Sara and I tool a weekend vacation to Chicago this June to visit family and friends. We also decided to give the Megabus a try, which is a low-cost bus service between various cities in the Midwest. The bus departed Minneapolis early in the morning, but that meant we arrived outside Chicago during rush hour Friday-afternoon traffic. Total travel time was at least 2 hours more than expected, so we were anxious to arrive.

Once in Chicago (at Union Station), we left for Aurora, Il., the suburb where Sara's aunt lives. We spent one night with her before returning to our downtown hotel Saturday afternoon. Saturday we did a tiny bit of shopping on Michigan avenue, before meeting my friend Matt and his fiance. We had dinner at Pierro Gourmet with them, then saw the orchestral performance happening that night at Millennium park. Sara and I split up with them later, and saw music (Infected mushroom) at the Excalibur nightclub, a short walk from our hotel.

Sunday we met Sara's cousins for brunch at Grand Lux Cafe. In the afternoon we visited the Art Institute of Chicago. In the evening, we caught a cab from our hotel to the Briar Street theater where Blue Man Group performs. I was asked to be in the show as 1 of 2 audience participants, and helped them out with a Jello-head portion of the show. We closed out the night with a nice dinner at Tempo Cafe, then drinks at the Signature Room, located on the 95th floor of the Hancock tower. The drinks are expensive, but the views make them worth it. Our return trip home was on the Megabus again, departing Union Station at noon the next day.

Sara surprised me on Valentine's day with tickets to the Minneapolis stop of the Hotel Cafe Tour (to happen later, Monday March 31st). The concert was downtown at the Fine Line Music Cafe. Since it was general admission, we arrived when doors opened and secured a spot about 10 feet in front of the stage. We were most excited for Ingrid Michaelson (recent album: Boys and Girls) and Dan Wilson (recent album: Free Life), but were pleasantly surprised by the rest of the lineup as well: Cary Brothers, Joshua Radin, and Meiko. The concert was "untraditional" in that each performer would sing a few songs, then leave the stage, to be replaced by another performer in the lineup. Each artist would cycle through a couple times, and mix it up by backing each other up (for example Ingrid would sing backup for Dan). There was an emcee that announced each performer, and even played (with 2 others as well) as a support musician. The emcee had a great personality and lots of enthusiasm. The music was excellent, and all the artists were personable and friendly. Some of my favorite moments were Ingrid's cover of Creep by Radiohead, and Dan Wilson's performance of Closing Time from his previous band Semisonic.

For my birthday, Sara took me to dinner at Cafe Ena in Minneapolis. Dinner was excellent and we recommend the restaurant.

• Canvas screening - Joe Greco was on campus at the University of Minnesota, to present the movie he wrote and directed on mental illness, titled "Canvas." Read my full write-up of the screening.
• Impromptu trip to South Dakota for my new car - I purchased a used car from a dealership in South Dakota over the Internet. Being very enthusiastic to pick it up, I convinced Sara to drive down with me (and back separately) to Sioux Falls, SD, about 4 hours away, on a week night. With school and work delaying our departure, we didn't get back home to Minneapolis until nearly 2AM. To repay Sara, I treated her to a nice dinner at W.A. Frost in St. Paul
• North shore camping trip - We joined about a dozen other University of Minnesota students for a weekend trip to Two Harbors, MN, where we enjoyed tent camping and hiking on the Superior Hiking Trail. Trip was through the Center for Outdoor Adventure.