Trippin'

Last weekend, Tara, Veronika & I drove down to Champaign-Urbana to visit our dear friend, Erin and check out her new life as a full-time grad student. Both the road trip and the actual visit were a blast. Erin was a great hostess & it was wonderful to check out some of her favorite haunts.

Stop #1: A BBQ & beer lunch at Black Dog Barbecue - both the brisket & the beer flight were wonderful!

Stop #2: A tour around campus along with a pit-stop for some much needed caffeine at Espresso Royale. Here we all are in the quad - apparently near this spot you can stand and here someone clearly from all the way at the other end of the quad (thanks for this quirky tip, Veronika). Our campus tour consisted of seeing Erin's library science building (very cute!), a few local t-shirt shops and a quick stop in the union's art museum which had a very interesting Mexican art display.

Stop #3: Appetizers & cocktails at Boltini's - a very cute & chic lounge within walking distance of Erin's place (bonus!). Here's a pic of our first round of drinks - mine was a very strong bloody mary martini in front.

Stop #4: The Blind Pig. If I lived in Champaign, this would be my go-to hang-out spot. I loved the decor and, most importantly, the beer list. How can you go wrong when they have "Katie's Stout" on tap?

We finished off our late "college night" with the requisite Papa John's delivery...yum! Being the crazy person that I am, I "slept in" until 7:30 the next morning - which gave me lots of reading time while the rest of the girls slept. :) We rounded out our U of I experience with a quaint brunch at one of Erin's favorite spots, Courier Cafe.

U of I - I'm looking forward to visiting you again!