330 miles to Auburn

Did you know that Auburn, Alabama is 330 miles away from Hilton Head, South Carolina? Well, it is, but we'll touch on that later.

Auburn is fantastic. I really hope I can go back there at some point in my life. Before I got to Auburn I had absolutely no idea what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised with super adorable wallet friendly boutiques, insane amounts of school spirit (go Tigers!) and absurdly friendly people. (Maybe they're just normal amounts of friendly? I don't know.. whenever I leave NY I think everyone around me has taken happy pills.)

This is Niki (left- do we look alike? Sometimes when I look at pictures of her I think it's me.) She's one of my best friends and we get into all sorts of mischief together.

We traveled down to Hilton Head, SC in October '09. We spent a few glorious days exploring Hilton Head and then we decided to go on an adventure. We pulled up Google Maps to see what was around the area. We both had already been to North Carolina, so that was out. Georgia was only a few minutes away- too easy. We settled on Alabama. We were really interested in Montgomery, but it was just too far.. other than that, any town would meet our need to get a taste of this exotic state. Knowing absolutely nothing about the area we picked Auburn. Such a good choice!

We left Hilton Head at 4:45am in the pitch black dark. It is so dark in places that don't have street lamps everywhere.. we have them everywhere. 6 hours later we arrived in Auburn and made a beeline for some breakfast. Actually, we made a pit stop at the Gap so I could buy a sweater because it was colder than I dressed for.

(Aren't the coffee beans in this table so great? If I ever opened a coffee shop I would, without a doubt, have coffee beans in my tables.)

We enjoyed our much needed coffee and amazing southern breakfast in a cute local cafe. Thinking back I probably should have gone all out like Niki and ordered some biscuits and gravy (I said that in a southern accent.) Oh regrets. I did get to sample the deliciousness of course, so it's ok!

After breakfast we went for a walk around town and through the Auburn University campus. It was gorgeous. Niki and I decided that we should probably go to college again and attend Auburn.

It happened to be game day and it would have been so exciting to go to the game, but tickets were sold out and we only had a couple of hours to spend in town. Luckily, people start preparing for the early evening game at around 10am so we did get a taste of the school spirit.

Basically, the campus was covered in a giant tailgate. Pop-up tents lined the walkways and people were grilling some food and celebrating their school. The town was covered in orange and blue.

I love having a friend like Niki, who didn't think I was crazy for wanting to make this trek and who actually came up with the idea just a much as I did. Now that I think about it, I tell Niki she's crazy all the time, but I'm fairly certain she has never once called me crazy.. although she's had plenty of opportunities to do so! Niki, I mean "crazy" in the most positive and sometimes awe-struck way (for the record.)

In other news, if you find yourself in Auburn this is what I think you should do!

Eat..

• Taylor's Baker- one of the best cups of coffee I've had, seriously. Order the biscuits and gravy. 

Buy:

• Behind the Glass- Super adorable with a sort of Anthropologie feel to it. I wish we had a boutique like this where I live.
• Private Gallery- Ok, I was only in here for about 4 minutes, maybe less. That was long enough to be completely sold. It was also long enough to buy my favorite dress EVER. For like, $18. Amazing. This isn't a local boutique- it's actually all over the south.
• Therapy- Really pretty shop, but a bit more pricey than the other two.

Do:

• Attend an AU football game- and let me know how it was, please. Ah, I think it would be phenomenal.
• Tour the AU campus and marvel at its beauty. I love southern college campuses. 

I'm sure there is plenty more to do in Auburn, but Niki and I only spent about 2 hours in town. We had to get back to Hilton Head so we could go to sleep, wake up and drive up to Charleston, SC for our flight back to NY.  (We also had to stop off in the center of the state of Georgia so we could check out the "Mossy Creek Barnyard Festival." Hm, long story.)

I love Auburn. And $18 dresses. And adventures. And Niki.

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I'm really going to need to do some traveling, and soon. I still have a ton of places I can write about, but writing these posts makes me ache for an adventure. Anyone have exciting travel plans? Can I fit in your suitcase?

Oh and it's currently 2:10am. Why am I such a nigh owl?!