best darn strawberry ice cream

Things are happy in mini vacay town...

My three days off have been spent well since I arrived in Champaign to visit Jay.

It is the middle of the night and I am wide awake... all thanks to my ever-changing sleeping schedule... so why not blog?

I got here Wednesday... 

...and walked straight to Jay's freezer... and ate his delicious homemade ice cream.  No joke, hands down, the best strawberry ice cream of my life.  I wish I could share it with you via internet.

Thursday...

...went to lunch with Jay and his friend Neil at a local favorite... Black Dog Smoke and Ale house.  I personally prefer Lil Porgy's Bar-B-Q ... but that's just me.  Both have really good sauces that they douse their pulled pork/chicken sandwiches in. Yum.

...after lunch? Napped all day. A truly glorious thing.

...went to dinner with Jay at Merry Ann's Diner ...a cute, local diner. Quick and yummy.

...had a couple beers with friends at Blind Pig Brewery (voted one of top 50 places in America to have a beer... by the good people of Beer Advocate ... and I agree!)  I had a flight... instead of one beer... I had three tiny glasses of different beers for the same price as one beer.  I had the Curtis Orchard Hard Cider... Two Brothers Ebel's Weiss... and the brewery's own Belgian Tripple.  ... I recommend them all!

Friday... today...

... while Jay is at lab... our friend Toni and I are going to go to my favorite bakery that I cannot even remember the name of.  It's some hole-in-the-wall... with the most delicious cheese danishes.  I hope she loves it as much as I do!

... then we will attend the sale at the Urbana Library.  They are selling a bunch of old books.  Toni was an English major in undergrad (now in Law school)... so she is going to just love this sale. I just love the smell of old books, so I will get my fill of fantastic old book smells... and I will definitely buy some fun books.

... then come dinner time we are all going out to eat... 

... then tonight... The 35th Sweetcorn Festival! Yes, it is as fantastic as it sounds.  Live music, fun foods, and lots of yummy, delicious, Illinois sweetcorn. YUM. Pretty excited.

I just love visiting this town. I drive through campus and gawk at the kids. They look too young to be in college. I cannot believe I looked that little when I was attending the university!  So much has changed... but many more things have stayed the same. I love reminiscing of all the ridiculous things I did in college as I drive past my old dorm on 4th street... past my favorite pub on green street... past the lecture hall where Jay and I met in Ecology class (nerds, I know.)... past the stadium where I watched our football team lose time and time again... past my old apartments where I formed many fun memories with my room mates... oh college.

Mini vacations are the best!