Just because it's a thing. We are doing a driving trip from DFW to Washington DC and decided to go through SEC college towns. We've already been to Fayetteville, Baton Rouge and Gainesville. So, on this junket, our route takes us: Oxford - Starkville - Tuscaloosa - Auburn - Athens - Columbia the up to DC. We have 5 days, half a pack of cigarettes and a full tank of gas…( Actually, we're leaving tomorrow and have to be in DC Wednesday)

We're pretty flexible on when to and where to spend the night as well as where to eat. Would love to stay on campuses if possible. Also looking for dive bars or BBQ joints to eat.

Any recommendations from you Ags?

Thank you.


(On the trip back, we will stop through the remaining SEC schools)

Buy more cigarettes.

We drove from Dallas to DC last year. If you go the shortest way on interstate 40 you go through Nashville (Vanderbilt) and Knoxville (Tennessee). Why not go that way?

Oxford: Inn at Ole Miss is on campus, The Graduate is two blocks off the square. Chancellor's House two blocks the other side. The Square has a bunch of restaurants and bars ranging from famous gourmet level to great southern food staples at Ajax Diner or cajun at Boure, and outside of town you might check out Taylor Grocery for a Dixie Chicken dive kinda vibe and some outstanding fried catfish, okra, veggies if that appeals to you. Summertime so check to make sure places are open if early in the week.

fwiw Auburn seems a bit off the track of the towns you listed, but I assume you've GoogleMapped the daylights out of this adventure. Really nice college town and worth the visit.

You might also hit Durham NC for the UNC/Duke double header as they are just down the street from each other. Clemson isn't too far off your route too...

Auburn now has two additional hotels downtown across the street to a block away from campus to go along with the Hotel and Conference Center. You can pretty much walk to everything from there.
Restaurants include: Amsterdam Cafe, The Hound, Acre, Hamilton's, and The Depot.

Lot's of bars and college kid hangouts in downtown as well.

Auburn is a great college town. Go eat at Hamilton's. It's at the main intersection about a block from Toomer's corner.

chick79 said:

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We drove from Dallas to DC last year. If you go the shortest way on interstate 40 you go through Nashville (Vanderbilt) and Knoxville (Tennessee). Why not go that way?

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Because there's absolutely nothing to see at Vanderbilt.

I would just drive straight through Baton Rouge. As someone said You could hit 3 ACC towns in a matter of minutes. Durham (Duke) Chapel Hill (UNC) and Raleigh (NC State.) Really nice area. Duke is one of the most beautiful campus I have ever been on. Headed to Knoxville you could hit App State. Beautiful campus and mountain town.

Yeah I would personally drive up to Clemson before Columbia, and maybe just skip Columbia all together

You could go Athens to Clemson to Asheville (Biltmore/Blue Ridge Mountains), cut up through Johnson City and Bristol, check out Bristol Motor Speedway and then hit 81 towards DC after that.

Or as stated, other option is to head into Raleigh Durham Chapel Hill area.

Southlake said:

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We have 5 days, half a pack of cigarettes and a full tank of gas…

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But is it dark and are you wearing sunglasses?

Sounds like a great plan. Since we live in DC we have made that trip a few times and hit many of the campuses. Have a great time!

What road trip takes you through College Station?

Southlake said:

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We have 5 days, half a pack of cigarettes and a full tank of gas…)

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We had two bags of grass, seventy-five pellets of mescaline, five sheets of high powered blotter acid, a salt shaker half full of cocaine, and a whole galaxy of multi-colored uppers, downers, screamers, laughers... and also a quart of tequila, a quart of rum, a case of Budweiser, a pint of raw ether and two dozen amyls.

Not that we needed all that for the trip, but once you get locked into a serious drug collection, the tendency is to push it as far as you can.

Fear and Loathing....?

Skip Baton Rouge. I touristed it up a couple weeks ago. Drove by the stadium en route to Chimes (New Orleans style shrimp was fantastic). Then we saw Mike the Tiger and left. Overall the place is super junkie and pathetic. The only redeeming quality are the many hundreds of 100+ year old oaks all over campus. Otherwise it's just a depressing dump of a town and area.

TexasAggie81 said:

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chick79 said:

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We drove from Dallas to DC last year. If you go the shortest way on interstate 40 you go through Nashville (Vanderbilt) and Knoxville (Tennessee). Why not go that way?

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Because there's absolutely nothing to see at Vanderbilt.

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sorta... Nashville has plenty to see... Just not a college town though.

chick79 said:

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We drove from Dallas to DC last year. If you go the shortest way on interstate 40 you go through Nashville (Vanderbilt) and Knoxville (Tennessee). Why not go that way?

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I said we were doing the remaining schools on the way back. We call it the northern route. Have driven it many times to help take care of my Dad and Brother who were very sick. Love I40 thru Tennessee.

RingOfive said:

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Southlake said:

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We have 5 days, half a pack of cigarettes and a full tank of gas…)

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We had two bags of grass, seventy-five pellets of mescaline, five sheets of high powered blotter acid, a salt shaker half full of cocaine, and a whole galaxy of multi-colored uppers, downers, screamers, laughers... and also a quart of tequila, a quart of rum, a case of Budweiser, a pint of raw ether and two dozen amyls.

Not that we needed all that for the trip, but once you get locked into a serious drug collection, the tendency is to push it as far as you can.

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And a quart of Bombay gin?

Give yourself extra time in Athens.

Easily my favorite SEC town.

12thMan9 said:

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What road trip takes you through College Station?

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Getting bussed from Austin to Huntsville.

The Zookeeper said:

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12thMan9 said:

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What road trip takes you through College Station?

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Getting bussed from Austin to Huntsville.

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I hope this gets appreciated

For Tuscaloosa I think locals would recommend Dreamland or Full Moon, Archibald's is getting a lot of publicity too. I'd advise you to not expect good beef bbq anywhere...as long as you're not expecting Texas style brisket, you'll be ok. If you absolutely must get brisket, you might be OK at Jim n Nick's. Their brisket is probably around the level of a Dickeys. I've never ever ever thought "oh man I am dying for brisket, I gotta get to Dickeys" if you get what I'm saying.

I got nothing for Starkville but Zachary's in Columbus has incredible burgers. Not sure if it would qualify as a dive bar but it's definitely not fancy. Using a Northgate scale...its akin to a clean Duddleys Draw.

Bama has an on campus hotel. Bear Bryant Museum next door. Five is a top notch restaurant. On the lower end, Rama Jama near the stadium has tons of memorabilia. Waysider is where Bear had breakfast everyday.

Auburn -get you a lemonade at Toomer's and walk the hall of fame around Toomer's Corner.

LSU has an on campus hotel and a small museum next door. Go see Mike's habitat near the stadium. George's under the freeway for po' boys and brew.

Ajax Cafe on the town square in Oxford. Stay in on campus hotel.

Skip Columbia. If you've ever been to Waco you've seen the nicer parts of Columbia South Carolina

Just did Oxford and Ole Miss today.

Beautiful campus. Immaculate. Landscaping and trees are gorgeous.

Stadium has most of their skyboxes in the end zone and is embedded in the campus.

Heading downtown for chow.

Go to Faoulkner's home if you have the time.

Will you be hitting Norman and Austin on the way home ...

Just finished Miss St., Alabama, Auburn and Georgia.

Beautiful campuses: Green, well cultivated and landscaped. Consistent architecture and color schemes throughout the universities. Very clean with consistent sight lines. Building are extremely clean with no mold or stains.

But, A&Ms Kyle Field is still the best stadium.

Kyle Field has more power and intimidation with its shear size and architectural lines than the other stadiums. Not being a homer, but it's simply the best. Georgia's Stanford Stadium is a close second.