The first time I came to College Station, TX in 2015, I was absolutely blown away by the size of everything and how long it takes to get there from the airport. I tend to fly Delta and the closest airports are in Houston and Austin - so the drive in is one of the longer ones we deal with in the SEC. However, once you get into town everything is sprawling out with military buildings spaced in between everything, and also the George Bush Congressional Library.
Kyle Field is production-friendly in every sense of the word. However, it's a huge stadium so it takes a bit to get the gear to and from the camera positions. Driving up and down the spirals takes a few minutes at the fastest pace. The game went well, and Texas A&M beat Louisiana Monroe 48 - 10, but I had trouble with my servo arm (the automatic zoom control) and had to switch to a manual crank →
It's colloquially referred to as the "bologna slicer" because the cranking motion you use to zoom in and zoom out resembles the motion of a deli meat slicer. Needless to say, it's cumbersome and awkward to use in comparison to a servo, but some of the old timers swear by them for baseball and certain shoots.
Layne's Chicken Fingers is the kind of place you must go to as a college undergrad, but might not see past the dollar bills and novelty on the wall if you're a little older and didn't already appreciate it. It's a quaint white building with a few tables, and a small tv hanging in the corner tuned to ESPN. The chicken fingers were absolutely perfect (who really cares about the fries, but they were solid too) - perfect dusting of seasoning and fried to a golden brown crisp, served with a perfect house-made tangy sauce. Right down the street is another chicken finger place, but we're glad we chose Layne's instead... because as the sign on the wall read, "Friends don't let friends eat Raising Cane's."
Huge Military Presence
Texas A&M was established in 1876 as a military university and has enjoyed a long tradition honoring service men and women. It is also the largest uniformed body of students outside the U.S. military academies.
Local Favorites:
Layne' Chicken Fingers
Bbq 13-0
Dixie Chicken
Good Bull