Illini Homecoming Weekend 2019, Champaign, IL

What a great day and trip this was! I hadn't been back in some time and luckily still know one family that has the inside line on tailgates and fun.

We wound-up in a tailgate area they always go to, with friends of theirs all around. AND, the game was amazing (though we watched it from a TV in the tailgate!). It was a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon, as it always was.

After the game ended, I went on a bit of a walk-about around the campus, see some of the old haunts.The first stop though was a new statue for Dick Butkus... pretty cool.

Then onward to Wohler's Hall, and on my way saw the band at the Education Building...

For an extra dash of fun, I wanted to take the underground passage through Main Library to the Undergrad Library... still the same, but actually nicer and more user-friendly now...

... Down, down, down...

Excellent mural and usable tables & chairs now too...

Finally, I pop back up outside...

Hit Foellinger Auditorium and the Echo Point...

And then pop-up to Kam's (which we were told all weekend was closing that Sunday - it should be closed now). And that's not to say I even spent that much time there, but it was a bit of a local legend.

Finish up walking back through the Quad...

And then a little more touring and Illini gear shopping the next morning...

... Stately Altgeld Hall

And I believe this was the English Building... love the entryway brass. You don't see that kind of fabrication anymore.

Awesome trip, still a boring flat drive, I'll be back, no doubt. Maybe I'll pay off my last remaining loan someday too.

Captain + Stoker Coffee, Monterey, CA

Spending the long Memorial Day weekend in Pacific Grove/Monterey recently allowed myself and the friends I was with to seek out some new spots. I brought my "standard" list of places, but they also did their own research and came up with some great new ones for any future visitors. One of those places is a coffee shop called Captain+Stoker Coffee.

For those of you not nerdy enough about bikes to know, the name of this shop is a reference to tandem bicycles. The "captain" on a tandem is the driver, the "stoker" is the person stuck on the back. In a sense, the stoker uses their legs to "stoke" the fire of the bicycle engine. Sidenote: this word, stoker, comes to bikes from steam ship or locomotive use - a person responsible for literally "stoking" the fire in the firebox to keep steam plentiful. Well, now that you know where the name comes from, you may understand why there are bicycles on the walls of this place. 

Not only do they brew up some great cups of java, but they also have become known for their avocado toast ("avo toast" to some). It contains most things you'd think of and some you might not - Fresh-baked sourdough bread, avo spread, crisp arugula, olive oil, pepper flakes, and a lime on the side to squeeze. Genius. They also have other flavors of toast, like PB+Banana and Cinnamon+Sugar, plus handmade sweets and baked goods. It was almost too much... to get over that, the 2nd day we went back we ordered almost one of everything. Smart.

Even their decor and lighting were cool, IMO...

No joke on the roasting works either, right there on premises...

Everything we put in our maws was tasty. I will be back virtually anytime I'm on the Monterey peninsula. Just go. If you're near, go.