War Eagle

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

It’s official.

 

The oldest TCD DD and some of the TCD fortune will be heading north to Auburn, Alabama next month.

 

That meant we had to go apartment hunting.

 

So while the TCD twins headed to a competition at WDW, the remaining 3/5 of the TCD gang went north of the border.

 

Do you know how many times I’ve been in Alabama?

 

Once.

 

Now it’s twice.

 

But, I liked what I saw, and I will be back.

 

To set things straight, all the TCD girls graduate this year.  Four years ago, the twins graduated from Middle School, and our oldest from High School.  This year, the twins graduate High School and our oldest graduates from FSU.  Funny how that works. I can’t begin to tell you how fast the past four years have passed. All the girls are all continuing on with their education.

 

Twin #1 chose her school first.  She’s going to be a Gator:

 

 

Twin #2 chose next.  She’s going to be a ‘Nole:

 

 

That left the oldest.  She has been very methodical about where she will be going to school next. She had been advised to leave FSU and go out of state.  Last year, she spent her Spring Break touring the south.  Then she applied to four graduate programs.  She was hoping to be admitted one.  Much to her surprise, she was admitted to all four!   And not only that- she was offered graduate assistantships at each school.  If you’ve been to college, do you remember those Graduate Assistants who do all the work for the professors?  That is what she plans on doing.  The sweet thing about that deal is that they offer things like tuition breaks and stipends in exchange for the work.  The schools all offered slightly different deals.  That meant she had to choose.  So, she visited each campus again, and met with the faculty of the programs at each school.

 

She ended up loving Auburn.  A lot.

 

So, War Damn Eagle.

 

A couple of weekends ago, Mrs. TCD and I swung by Tallahassee and picked her up.  We drove north through Georgia and on in to Alabama.  Yee Haw, there ain’t a whole lot of people between here and there.  But, we saw a lot of courthouses and Civil War statues.  And peanut farms.

 

DD had been to Auburn a couple of times, so she was the tour guide.

 

We visited a couple of apartment complexes, and then headed to the campus.

 

She took us first to Toomer’s Square.

 

I had heard of it.  And the trees.

 

Here we are:

 

 

That’s Toomer’s Drug Store.  We will be back to visit here a little later.

 

The campus is right across the intersection:

 

 

You see that big tiger paw print in the road?  You see those two sick looking oak trees? Those are the famous Auburn Oaks. Auburn Fans TP them after every football victory.   They look sick because they are dying.  They were poisoned by a crazy Alabama fan.  Unbelievable.  But true.  I am glad that I got to see them.  They are going to be cut down at the end of this month.  That is a crying shame.

 

They call this area Toomer's corner:

 

 

In case you're wondering who Toomer is and why he has a corner, this sign explains things:

 

 

My DD is getting her master's degree in Higher Education Administration.  She began working as an Orientation Leader at FSU, and really enjoyed that.  So, she will be working in the new student orientation program at Auburn.  They call it Camp War Eagle.  She is going to have an office and everything.

 

This is her office.  Yes, it is a combination office and storage closet.  Hey, you have to start somewhere:

 

 

And this is the cublcle from which she will work for the next two years:

 

 

All that stuff belongs to the guy she's replacing.  He's graduating with his master's and moving on.  Hopefully, she will be doing the same in two years.

 

She actually has a door to her cubicle. This is what is outside of her door:

 

 

Josh, the fellow my daughter is replacing, offered to give us a golf court tour of the campus.  I liked how he had a key to the golf cart.  I asked him if my daughter would get his key.  He said yes.

 

Winning.

 

Here we are on our tour:

 

 

Here we are at Samford Hall, which is the administrative building. Note that there are two doors- one marked Agriculture and the other Mechanics.  Auburn used to be called Alabama Polytechnic:

 

 

As best I can determine, Samford was a Civil War veteran and former governor of Alabama.  There are a lot of things named after him in Alabama.  I guess he was an all around great guy.

 

This is an important landmark on campus.  As Josh explained, if you step on that seal on a certain day, you have to go and drink water out of some scummy pond somewhere else on campus or bad things will happen.  Something like that:

 

 

I don't want to drink scummy pond water, so I just plan on avoiding this area all together.

 

Josh took us to see the stadium.  It is right in the middle of the campus:

 

 

I think he wanted us to be impressed by it.  But, it didn't look any bigger than UF"s or FSU's.

 

We were impressed by the next thing he showed us.  This is the almost completed new Recreation and Wellness center.  What we used to call the gym back in my day:

 

 

There was a sign posted here describing what this is going to be.  Take a look at the drawing- you see that orange thing?  That's an indoor running track:

 

 

This is all supposed to open some time this year.  Josh said it stunk how he got to watch them build this for the past two years, and now it's going to open right after he graduates.

 

Sorry Josh.

 

Josh then took us back around the stadium.  Its official name is Jordan-Hare stadium:

 

 

I don't know who Jordan or Hare are.  But if I had to guess, I would guess that maybe they were Confederate army officers who killed a lot of Yankees.  That kind of thing gets you a building named after you.  A big stadium means a lot of dead Yankees.

 

They have statues of all the Auburn Heisman tropy winners on one side of the stadium.  There are three.

 

I know Bo:

 

 

And I know this guy:

 

 

I hopped off the cart for a photo op:

 

 

That one got a lot of likes on my daughter's Facebook page.

 

Somewhere it said these statues are 1 and a half actual size.  If that's true, then Cam is a big feller. I would say they are more like three times actual size.

 

They are way bigger than the Heisman tropy winner statues they have at UF.

 

I think this is a good place to stop.

 

This TR is just going to have two installments.  I'll post the next and final installment tomorrow.

 

TCD

[Beckers 1,136]

And non Disney TCD report, I think this is a first for me. Awesome!

ETA: first!!

[TurkeyPants...Nicole 92]

That's so exciting! I wish I had an office/storage closet of my very own. As it is, I get to try to avoid direct eye contact with the moron that sits across from me all day everyday.  :banghead:

[fortpartyof4 108]

Hot Diggety Dog!

 

I am on page one!!!!

 

I rarely have time to get on FF lately, and often can't get on……I am so excited to happen to have logged on for a minute and see a brand-spanking-new TCD TR!  AND get in on the first page!

 

Now I will go back and read it.  

 

Oh, and a HUGE congratulations to your daughters!  That is beyond impressive!  Hats off to you and the Mrs.

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Twin #1 is a smart girl.  Well, I'm sure they are all smart.  But she clearly has good taste. 

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

I'm in.

 

But now I have to compete with you and Aaron's time machine.

 

How do I get this reports to print surprise FPs to my TR?

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Congrats to your daughters on the awesome school choices they made!

[fortpartyof4 108]

Wow.  I never knew about the trees……or that they had been ruined like that. 

 

That is just pitiful.

 

I cannot stand Alabama but I would never go so far as to permanently damage or destroy an icon on their campus.  I don't get that at all.  There are pranks and then there's all out violence.

 

So are you planning on smuggling the golf cart down to the Fort?

[lklasing 16]

First time ever on the first page! 

 

Glad to hear you liked your second trip to Alabama.  Did you stop for any boiled peanuts?

[Grumpy and Grandma 739]

Tell DD#1 congrats. It sure makes you feel good when your kids do well, at least it did us.

[.....Gary 85]

Way to go SUCK UP!!  First you and I get in trouble with Jen and then to attone you send your first born to her alma mater.. :clint:

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

I'll just say WAR EAGLE!!!  WTG, awesome choice :)

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

And non Disney TCD report, I think this is a first for me. Awesome!

ETA: first!!

 

Congratulations on being first.

 

Every now and then there is a non-Disney TCD TR.

 

Something tells me there may be more in the future.

 

 

That's so exciting! I wish I had an office/storage closet of my very own. As it is, I get to try to avoid direct eye contact with the moron that sits across from me all day everyday.  :banghead:

 

I should have mentioned that there is another cubicle in the office/storage closet in the corner next to this one.  So she does have to share it.  The girl in that cublicle was new last year, so she will train my DD to be the big cheese next year.  It's a good system.

 

Hot Diggety Dog!

 

I am on page one!!!!

 

I rarely have time to get on FF lately, and often can't get on……I am so excited to happen to have logged on for a minute and see a brand-spanking-new TCD TR!  AND get in on the first page!

 

Now I will go back and read it.  

 

Oh, and a HUGE congratulations to your daughters!  That is beyond impressive!  Hats off to you and the Mrs.

 

Glad you made it!

 

It's good to see a post from you!

 

Twin #1 is a smart girl.  Well, I'm sure they are all smart.  But she clearly has good taste. 

 

Yeah, whenever I'm alone with Twin #1 I tell her that she's my favorite, and not to tell her sisters so they don't get jealous.

 

Ok, I do the same thing with all my girls.

 

I am proud of all of them.  I actually tried to talk Twin #1 into going to FSU with her sister. It would be easier on us all if she did.  But that girl has always wanted to be a Gator, and she worked her tail off in school to make sure she got in.  And she did.  So she's going.

 

Go Gators!

 

I'm in.

 

But now I have to compete with you and Aaron's time machine.

 

How do I get this reports to print surprise FPs to my TR?

 

Don't worry.  This is just a short report. 

 

For anyone who hasn't already, I highly recommend GDF's Trip Report.  Click on this link and you're there:  http://www.fortfiends.net/forum/topic/9655-reasons-to-celebrate…-gadawgfan’s-spring-break-trip-report/

 

 

 

Congrats to your daughters on the awesome school choices they made!

 

 

Thanks, Gwen.

 

In the case of the oldest DD, that is spelled AUsome.

 

Wow.  I never knew about the trees……or that they had been ruined like that. 

 

That is just pitiful.

 

I cannot stand Alabama but I would never go so far as to permanently damage or destroy an icon on their campus.  I don't get that at all.  There are pranks and then there's all out violence.

 

So are you planning on smuggling the golf cart down to the Fort?

 

Yes, that story makes me sick.

 

ESPN had a special on it last football season.  It happened after Auburn won the National Championship in January 2011.  The A-hole who did it called up a radio station and bragged about it.  He was arrested, and I think is still in jail.  The University of Alabama. of course, did not have anything to do with this idiot, and I think most of their fans do not condone what he did.

 

It is so senseless.  I am not really an Auburn fan but it makes me mad.

 

If I had the key to the Auburn cart, I would most definitely sneak it down to the Fort.  But it's kind of a long drive, and I don't have the key- my daughter will, and she is smart enough not to let me have it.

 

First time ever on the first page! 

 

Glad to hear you liked your second trip to Alabama.  Did you stop for any boiled peanuts?

 

Hey Leslie!

 

Thanks for stopping by.

 

To tell you the truth, I think there are more boiled peanut stands in north Florida than I saw in Georgia or Alabama.  No boiled peanuts on this trip.  But I'll be back.

 

Tell DD#1 congrats. It sure makes you feel good when your kids do well, at least it did us.

 

Thanks, Dave.  Yes, it makes me proud.  She did this whole thing on her own.  She applied the schools, went to the interviews, and landed herself a really great deal.  No way could we afford it if she didn't get that Graduate Assistant position.  I was worried about her wanting to go to grad school right when the twins were starting college, but it looks like it is all going to work out.

 

TCD

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

The TCD daughters are all doing so well.

 

You and Mrs. TCD must be proud Mama and Papa.

 

The pic of you wrapped around Cam's ankle is awesome.

 

Is that you wishing you could drag him back to Florida's campus retroactively?

[alexwyattmommy 181]

Congrats on the girls all making their choices.

 

And Woo-Hoo!!  Human Hot Wheels.

[Disneyzombie-Brenda 10]

Congrats to all of your awesome daughters. You and Mrs. TDC are fantastic parents. Also congrats on scoring the golf cart tour. I hope you got to meet Tiger, I understand she is retired but still lives on campus.

[momof3kids-Yvonne 594]

Congratulations to all your girls!

 

I am still trying to convince DS he needs to look at other options for college. He wants to go to Nebraska and I am fine with that.  But, also know how difficult it is to get into school these days and want him to be open to other possibilities.  

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Way to go SUCK UP!!  First you and I get in trouble with Jen and then to attone you send your first born to her alma mater.. :clint:

 

I know.

 

Maybe if I change my user name to AuburnTCD I will be allowed to speak.

 

Until then, I'll just say this site is wonderful and I have no complaints.  Zero.  I won't even mention how I tried all yesterday afternoon and evening to respond to comments and post an update to this report.

 

 

I'll just say WAR EAGLE!!!  WTG, awesome choice :)

 

Thanks. 

 

I have a War Eagle story to share.

 

If the site will stay up long enough for me to post it.

 

Sorry, ignore that comment.

 

The TCD daughters are all doing so well.

 

You and Mrs. TCD must be proud Mama and Papa.

 

The pic of you wrapped around Cam's ankle is awesome.

 

Is that you wishing you could drag him back to Florida's campus retroactively?

 

 I wish.  Cam got treated bad at Florida, and I'm glad that he was able to achieve success at Auburn.

 

 

Congrats on the girls all making their choices.

 

And Woo-Hoo!!  Human Hot Wheels.

 

It took me a long time to figure out that Human Hot Wheels comment.

 

But, now I get it- the orange running track in the new gym.

 

Good one!

 

 

Congrats to all of your awesome daughters. You and Mrs. TDC are fantastic parents. Also congrats on scoring the golf cart tour. I hope you got to meet Tiger, I understand she is retired but still lives on campus.

 

Tiger?

 

Who is Tiger?

 

I did not meet any Tiger.

 

Tell me more.

 

 

Congratulations to all your girls!

 

I am still trying to convince DS he needs to look at other options for college. He wants to go to Nebraska and I am fine with that.  But, also know how difficult it is to get into school these days and want him to be open to other possibilities.  

 

There is no way that I could or would pay out of state tuition for my girls, so they could chose any University they wanted to attend- as long as it had Florida in the name.  For grad school, though, my oldest knew that the program she was choosing often offered the graduate assistantships, so the out of state tuition thing became much less of an issue.  From what I have seen, Alabama has a great University system- I would tell your DS to pick a school in state and bribe him with some of the fortune you will save by not paying out of state tuition (not to mention transportation costs).

 

TCD

[ajcjmom 8]

Congrats to all the TCD daughters!

 

Enjoy the road trips!

[.....Gary 85]

ATCD does have a certain ring to it.  :rofl2:

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Just one more batch of photos ,and this one is done.

 

After the golf cart tour, we set off on foot back to Toomer's Drug Store for lunch.

 

On the way, we passed right by the old University gates, and the Toomer oaks.

 

I guess this is a War Eagle:

 

 

I have never understood the whole War Eagle thing.  After looking into this a bit, I found that even the University itself isn't sure how the whole thing started.  I think it's cool, though.

 

Here we are under one of the dying oaks.  You can see little remnants of toilet paper on the branches.  I am guessing these trees are over a hundred years old, and probably would have continued to live for a hundred more but for that idiot Bama fan:

 

 

We were parked by this wall, so I took a couple of photos of it:

 

 

 

My DD had stopped by Toomer's Drug Store on a previous visit, and raved about the Lemonade.  Since they serve food in there too at an old fashioned lunch counter, we chose to head there for lunch.  Here's my DD and a rare Mrs. TCD photo:

 

 

Since my DD said the lemonade was so good, I had to try it.  They make it fresh.  Right in front of you.  They just squeeze some lemons, pour in their secret sugar water mix, and bam, you have a fresh cup of lemonade:

 

 

My DD was right about the lemonade.  It is really good.  I think I'll be drinking a cup every time I visit Auburn.

 

Auburn's Spring Football game is tomorrow, April 20th.  They apparently are going to TP the trees one last time. They are calling this One Last Fling, and there are t-shirts and other merchandise for sale to mark the occasion:

 

 

 

Since this was my first and last time of seeing the trees, I took another photo as we left the drug store:

 

 

Mrs. TCD likes how Auburn has both a mascot and the eagle (which is not a mascot- but I'm not sure what to call the eagle) :

 

 

We then looked at a couple of more housing choices, and returned to campus.

 

The campus is beautiful:

 

 

 

It's funny that DD will be teaching incoming freshman about the history and lore of Auburn University, and she is a newbie herself.  But, she is already learning her way around campus, and is learning the stories.  She can tell you two or three versions of the origin of the War Eagle, and she told us a story about this big piece of equipment that is parked on campus:

 

 

There's a plaque posted here that explains what this is:

 

 

So, the legend that goes with this is that if a couple kisses in front of this lathe, and it does not move, that means they are truly in love.  Mrs. TCD and I had to give it a try.  Darned if that thing didn't start spinning.  Not really.  I think that is kind of a dumb story.  But, there are stories like that on every college campus, I'm sure.

 

Believe it or not, I have one more oak photo:

 

 

At this point, we had toured four or five apartments, and spent a long time considering our options.  It turns out that we were looking at a bad time.  Like all college towns, there are many more options in August than there are in April.  We really weren't sure what to do, so we decided to sleep on it.

 

We headed to our hotel in the next town over- Opelika, which is really close.

 

We came back to Auburn to eat dinner at a BBQ place called Moes.  One of the kids from my daughter's program recommended it.  And that was a great suggestion!  We all loved it. 

 

Come morning, my daughter and I were eating breakfast at the hotel. It was a place with a breakfast buffet, and it was crowded.  A man walked by our table and asked if we minded if he joined us.  We invited him to have a seat, and had a great conversation with him.  He had a heavy English accent, but had a son about to graduate from Auburn.  He told us how much his son had loved going to Auburn.  He said he was in a hurry to eat and be on his way to a tee time.  As he got up to leave, he didn't say goodbye.  He said War Eagle. With an English accent.  That's how we say it now.

 

After breakfast, we discussed the apartment options, and all agreed on one.  So we headed there and signed a lease.

 

Then we made a quick visit to the bookstore.  I wonder how much of this stuff I will own in the next two years:

 

 

Then we popped into Toomer's Drug Store for a to-go lunch order and another cup of lemonade. I told you it's good.

 

Then we headed south.

 

Here's a typical bunch of college kids that we saw heading to campus as we headed out of town:

 

 

Next stop was Tallahassee and then home.

 

We will be repeating the trip in a couple of weeks to move my DD in to her new apartment.

 

I have one last photo.

 

The TCD girls from August 1998:

 

 

That was 15 years ago.  At a tailgate party.

 

Two Noles and one Gator.

 

That's a pretty cool photo.

 

War Eagle.

 

TCD

[Disneyzombie-Brenda 10]

TDC

 

Attached is a link to a story about Tiger. She had to have cataract surgery. She was War Eagle VI. I got to meet her on a campus tour in 1986 just before her maiden flight. My Mother is an Alabama native and it is mandatory that Auburn is visited by all of the college bound family members. I would say for the last two generations about 50% are Auburn grads.  

The 1986 grad,like her Mom, chose The Ohio State.  

 

http://www.wareagleextra.com/2013/01/28/war-eagle-vi-tiger-gets-her-eagle-eye-back/

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

TDC

 

Attached is a link to a story about Tiger. She had to have cataract surgery. She was War Eagle VI. I got to meet her on a campus tour in 1986 just before her maiden flight. My Mother is an Alabama native and it is mandatory that Auburn is visited by all of the college bound family members. I would say for the last two generations about 50% are Auburn grads.  

The 1986 grad,like her Mom, chose The Ohio State.  

 

http://www.wareagleextra.com/2013/01/28/war-eagle-vi-tiger-gets-her-eagle-eye-back/

 

Thanks for that info!  I have never heard about any of this.  We did see the Vet school, though.

 

Funny that you chose The Ohio State.  One of my DD's friends from the FSU orientation department landed a very similar deal there, and will by a graduate assistant in the OSU orientation department this fall.  They plan on visiting each other over the next year.  Ohio State is supposed to have one of the best orientation programs in the country.

 

TCD

[fortpartyof4 108]

ATCD does have a certain ring to it.  :rofl2:

Not to be confused with ADHD.

 

Wait.  What was I saying?

[DaveInTN 3,247]

 

Here we are under one of the dying oaks.  You can see little remnants of toilet paper on the branches.  I am guessing these trees are over a hundred years old, and probably would have continued to live for a hundred more but for that idiot Bama fan:

 

 

According to some studies done, the trees were likely planted between 1937 and 1939, making them around 75 years old. 

 

I don't point this out to diminish the importance of the trees to the campus, but rather to suggest a hope that they can be replaced with new oaks that will be large and majestic in much less than 100 years.  Hopefully the children of current AU students will be celebrating football wins around new oak trees in the not too distant future. 

 

http://blog.al.com/montgomery/2012/01/toomers_oaks_may_be_60_years_y.html