Trip this weekend: Madison, Wisconsin. Women's College Basketball games attended: Minnesota v Wisconsin, Penn State v Wisconsin. Women's College Basketball game watched in bar: UConn v Tennessee.



We left on Thursday with G&D, fellow Gopher fans and, in many ways, our scarily similar counterparts. Our Pricelined hotel was comfy but wireless-ly challenged, at least in our room. By taking the Powerbook into the hallway, I was able to get a signal. Also, the hotel shuttle was crippled by Wednesday night's snow storm or occupied or both, so we had to drive downtown to the Kohl Center.

We were disappointed to learn that our seats were on the diagonal opposite side of the court from the Gopher bench, so we snuck over to the other side and took four unoccupied seats, next to friends of Janel McCarville's from Steven's Point.

Janel was incredible. 15 points, 17 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals and 4 blocks. The crowd appreciated her, especially all of her hometown friends. We took our time leaving after the game and saw a bunch of the Gophers (but, sadly, not Janel) talking to friends and family on the arena concourse. I almost went up to Hannah Garry to tell her how great I think she is, but I decided to leave her alone. I'll stick to yelling really loudly for her whenever she's on the court.

Dinner and beer afterwards at a bar called the Vintage. The food was okay (their fried cheese curds were pretty darned tasty), the beer was tasty, and the decor was great - lots of formica topped tables and melamine plates. The giant screen TV was playing 9 1/2 Weeks, which was somewhat distracting. G and I played darts, badly.

Finished a review in the morning, then went out to breakfast. I was famished, so I wolfed down some buckwheat pancakes with strawberries and bananas. Afterwards, we decided to hit downtown to explore a little. Went to Avol's Bookstore - the most incredibly well-organized and undusty but rewarding used bookstore I have ever been in - then we all pooped out and went back to the hotel.

Reading in bed in a hotel room can be so emotionally rewarding, especially when it's the middle of the afternoon and you can nod off and nap when you get tired of the book you're reading. It's especially nice when your honey is reading next to you, enjoying it every bit as much as you are.

After wandering around the State Street area a bit, we had dinner at Lombardino's. I must admit, I was intrigued by the description in the city guide in the hotel, in which they mentioned the restaurant's replica of the Trevi fountain and old-school atmosphere. When the local alterna-weekly raved about the chef, we figured it was worth a shot. We ended up very pleased - excellence was displayed in every course, from the warm goat cheese to the homemade limoncello. In particular, my orecchiette with sausage in a brandy infused cream sauce was extraordinarily tasty.

This morning, we ate breakfast at the Dane County Farmer's Market - indoors for the winter. It was a totally hippy-tastic place, and our pancakes were yummy, as was the free trade coffee. G bought bags of catnip for their kitties and ours (all three cats here are now completely stoned).

After breakfast, we headed to the Wisconsin-Penn State game. The Badger fans were all so nice, and paid props to Minnesota when they saw G, D and S's sweatshirts (I opted for a neutral sweater). Penn State beat the home team, but not handily. Jolene Anderson was especially impressive for Wisconsin, but all of their gals played their hearts out.

Afterwards, we found the closest open bar and commandeered one of their TVs to watch the UConn-Tennessee game. I won't even talk about it. Go here if you want to know why I am completely disgusted right now.

Nice drive back, in spite of some bad news from G's mom via cell phone. Stopped at the Norske Nook in Osseo to buy a pie. Mmmmm, pie.



Home now, to the phenomenally good news that accommodatingly officially has been granted tenure. I am bursting with pride.