Chapel Hill or Bust

I should be working on a school paper, but all I can think about is what we are going to do in Chapel Hill next weekend (a trip which will hopefully extend through Tuesday, *knock on wood*).

Chapel Hill is awesome enough in the springtime, but in the springtime when it's tournament time AND the Heels are going to the Final Four....well, there's just no better place to be. So for everyone who's making the sojourn back down to the southern part of heaven to watch the game(s), here's our list of things to get in while you're in town.

First and foremost, we'll be heading straight to Top of the Hill for some much-needed and dearly missed, Old Well White. Anytime I think that a Blue Moon might suffice (because, unfortunately you can't get your hands on the Top O brews up here), I'm painfully reminded that it's just not the same. Maybe it's really girlie and, frankly, I don't really care. You can tell a lot about what kind of Tar Heel someone is by their Top O beer of choice. Whether you'll be drinking an Old Well White or a Leaderboard Lager, get to Top O and grab a seat out on the balcony, people watch down on Franklin St. for a few hours and get psyched for the game.

Old. Well. White. The Top O Scene

We'll most likely be going to 411 for dinner on Saturday night. Anyone who went to school in Chapel Hill knows that this was the go-to place to bring your parents when they were in town. I was never one to venture down to West Franklin all that much, but the food is deelish, the wine list is pretty good and it's definitely worth the "trip." For the less-civilized, late night rounds, Jimmy John's more or less speaks for itself. Why are there no franchises in the northeast? We'll have 7 Italian Night Clubs with hot peppers, please. (Although B*Skis is a very very close second).

Now for the most obvious question: where to watch the game? After it became clear tonight during the OK game that we'd be making the trip for the Final Four, the response to this question was pretty much a resounding "Not Spanky's." I still have nightmares about being in the upstairs at Spanky's watching us get put away by Kansas last year. Top O would be ideal, except that the TVs aren't great and they probably require you to put down a silly deposit and your first born child to reserve a spot to stand in line to maybe get a table. No thanks. What does that leave? Hams? Potentially. My personal preference would be to watch it at He's Not Here if they're showing the game on the outdoor projector like they have done in the past. And if we don't come out on top, at least we'll have Blue Cups to drown our sorrows in.

Blue Cups!

Finally, while the bookstore will probably be packed with everyone and their mom, you know Johnny T-Shirts will have a good variety of Final Four t-shirts and your other various Carolina trinkets. Somehow, I'm pretty sure that I'll use the "How often am I in Chapel Hill anymore now" rationale and come out with a fight-song playing bottle-opener or other equally useless thing.

Wanting this t-shirt. Singing pen? Yes, please!

Pack up your baby blue and get excited, it's Chapel Hill or bust!

"And sometimes when the Springtime comes, and the sifting moonlight falls They'll think again of this night here and of these old brown walls Of white Old Well, and of Old South with bell's deep booming tone, They'll think again of Chapel Hill and thinking, come back home." -Thomas Wolfe

Micah: Are you convinced yet?