Our eldest is a senior at Auburn University, which means we are in the process of starting to wean ourselves from that marvelous place.

Neither Jim nor I went to schools that were as football-focused as those schools in the SEC, and I walked around in wide-eyed wonder at our first game day.

Last weekend, at what may be our last game day in her college career, we got very busy.

First, we enjoyed coffee at Mama Mocha’s.

We arrived in town early enough to get parking (not an easy feat!) and see everyone rolling in.

We got there so early, in fact, that we took a break in the student center to sit in the AC and drink cold water. This prompted me to take a couple of trips to the ladies’ room, where the members of the flag line were busily doing their hair and makeup. For well more than an hour. The glamour of the women in a southern marching band is not to be underestimated.

We visited a big tailgate party.

We also stopped by a smaller, private tailgate party at the apartment of one of our daughter’s friends. It was in full swing when we arrived, and stayed lively for about three minutes after the revelers noticed our presence. So yep, we killed a party.

From there, we visited Auburn’s new rooftop bar at the Collegiate Hotel. They had toilet paper ready to go in case the Tigers won and those oaks needed some decorating.

The view was lovely.

And rather than go to the game itself, we enjoyed it from LiveOaks, a cool outdoor restaurant just down the street from the stadium. Because here’s a confession: even though all three of us enjoy a beautiful game day like the one we had, only one of us is really a football fan.