UGA fans enjoy unique travel opportunities

Georgia Bulldog football fans are known for making the annual pilgrimage to The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party - a.k.a. the Georgia-Florida game - in Jacksonville each year but why limit yourself to the Sunshine State? Get out there and experience the best the SEC’s college towns (and non-conference foes) have to offer when the action moves Beyond The Hedges. Here are some of the highlights on this season’s schedule.

Oklahoma State University, Sept. 5, Stillwater Okla.

Stillwater, about 50 miles northeast of Oklahoma City, calls itself a “college town with attitude.” About 46,000 live in the city itself, which Bizjournals names one of its top 20 cities for quality of life.

Where to stay: Georgia fan Lisa Tanner says that with only around 900 hotel rooms in Stillwater (she asked a local hotel owner) that are essentially pre-booked for OSU fans, a Bulldogs fan’s best bet may be to snag a room in either Tulsa (about 85 miles away) or Oklahoma City, but “choices are pretty limited.” If a trip to Stillwater is in your plans, start the reservation process now, Tanner suggests. ReserveTravel.com (1-800-892-2108; www.reservetravel.com) lists hotel offers and reservation options for Tulsa and Oklahoma City.

Where to eat: “Two words: Eskimo Joe’s,” said one Big 12 OSU rival who’s made the trip to Stillwater before. Located one block from OSU, Eskimo Joe’s (1-800-256-JOES (5637); www.eskimojoes.com/) boasts accolades like “Voted Best College Post-Game Hangout by the Sporting News” and “Ranked #3 in ‘The Perfect 10 College Sports Bars’ by Sports Illustrated.” Standard bar food menu but there’s a LOT of it. Cool live music, too.

Beyond the stadium: Yes, you’ve come to root on the Dogs vs. the Pokes but since you’re in a sporting frame of mind, check out the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum (405-377-5243; www.wrestlinghalloffame.org). Open Monday-Friday and weekends by appointment, this shrine to the history of grappling goes to the mat - literally - for patrons with its vast collection of wrestling paraphernalia from the world’s oldest known sport.

Bar trivia bonus round: Country superstar Garth Brooks is an OSU alum. The mega-selling singer got a track scholarship, graduating in 1984 with an advertising degree.

Vanderbilt, Oct. 17, Nashville, Tenn.

An easy drive from the Atlanta / Athens area, Nashville is a fun weekend trip even if you’re not headed up for a Dogs-Commodores hookup. But if your Saturday’s set aside for the game vs. Vandy, get to Music City a day early and do a little playing around town yourself - even if you can’t strum a note.

Where to stay: Movie buffs will remember the Drake Inn (615-256-7770; http://www.nashvilledirectory.com/drakeinn) from the 1993 film “The Thing Called Love,” starring the late River Phoenix and a newcomer named Sandra Bullock. The motel, built in 1947, was featured prominently in the movie and is among Nashville’s most notable landmarks, located near just about everything fun to do. Perfect if you feel a “Go Retro” moment coming on.

Where to eat: Well worth the drive a bit out of town is breakfast at the famed Loveless Cafe, where the country ham wins awards and the secret recipe from-scratch biscuits are made by The Biscuit Lady, Carol Fay Ellison, who puts that something special (she won’t say but we’re thinking it’s “love”) into each homemade batch. Dappled with Carol Fay’s own blackberry jam, they’re Nashville - honestly, in a mouthful.

Beyond the stadium: They don’t call it Music City for nothing. If you don’t have some kind of incredible music experience - country or otherwise - while in Nashville, you have only yourself to blame. Tootsies Orchid Lounge (http://www.tootsies.net) has earned its rep as the hub of hee-haw hip on the Strip. Go during off hours (daytime) and you may have a set of songs played just for you. Getting a coveted table at the famed Bluebird Cafe (615-383-1461; http://www.bluebirdcafe.com) requires a specific reservation process so set it up in advance. Take some of the Music City experience home with you with some hard to find albums found at Grimey’s New & Preloved Music (615-254-4801; http://www.grimeys.com) or a cool old school placard from Hatch Show Print (615-256-2805; www.hatchshowprint.com).

University of Florida, Oct. 31, Jacksonville, Fla.

The amount of red and black in the crowd makes it hard to count Florida as an away game. It’s a trip thousands and thousands of Bulldog fans plan the year around. Even though he loves Athens, James Hopkins, Class of 2003, says, “I get excited when talking about Jax.”

Where to stay: It’s tough to beat the downtown Omni Jacksonville Hotel (904-355-6664; www.omnihotels.com) for convenience, but the recently opened One Ocean Resort in Neptune Beach (904- 247-0305; www.oneoceanresort.com), is dazzling, with “lots of restaurants and beverage establishments nearby,” Hopkins says.

Where to eat: 11 South Bistro (904-241-1112; www.elevensouth.com) in Jacksonville Beach is a favorite. Chew Restaurant (904-355-3793; www.chewrestaurant.com) is a popular lunch spot dowtown that recently started serving dinner Thursday-Saturday.

Beyond the stadium: The behind the scenes tour at Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens (jaxzoo.org) “is well worth the price,” Hopkins says. Jaguars — the local NFL team is the Jacksonville Jaguars — are among the headliners.

— AJC staff writer Clint Williams contributed to this story