Gas: $30.
Hotel room in Destin: $80.
Memories made during a sporadic road trip to the beach: priceless.
With warmer weather, lower gas prices, and the slower pace of life in Auburn during spring semester, Auburn students are taking more road trips.
Popular destinations include Panama City, Fla.; Destin, Fla.; Nashville, Tenn.; Charleston, N.C.; New Orleans; Athens, Ga.; Tuscaloosa and Lake Martin.
"I feel like everyone should go to Athens once before they graduate," said Gilchrist Karn, a junior in economics. "It's just an experience. Their night scene puts Auburn's to shame."
Linda Blakely, a junior in human development and family studies, said her favorite road trip of all time was the trip she made this Spring to Mardi Gras in New Orleans.
"Mardi Gras was the most fun I've ever had just because there is so much activity, and it's so different from anything I've ever been to," Blakely said. "We stayed in a cheap hotel and spent less than $100 the entire weekend. It was like the textbook college road trip."
Students said a reason behind the popularity of road trips is their low cost and low planning requirements. Blakely prefers road trips for its ease.
"Road trips are great because you can go without as much work as you would need to do if you wanted to fly somewhere," Blakely said. "All you really need for a great road trip is a car, a little money, and some friends, and you can go whenever."
Students attribute the rise in road trips during Spring semester to it not being football season.
"I go to the lake more in the Spring because its warm enough and its not hunting or football season," said Colin Morin, a sophomore in biosystems engineering.
Weekend road trips provide many students with an escape from school and stress.
"It's good to get away when Auburn's dead and you need a break from school," said Sarah Gruber, a junior in apparel merchandising design and production management.
Students' planning of road trips varies depending on their responsibilities and destinations.
"It could be sporadic, or it could be planned up to a month in advance, just depending on the occasion and where I'm going," Gruber said. "If I'm going to visit friends it can be sporadic, but if I'm going to attend an event I usually try to plan ahead."
Pets can be one responsibility that limit the amount of road trips college students can make.
"I can't just go on a random trip anymore," Blakely said. "I have my dog in Auburn now, so I have to make arrangements for her."
"2 a.m. road trips are the best," Karn said. "Those beach trips have been some of my favorite memories from college, and what I think we'll always remember."
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