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deeming about its environs andattractions. Nashville has always been a “feel good” city dating back to the Grand Ole Opry at the Ryman Auditorium.
There are fishing and hunting options for most SEC venues and abundant golf courses. History such as the Hermitage, the home of Andrew Jackson, in Nashville and then there is all the excitement you find in New Orleans.
Georgia played Auburn in Columbus for years and you might not think of great attractions connected with this city, but you can discover some of the most uplifting scenery in our state on the Pine Mountain Ridge.
Florida in Jacksonville became my favorite trip, dating back to my undergraduate days. Fishing for a couple of days in advance of the big cocktail party in Jacksonville with former Georgia player and coach John Donaldson brought about the greatest of times in our state’s coastal waters. Lately, we have been hosted by Vernon and Patricia Brinson at Ponte Vedra. Nothing like a bottle of Bordeaux overlooking the ocean on a moonlight night. Baton Rouge and bayou living, Oxford and William Faulkner and the other personalities who have passed that way, driving over the mountain to get to Knoxville all make for wonderful travel experiences. And to see the horses run at Keeneland when you play Kentucky, is sensational, stirring, and unforgettable.
For years, the leaves turning during the weekend of Vandy and Kentucky games were a bonus which sadly, with the schedule changes, have gone away. Regrettable.
Nashville remains a favorite destination in SEC football travel opportunity. Now that it is bursting at the seams, I am wondering what it will be like when it becomes a big city and big city problems become part of its fabric. Perhaps you remember when you could enjoy Atlanta and not be fearful of being robbed at gunpoint in a restaurant parking lot.
I can remember Printer’s Alley where Boots Randolph used to hang out at a place called “The Carousel.” There might be a lull at some point and Boots would suddenly grab his saxophone and play “Yakety Sax.”
In those days, schools wanted to win the conference title and play in a big bowlgame. Nowitisyearround focus on winning the national championship while pocketing millions of dollars, which begs the question. Are we any better off than in those provincial days?
