Eastward Migration, Final Blog Entry 01/11/2011 to 01/14/2011

After an early breakfast, we departed Glendale, along with thousands of Auburn fans. Our route took us north to Flagstaff, then west to Albuquerque, NM, and Oklahoma City. We stayed the first night at Kirtland AFB and tonight we are in Oklahoma City. Tomorrow night we will stop in Memphis and arrive back in Alabama on Friday afternoon.

We saw some stunning scenery on the way back. We stopped at "Castle National Monument" and saw the Aztec cliff dwellings, traveled through the Petrified Forest and the Painted Desert . The weather was cold but clear. This has been a great football trip. We saw the USA in our Chevrolet and Auburn win the BCS National Championship. On our way home from another Tiger victory. It was a special trip, shared with our friends, Jerry and Mary Ann Hankins.

Signing off from somewhere on Route 66.

National Champions 01/10/2011

22 to 19, final score. We are exhausted. We left the hotel around 12 noon for the stadium. After lunch at the "before game" tailgate party, Linda, Knox, Sherry and Mary Ann attended the "unofficial" Tiger Walk along with thousands of others. They waved at the buses as they drove in to the underground access. Jerry Hankins and I stayed in the Tahoe and listened to the Finebaum Show. Afterwards, we entered the stadium and witnessed Auburn history being made. We are so happy....

Afterwards we went to a local restaurant for a late supper, to unwind and recap the game. We got to bed around 2:00 am.

Westward Migration or Auburn, Arizona 01/09/2011

The Hatfields and Hankins, along with thousands of Auburn fans and a few Oregon Ducks, spent the day exploring Glendale and Old Scottsdale. We located the stadium, saw the Auburn bus, Coach Chizik waved at Linda and Mary Ann, we attended the Auburn pep rally, went to the Upper Deck sports grill and had a great meal at the "Mission" in old town.

I met some nice folks from Eugene, Or. I told them if I were not an Auburn Tiger then I would be a fan of Oregon. They seized that opportunity and made me an "Honorary"Duck. Quack...Quack...

Linda thinks they should put a real Tiger and Duck in the arena and see who wins. It was another good day. We are all ready for the game. Enough talk. Lets play ball. Win or lose, I will make one more post after the game and then we will head home.

Auburn Family, All In (Glendale) 01/08/2011

We left the NM mountains after having a nice breakfast during snow showers. We then made our way through Tucson, where we found Jerry and Mary Ann, sitting on the curb at their hotel, waiting on a ride to Glendale. After checking in our room, Knox and Sherry Argo came by and we all watched the latest Auburn Video, "All In". We were ready to suit up ourselves. Then we left the hotel to do what we do...eat. We drove about 30 miles, into the hill country above Scottsdale to "Pinnacle Peaks Patio". A great steak house visited by travellers for years. Tonight it had the appearance of "Auburn West".

Pictures posted are Joe and Amy Sellers from Montgomery, David Jackson from Sylacauga and his group, Knox and Sherry Argo of Montgomery, Jerry and Mary Ann Hankins from Titus, Pat Manning and his group from Auburn and Us.

Land of Enchantment, New Mexico 01/07/2011

We've left Texas, explored Roswell, saw where the aliens landed and are now in the"Lodge" atop the snow capped mountains in Cloud Croft, NM overlooking White Sands.

We are very excited about the game. We have a good amount of confidence, along with a certain amount of trepidation on the outcome. We have been listening to ESPN and the Finebaum show all the way out here. I have nightmares about fast little ducks running all around our football team and a half dozen all over Cam Newton.

We look forward tomorrow when we pick up the Hankins in Tucson and join the rest of the Auburn faithful on the way to Glendale

Lubbock, Tx 01/06/2011

Buddy Holly, Prairie Dogs, Cotton Fields, Texas Tech, Tommy Tubberville and Canadian Geese.

Linda at the "wild cow corral"

We had a great day in Lubbock. My brother took me out to the Texas Tech Golf Course and we enjoyed a round, the two of us and Larry's son in law, Kurtis Ward. Kurtis can drive a golf ball 300 yards. Wow.. Larry beat me but he was very gracious and kind in his remarks about my golf. Not at all like Jerry Hankins. All this proves is, if you want to improve your golf game then you should start at a younger age.

Linda and Pat went shopping, had Italian for lunch and toured the Texas Tech Ranch and Heritage Center.

We had dinner tonight with my niece, Traci, and her family. The pictures of the children are my grand nieces and nephew.

Tomorrow we are off for New Mexico, the land of enchantment. Our first stop will be Roswell, NM. Where the aliens first visited. I was unable to get a picture of Buddy Holly.

Duck Season 01/06/2011

As I get ready to go to the golf course, I had a few moments to reflect on the recent history of our current road to Glendale. It was only a few short years ago when Auburn opened up the season with a loss to USC and Ga. Tech. Our next opponent that year was Vanderbilt. While walking across the campus in Nashville, the Hatfields and Hankins were on the receiving end of "catcalls" from the Commodore fans. I told Jerry Hankins that we were in "football hell". Vanderbilt was making fun of Auburn.
Go forward a couple of years and after Kentucky and Vanderbilt beat us, we knew we had arrived there.
Now to present day. Undefeated Auburn vs. undefeated Oregon, competing for the BCSNC. The most important game in the history of the Auburn program.
I have two resolutions for the new year. Watch Auburn win a national championship and lose some weight. (I do have a class reunion coming up). We'll see what the future holds.