#21 Sweet Home Alabama

My nephew, Aaron, is a senior in high school and has chosen pharmacy as his field of study. Both Paul and Lori went to Purdue and Aaron was accepted at Purdue. He sent his scores to Auburn and was accepted there as well. For those of you who may not know, I went to Auburn, the loveliest village of the plain. On December 29 my brother's family and I headed to Auburn so Aaron could check out the campus and talk with Lynn, a former basketball teammate of mine who works in the Harrison School of Pharmacy.

The drive down was great. The sun was shining and it was fun to watch the temperature gauge on the rear view mirror slowly creep up. Aaron and Megan happily played with their new iPhones and we also listened to Paula Deen's book, "It Ain't All About the Cookin". The Auburn men's basketball team played Tuesday night and won. War Eagle! I was happy to be in the Beard Eaves Memorial Coliseum one last time before it's demise at the end of this season.

Wednesday morning we met with Lynn and walked around campus. Too bad school was out of session - it was pretty quiet. We also stopped at a couple of book stores to check out some Auburn gear. We lunched at Guthrie's and had their famous chicken fingers, special sauce, fries and toast. Aaron said if he went to Auburn he would gain his freshman 50 at Guthrie's. "Guthrie's is the bomb!" We topped off the evening by visiting with friends who used to live in Indy - Kristine and David, and their kids Justin and Charlotte. They are former Alabama transplants who are happy to be back in their home state. Aaron and Megan enjoyed swinging and rocking on their porch.



Megan came across a bear in their house and we were thankfully able to save her.



The drive back was LOOONG. I rode in the front seat going and thought I'd have mercy on my 6'2"(?) nephew and let him sit in the front on the way home. Lori drives a Saturn Vue. She, Megan and I were in the back seat. I was very uncomfortable and twice had to straighten my legs to relieve my butt. My feet were as far under the front seat as possible and my butt was sticking in the air. I don't care what I looked like to passing cars - it felt great! Stay tuned to find out Aaron's final college choice. I don't care where he goes, as long as he's happy. We arrived home just in time to ring in the new year!