On Peach Cobblers and Soul Stealing - The Band Travels to Georgia

by Delaney McCarty '26 AC xDM 

fig. 1: Garbussion in Georgia, by Megan Hannon ‘25 P xQotC xHM xDM

Upon the close of fall midterms the Band was feeling very in need of a break. What better vacation spot than the land of peaches, peanuts, and former President of the United States James “Jimmy” Earl Carter Jr.? Also the football team was playing against Mercer University in Macon, so…….
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The Band woke up bright and early on Friday, October 11th, and after a quick bagel breakfast, loaded up the bus and headed to Newark Airport. While Mom and Dad handled getting our bags checked, bandies found ways to entertain themselves, including the usual chatting, reading, and creating the tallest boater stack possible.

fig. 2: There are no thoughts behind those eyes. Only boater.

After completing TSA and grabbing a quick lunch, the Band was in the air! We received a special shout out from the captain for our super snazzy outfits. Upon landing in Georgia, we gathered our bags and headed to the hotel in downtown Atlanta. The Band had a free evening, so bandies did a variety of things, including consuming peach cobbler, taking a dip in the hotel pool, and finishing up their midterm papers. :/
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The next morning we headed out to Macon. Sustained by an assortment of PopTarts, the Band boarded the bus and headed two hours south to Mercer University. After a quick field rehearsal, we stopped by Mercer’s campus to meet their band, who were all super sweet and happy to have us there.

fig. 3: Mercer University’s mascot is a bear. Naturally, we thought their bear needed a boater.

Lunch was Jimmy John’s, and then we set off on our first away marcharound of the season. To our surprise, there was no one around campus. We guess tailgates are more of a thing down south. After an archless arch gig, we made our way to said tailgate and then off to the game. We had no pregame show, as is the norm for the Mercer Band, but we were permitted to make a tunnel for our team as they ran on the field.

As quarter one began, it soon settled in that Mercer’s football team was superior to ours in just about every way. It was also very hot. Bandie spirits remained high however with the gift of water bottles from the Mercer Band and some very enthusiastic PUB alums who were just happy to be there. After our halftime show, which was met with raucous applause from the Princeton side, bandies stormed the concession stand en masse for ice cream and cold beverages. As the game came to a close and the sun started to set, we began to accept Princeton’s loss - not our own loss, of course, as the Band Always Wins!

We partook in some pizza on the ride back to Atlanta. For some, the evening brought a Mario Kart tournament and a splash in the pool, while others decided to hit the hay early for the long day of exploring to come.

The Band had Sunday to do whatever we wanted in Atlanta, so naturally Bandies ended up in a lot of places, including the Botanical Gardens, Centennial Olympic Park, the Georgia Aquarium, the World of Coca-Cola, and the Atlanta Pride Parade (fun fact: Atlanta celebrates Pride Month in October, as their pride month predates the national designation of June as Pride Month). See the photos to the right for all that the Band got up to!

The Band flew back to Princeton on Monday, but given our late flight, we still had time for some exploration in the morning. One particular group of Bandies decided to indulge in some of Georgia’s finest cuisine and visit Waffle House, while another group, out of reverence for our favorite former president, went to visit the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library. Most notable, however, was a trip to the College Football Hall of Fame.

You see, last year one of our very own Bandies ended up in Atlanta and decided to visit the College Football Hall of Fame, only to discover that they had one of our plaids on display. While the Band has no record of donating a plaid to this museum, we figured we needed to pay them a visit - in plaid, of course. The staff recognized our radiant blazers right away, giving us free entry to the museum and taking our picture in front of the infamous plaid. We additionally took the opportunity to add to their collection and donated a boater and a PUB kazoo to hopefully be displayed for years to come.

fig. 4: The Band with our long lost plaid.

With this business attended to, the Band set off for the Atlanta airport. Following a brief delay, we were in the air and headed back to the Best Damn Place of All!