For those who are going to Auburn...

[Ricky the Bull]

and don't have a hotel room reserved yet.... good luck.

The closest available room I could easily find was in Columbus, GA, about 30 miles away.

I'm not saying there may not be anything closer, but you have to remember that Auburn/Opelika is area is VERY short on beds and those on home game weekends are snatched up fast.

I was able to find a room at the Hilton Garden Inn in Columbus for a little over $100/night, with no minimum stay and same-day cancellation.  Some hotels closer require 2-day minimums.

Now, we may have a team hotel selected and a block of rooms, but I wanted to grab something as a hedge.

[crambone]

Good idea.

Auburn is one of those places that doubles in size for football games.

We'll probably end up staying an hour or so away, mainly to avoid any serious traffic issues.

ROCKY > war eagle

[USFan]

Are you guys driving or flying?  If you guys are flying, what airport should we all look at?

[Ricky the Bull]

Are you guys driving or flying?  If you guys are flying, what airport should we all look at?

The closest airport with scheduled service is Columbus, GA, but you might pay a premium to get there.  Birmingham (BHM) or Atlanta (ATL) are both about a 2 hour drive, but a ton more flights.... especially ATL, which is also a mostly-interstate drive.  BHM, though, has Southwest flights.

[BleacherBull]

I graduated from USF in 1975, and then from Auburn in 1979 and 1981.  I have lived and worked in Columbus GA since 1981.  Thus, I am probably one of the best posters on this board to answer all your traveling questions for this particular game.  BTW, I expect it to be a classic defensive, field position type game where TOs, penalties, and 2-3 big plays have a major role in deciding the ultimate outcome.

RTB's choice of the Hilton Garden Inn is a good one.  It's on the North side of town in a corporate park environment, within an easy 45-minute drive of Pat Dye field at Jordan-Hare stadium .  Though there are zero dining or entertainment options within walking distance, there are lots of options in the Bradley Park Drive area, which is a short drive (1 mile) away.  Don't miss eating at Chef Lee's Peking Palace (rated as one of the top 10 chinese restaurants in the nation) if you stay there.

Most visiting SEC teams fly their charters into either Columbus or Montgomery and bus over to Auburn.  I think the Gators use Columbus.  You can fly to Europe cheaper than you can fly to either Columbus, Montgomery, or Auburn from Tampa.  So I suggest you drive and stay in Columbus.  Flying to Atlanta is an option and I wouldn't be surprised if our Alumni chapter there puts together a bus package to the game.  But seriously, getting through the Atlanta airport from Tampa will take you about 5 hours in the TSA world we live in today.  Then you will face a two hour drive from Atlanta.  The alternative is to just drive the 7 hours to Columbus (420 miles).  You do the math.

Keep in mind the following:

1.  Columbus is EST and Auburn is CST.

2.  There are many Auburn grads in Columbus, and they probably outnumber the UGA, Bama, and GT fans combined.

3.  My favorite teams are the Bulls, the Tigers, and whoever is playing the Red Elephants (in that order).

4.  Auburn has an excellent package of info for visiting teams on their official athletics website (tailgating, parking, etc,).  I don't have the link right now, but you can Google around for the 2006 version, which I expect they will update this Summer.

5.  As long as you are minimally civil, expect AU fans to be cordial and friendly (this ain't Morgantown or Gainesville or Tampa for that matter-it's just a different culture).  Most of the people who get arrested at Auburn games are drunk, old farts-not students).  Believe it or not, many AU students will treat the game as a "date", and will dress up for the occasion (especially the Greeks).  When I moved from Tampa to Auburn in 1975, it was like I entered a time warp and the year was 1965 (and that's both good and bad).

That's enough for now . . . I could go on and on, and probably will as September 15th draws near.

[Guest AstroBull]

Thanks for the info Bleacher.  

[WoolyBully]

We booked a room at:

Hampton Inn Columbus-North        

Check-In date:      14 Sep 2007

7390 Bear Lane      

Check-Out date:      16 Sep 2007

Columbus, Georgia United States 31909

1-706-256-2222

Checking in on Friday, out on Sunday

Probably (99.99999% sure) we're driving up

.

[BleacherBull]

The website for Wooly's Hampton Inn is www.hamptoncolumbus.com.  What they don't tell you is that a guest was murdered in their parking lot about a month ago in a drive-by isolated incident (they've already caught the young perps).  Don't worry though.  It's still in a good area.  There is also a Holiday Inn Express (under construction nearing completion), a fairly new AmeriSuites (Hyatt chain), and several restaurants within walking distance.  This cluster of businesses is known as Northlake Crossing.

[WoolyBully]

...and what's wrong with getting a little out-of-state trigger time?  8-)

I'm thinking this is going to be one of those in-at-the-last-minute,

out-at-the-first-available type of trips. Game aside, I don't think

there's much else that catches my interest.

[Jewbull]

Are you guys driving or flying?  If you guys are flying, what airport should we all look at?

The closest airport with scheduled service is Columbus, GA, but you might pay a premium to get there.  Birmingham (BHM) or Atlanta (ATL) are both about a 2 hour drive, but a ton more flights.... especially ATL, which is also a mostly-interstate drive.  BHM, though, has Southwest flights.

If Atlanta is a 2 hr drive from Birmingham, how is both ATL and BHM a 2 hr drive from Auburn? When I was in Bham for the bowl, I believe people told me that B'ham was about 45 min to 1 hr from Auburn, can someone please advise.