In 2010 I ... road tripped to Winona

My college roommate and surname-sharing non-relative, Sheila, is moving to Boston. From Minneapolis, it might as well be Guam. We've been mourning the loss of Sheils for awhile now, but felt a few send-off celebrations were in order, starting with a road trip to the alma mater, Winona Sate. So Lisa, Em, Sheils and I hopped in the car for an epic weekend of nostalgia ...

L & S with recovery Jamba Juice on the drive

The goal was pretty simple - cram everything we love about Winona into a 36-hour visit. This included lunch at Acoustic Cafe,


with an immediate follow-up for ice cream at The Penguin Zesto.

L & E at The Penguin Zesto

S & Me with a delicious flurry

For old times' sake, we also drove past everywhere any of us ever lived. And because it's Winona, that took approximately 8 minutes.

My first Winona home, and the prettiest dorm on campus

Although once we got to campus, S did make us walk inside our old dorm. I was honestly afraid. It's amazing how memory can blur how we actually lived. The rooms seemed minuscule, and I had absolutely no recollection of how wretched the bathrooms were. (Apparently I can actually repress an entire year's living situation ... all the more reason for this blog!)

After all this rehashing and running around, we spent two luxurious, relaxing hours in the AmericInn hot tub. (Note: this is probably one of the nicest hotel in Winona, second only to the former Holiday Inn.)


This was critical prep for our full Winona bar crawl, with pit stops at every old favorite:

L & Me at Mulligan's

The whole gang at Gabby's

$8 round at Bullseye (or whatever it is they call it these days)

L & S getting down at Brother's

Rockin' out at Schyde's

After-bar food fiesta at Erbs & Gerbs

A historic night. (Plus S & L stayed awake past 1 a.m.!) The trip wrapped up with a reminiscent breakfast stop at Perkins and a trip up Garvin Heights.

View of campus from the bluffs

We had amazing weather the entire trip, and it really ended up being the perfect way to start Sheila's send-off. The only downfall is the part where she actually leaves.

In 2010 I ... fell in love with the Varsity, again.

Just when I think I can't have any more love for the Varsity, they go and make it even better! It had been a few months since my last Varsity trip, and I knew construction was in the works, but it wasn't like they clued me in to how fantastic they were planning to make it. A huge balcony overlooking this area:

is now open for show viewing. While not the best show-going experience - the mood is just really mellow up there - it's perfect if you aren't up for being in the thick of the crowd, which wasn't really an option before. (The bathrooms are also pretty amazing, which sounds creepy until you see them for yourself.)

Diana, Laura, Niki, Ryan and I saw this renovation on Friday at the xx show.

Diana and Laura at the show

I've become pretty obsessed with this band over the past few months, and the show was great, although we all agreed we were waiting for the rock-out moment that just never came. (I think our hopes were a bit naive, however, since the xx doesn't really rock out, per se.) They did end with a pretty stellar light show:



After the show I ran quick like a bunny to an equally exciting event across town: a party at Jennie and Eli's Naughty Pine. Plus, at the stroke of midnight it became an early b-day celebration for Jess.

Birthday girl love meets party host love

Nothing beats the first NP party of the season. It's a sure sign spring has sprung!

Justin with my doggy boyfriend, Boe

C displaying the aftermath

A busy start to a beautiful weekend. And with spring in full swing, a toast to many gorgeous weekends to follow.