Sunday, 15 December 2019
The fog was so dense this morning I couldn't see 100 yards. I saw online the National Weather Service has issued a dense fog warning for this entire area - even all the way over to Montgomery - until 9:00 AM, and I can see why. I don't want to drive anywhere if I don't have to. I couldn't be sure of being able to see anyone pulling out in front of me until it was too late. And anyway, not good for sightseeing.
Despite the fog warning expiring, the fog didn't seem to know about it because it hadn't lifted much at all by 9:00. I didn't feel comfortable about leaving until going on 10:00.
I went first to a Publix, which surprised me by not having everything I needed.
I went next to a recycling dropoff place I'd discovered by accident when I was arguing with Google about my driving route. And lo and behold - they recycled glass! Oddly, I saw people actually chucking their bottles at the pile. Intentionally throwing them and listening to them break. I've been hearing for ages that glass is a problem for recycling companies precisely because it breaks. It becomes dangerous for employees and hard to recycle in splinters. I saw several people doing this. But others lined up their bottles on the outside of this breakage pile, so that's what I did. Hope it actually gets recycled and not just swept up for the town dump.
I'd been arguing with Google because I wanted to drive through the Auburn University campus a little and it didn't want me to - nothing efficient about sightseeing. I finally just wrote down a route for myself using Google's map of the town, and that ended up working out fine.
I passed the University Theater, and I know that because the entire side of the building was taken up with big letters that read:
Auburn
University
Theater
Dot
Org
 |
| Admin Building (online photo) |
I would categorize the architecture here as eclectic - many very different styles in different building materials.
Many many buildings for athletic facilities of various sports.
 |
| Auburn Univ. stadium |
Big magnolia trees everywhere.
Auburn seems to have a lot of traditions that are confusing to a newcomer, like me. I saw a lot of this in the campground. I couldn't figure out why the same campsite would have something about a War Eagle as well as a Tiger, both obviously referring to Auburn. And what on earth was a Toomer. Like that. I finally found online that the official school mascot is the Tiger. But there's also an actual eagle that goes to the games and is named War Eagle III (or II or IV) and I guess flies around, and "war eagle" is what they call their battle cry. I saw that III got away from its handler and flew into someone's back yard, and the homeowner shot the bird. He claimed the eagle was attacking his kids, but locals didn't believe him, claiming he was a rabid Univ. of Alabama fan.
Toomer appears to refer to Toomer's Drug Store at the entrance to the campus, a local tradition for generations. It's here that the live oaks stand/stood - remember a few years back hearing about some idiot fanatical fan of the U. of A. who was mad when Auburn beat them during the last few seconds of the Iron Bowl and poisoned these live oaks? His poison job worked real well because the university's Horticulture School did all they could think of to save the trees - worked for several years on it - but finally gave up and planted new ones. The new ones have much better protection and better beds than the originals.
And I thought Texas and Texas A&M had a hot rivalry.
One street I was on in town suddenly narrowed to one lane because of construction, and 4 cars refused to let me merge into the right lane. Southern hospitality needs some real work if it's going to match up to the courtesy I saw in northern drivers.
When I went back to the campground I flagged down an employee to find out where the dumpster was and where I could get water. I'd spent 2 nights already here and walked all over and studied the campground map and still couldn't figure out either one. The employee was kind enough to show me where the dumpster was, which was a good thing because I couldn't understand his directions and would never have otherwise found it. It's not labeled even slightly but instead looks like it's part of a construction site. And he showed me how the water spigots are at each campsite in little covered niches in the ground (about the last place I'd have looked for water this time of year). Weird campground.
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