Coming Soon to a Minnesota Near You

The courses are done, the tests are taken, the essays are marked, and the grades are submitted. We have survived Spring Semester 2009. My summer classes don't start until June 1, and Michele has some flexibility in her research schedule, so we're going to spend some time with friends and family up nort'. So here's what we know so far:

1. We leave Oklahoma tomorrow morning, and should arrive in Eagan in the early evening.
2. We'll be staying mostly with Skiffy and the Cat Whisperer while we're there.
3. Apparently there's some sort of plan to gather at Carbone's in Lakeville at sevenish on Friday night--no invitations necessary--all are welcome. (The Bone tends to get loud and crowded on Fridays, so we'll see how that goes.
4. We want to visit the Local at some point so we can meet up with our north-suburbs peeps (haha I can use slang). We're open to suggestions regarding day and time.
5. A day trip to Mankato isn't out of the question. It would be fun to have lunch with people (read: Diana et al).
6. We have to leave MN on Sunday morning, May 31, so I can be back in Norman to teach on Monday morning.

So that's all we know so far. I'll be a much smaller internet presence for the next week and a half, but my summer teaching schedule is less taxing than what I've experienced for the last eight months, so I hope to resume regular blogging when we return. I hope we hear from several of you (no--ALL of you) before/while we're in the (currently un-)Frozen Tundra.

Thanksgiving Week Itinerary*

Tuesday:
Drive drive drive drive drive. Michele, me, five cats, one car, thirteen hours. Wheee.

Wednesday:
Hang with the family during the day. That night we're hoping to go someplace in Minneapolis (Kieran's, The Local, or something similar) for social time with friends who are more inclined to that direction.

Thursday:
Family celebration of the giving of thanks. I will eat too much and then be a semicoherent mess for the rest of the day and through the evening.

Friday:
Michele might do a little shopping on this, the day I refuse to shop. More family time. Maybe more celebrating. Either Friday night or Saturday night we're hoping to do another social night for our south-of-the-river friends. Maybe at the Bone or Granite City or something.

Saturday:
Much like Friday, but with no "Black Friday" shopping.

Sunday:
Drive drive drive drive drive. Michele, most of me, one car, three cats, thirteen hours. Ooof.

*Of course, this is tentative. It might all fall apart, but at this point it feels like it will work.