confused with the Duck Commander, blew his whistle for the ducks to line up and they proceeded to march out of the fountain, down the stairs, and across the red carpet to the elevator where they went up to the 10th floor and their penthouse. Such a simple event creates a spectacle in Memphis!

I wandered around the hotel some before heading out to Beale Street, the famous stretch of restaurants and jazz venues. The Rendezvous is the restaurant to rave about unfortunately for me it is closed on Sundays. I chose to visit the 2nd most popular restaurant, Blues City Café. Memphis ribs are always at the top of any barbeque list but I have to admit that my ribs at Dreamland BBQ in Tuscaloosa were much better than Blues City Café in Memphis. I can honestly say now that I have had Memphis barbeque and do not personally like it at all. Memphis also did not feel safe to me so after a short walk along the great Mississippi River, I tucked in for a Duck Dynasty marathon pretty early.

 

 Last city on my Summer in the South roadtrip, Nashville! I visited Nashville years ago for the Music City Bowl between Clemson and Kentucky so I knew what a fun city Nashville can be and it proved itself again! I drove out to Belle Meade Plantation, the Parthenon, the Belmont Mansion, and the Grand Ole Opry before checking in to the Renaissance Hotel in downtown Nashville. The Renaissance was gorgeous and in a perfect location only a block off of Broadway. I wandered down Broadway a little before settling on Tootsie's World Famous Orchid Lounge to take in some local Nashville bands. Concierge at the Renaissance recommended Tootsie's because it is located next to the famous Ryman Auditorium and it is not uncommon to spot country music celebrities. I figured if Tootsie's was good enough for the country music celebs then it was good enough for me! Boy, was I NOT disappointed! I arrived between bands so I got a good spot at the bar and met a couple of women who were in town for a teachers convention. Obviously the city is crawling with talented musicians and I had the pleasure of listening to an incredible band for hours with those women; we even got to meet the cutie cowboy lead singer! For only one night, Nashville was very good to me!

 

 

 The stretch of drive from Nashville to Wilmington was long and boring after 5 days across the deep South, but the trip served its purpose of clearing my head and refocusing on what's really important in life. I was able to see college towns that I have always wanted to visit and spend some much needed alone time thinking about life.