BACK TO SCHOOL

By CHRIS BUNTING

September 5, 2006 -- COLLEGE  -- you’ve been there, you’ve done it, you’re out. No more overpaying for used textbooks, no more sharing cinderblock cells with strangers who suddenly have a say in where you put your dirty laundry, no more signing up for credit cards you won’t ever have a prayer of paying off because you’re a philosophy major. 

        But aren’t you just a tiny little bit nostalgic? Maybe a lot bit? A part of you misses the vibe of a good university town, where the leaders of tomorrow are doing keg stands, and a political rally for the cause du jour is a great place to pick up chicks. 

        You want back in -- if only to just watch it all go down from a safe distance.   
        We’re not talking about Berkeley, here -- or Ann Arbor, or Cambridge, or even Madison, Wisconsin. While the forementioned are certainly worthy of their praise, why not visit one less traveled (as some poet dude once suggested)? 

        Here’s the CliffsNotes on five you mightn’t be so familiar with.  
          
        DAVIS, CALIFORNIA  
        The School: University of California, Davis  
The vibe: Dorm on the range   
        What it’s all about: When taxpayers don’t revolt over a special $14,000 tunnel built so frogs can cross the road without becoming street pizza, you know you’re somewhere in Northern California. But Davis isn’t just another Berkeley  - besides a progressive, kind-of-out-there burg, it’s also got an up-at-dawn, milk-the-cows farming heritage, which the University plays up in a big way (Go Aggies!). Bay Area snobs call it redneck  - we call it a fascinating mix of two very opposite worlds. 

        On campus: The school is well-known nationally for being home to the nation’s largest Viticulture & Enology School (en Englais, that’s Learning How To Make Wine), which makes total sense, given its close proximity to the Napa Valley (a scenic, 45 mile drive to the west  - avoid the freeways). The Mondavi family has their name splashed all over campus  - most recently on the school’s stunning new Performing Arts Center. The campus is surprisingly scenic, revolving around sprawling lawns and lush parks that host occasional Battles of the Bands and Jack Russell terrier races a-plenty (it’s a local thing), The landscaping is, er, eclectic to say the least (track down all five of the giant "egghead" statues, a series of sculptures by a former art professor).

        Off campus: As you’d expect, this is one town you can count on for a spectacular Farmer’s Market. Launched in 1976, when most of America was still exclusively relying on Del Monte out of the can, it’s held every Wednesday and Saturday in Central Park, weather be damned. Through October, the Wednesday night installment features Picnic in the Park, where you can buy anything from roti to tamales and lie back on the grass, or, just head for the bar  - there’s a beer garden.   

Where everyone hangs out: Davis likes to play  - it’s where the first season of MTV’s "Sorority Life" was filmed, much to the chagrin of locals. Nightlife pretty much revolves around G Street, at the heart of the leafy downtown (so camouflaged in leaves in fact, you could be fooled into thinking there’s nothing going on if you’re speeding by). Along th students hit the G Street Pub to find locally-grown rappers or to drown their midterm sorrows in any of the 70 beers on tap at The Cantina (also on G Street). The Avid Reader, on 2nd Street, is a locally-owned, fiercely independent book seller.

        Local know-how: Davisites are the proud owners of the most bicycles per capita in the nation. When in Rome, ditch the car and rent two wheels from the on-campus Bike Barn (from $15 per day, bikebarn.ucdavis.edu). 

        Stay: The unremarkable (yet non-offensive) Aggie Inn is about the best you can hope for in Davis (from $99; aggieinn.com). For atmosphere, head 15 miles west to the village of Winters, where the historic Abbey House Inn has six pleasant rooms and the downtown, with two restaurants that beat anything in Davis hands down (the Buckhorn Steakhouse for Daddy’s Cut prime rib and the Putah Creek Grill for breakfast) are just one block away (from $90; abbeyhouseinn.com).

        Info: yolocvb.com; davisdowntown.com  

OXFORD, MISSISSIPPI  
        The school: Ole Miss  
        The vibe: Book learnin’.   
        What it’s all about: Literary junkies could be happy here forever  - it’s where William Faulkner once lived (Rowan Oak, his former home, is open to visitors) and today, a slew of writers, probably the most famous being legal beagle John Grisham (a state legislator before penning A Time To Kill), call the area home. 

        On campus: The University of Mississippi’s leafy, 1,000-acre spread, filled with magnolias and dogwoods (it’s near perfect in the spring), is wall-to-wall activity for the casual visitor, whether your interest is music (Ole Miss is renowned for its Blues Archive, where you can listen to more than half a million recordings) or history (check out the Confederate Cemetery, where 700 rebs lay dead). Then, of course, there’s sports. Here, rooting for the Rebels on fall Saturdays is practically the 11th Commandment. Just get your tickets in advance (and if you plan on tailgating, show up before sunrise).

        Off campus: Oxford has a vibrant downtown, and like in so many other instances around the region, everything revolves around the court house (built in 1873  - the first one was burned down by Union troops). Here you’ll find Square Books, a fierce independent in three parts (Square Books, Off Square Books and Square Books, Jr.) that could teach The Strand a thing or two about hospitality. Across the way, Neilson’s Department Store is a fully-functioning, nearly high-end historic gem, around since 1839, even if there’s a Wal-Mart at the edge of town. Also on the square: City Grocery, easily the most famous restaurant in the state, renowned for it’s updated interpretations of southern staples. 

        Where everyone hangs out: Just about any of the cafes or watering holes on the Square will be a good time at one time or another, but at some point, most everyone seems to pass through Uptown Coffee, just north of the action. The staff can’t produce a decent mocha to save their lives, but the girls who “study” there sure are centerfold-worthy (265 N. Lamar Blvd.). 

        Local know-how: Get a glimpse of the local music scene at Off Square Books, Thursdays at 5:30pm, when it hosts Thacker Mountain Radio, a weekly variety show that airs on Mississippi Public Radio (thackermountain.com).

Stay: Oxford isn’t exactly a luxury magnet  - right now, the most adequate place to stay is a former Best Western, the Downtown Oxford Inn & Suites (from $99; 400 N. Lamar Blvd., downtownoxfordinnandsuites.com) 

        Info: touroxfordms.com  

WALLA WALLA, WASHINGTON  
        The school: Whitman College
        The vibe: Napa in the desert  
        What it’s all about: Italian immigrants planted vines here as early as the mid-1800’s, but Walla Walla, a remote (five hours from Seattle) and small (less than 20,000 residents) town near the Oregon and Idaho borders, didn’t become the center of one of the hottest wine-growing regions in the nation until the 1980s. Today, dozens of wineries dot the region, and the town is growing increasingly popular with wine snobs. The town is named for the sweet onions that grow in the region  - celebrate their existence at the enormous (no, we are not joking) Sweet Onion Festival, which blows in to town each July.

        On campus: Half college, half picnicner’s Shangri-La (several streams flow through campus into duck-filled ponds), Whitman College is named for an area missionary couple, Marcus and Narcissa, slaughtered by natives angry over the measles explosion in 1847. Thankfully, things are happier these days  - the verdant campus serves as a center for the city’s vibrant arts scene. For visual, head to the Sheehan Gallery. For performance, drop in on Cordiner Hall. For student work, drop by the Stevens Gallery in the Campus Center, or hit the Friday night Coffeehouse event, which showcases musical talent.

        Off campus: The historic downtown is a beaut  - take a walking tour, or just nose your way through the art galleries. Then there’s the Whitman Mission, where you can learn about the fate of some of its earliest European settlers. Of course, there’s the Oregon Trail connection (visit Fort Walla Walla to findout more about that). But the real attraction is wine tasting, which you can do everywhere, both in town, out in the sticks; even by the airport (just follow the flight crew). In nearby Lowden, don’t miss L’ecole No. 41 ("the school" en français), one of the pioneers in the region. They’ve been producing since 1983  - the merlot is a must-try (lecole.com). But sweet onions ain’t the only thing growing around here  -check out the little piece of Provence that is the Blue Mountain Lavender Farm, run by a family of French expats (bluemountainlavender.com). 

        Where everyone hangs out: The Ice Berg Drive-In has its place in local legend for shakes and burgers (616 W. Birch St.), but all the great restaurants in town may make it hard for you to choose from. Vintners, farmers and business types alike congregate at the CreekTown Café, where the atmosphere isn’t quite the typical Rathskeller scene, but there’s a decent beer menu and excellent burgers, topped with  - you guessed it  - the local onions (1129 S. 2nd Ave.).

        Local know how: A sizeable Latino community makes its home in Eastern Washington  - nothing better after a few drinks than a trip to one of the local taco trucks. Two to know: La Monarca, found near Rose Street (at 11th Ave.), and Yungapeti, found on 9th Avenue.

        Stay: No need for a designated driver when you’re sleeping at a winery. The Inn at Abeja, which has five rooms and cottages on 22 scenic acres of vineyard majesty. It’s like one of those tiny little places in California Wine Country, at a fraction of the price (from $210; abeja.net).

        Info: wallawalla.org  
 
        DULUTH, MINNESOTA 
        It’s on maps, stamps, postcards, coins, t-shirts - from all the attention you’d think the Aerial Lift Bridge was the eighth friggin’ wonder of the world. But there’s more charm to the Midwestern mini-metropolis that could.

There are five major colleges around town, the most famous being the Lake Superior-overlooking University of Minnesota Duluth. All along Superior Street are the bigger city staples maybe better off left to Minneapolis - but it’s where you’ll much of the student body, either browsing CDs at the Electric Fetus (12 E Superior St.) or clubbing with folded copies of the alt weekly RipSaw News tucked under their arms at the Red Star Club (600 E Superior St.), in Fitger’s Brewhouse. At Grandma's Sports Garden, there's food, but there are also students. And where there are students, there is Long Island Iced Tea (425 Lake Ave. S).

Hitting the road’s never a bad idea. Take the drive Bob Dylan made famous up Highway 61, which, if you’re feeling really gypseian, continues all the way south into New Orleans and all the way north into Ontario. Or, 600 feet above Superior, the Skyline Drive Parkway gives you 30-miles of eye candy, from the harbor to canyons and streams. Forget your license? Make like the iron ore miners of yore and head to the North Shore Scenic Railroad (506 West Michigan St.), running along the 26-mile Lakefront Line - trips from 90-minutes up to 6 hours long are offered, great for murder mysteries and birthday parties.

Stay: Fitger’s Brewery Complex - along the Lakewalk - has 62 rooms. A factory on the outside; an inn on the inside (from $119, fitgers.com).

Info: visitduluth.com  
 
    PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND
Get the colonial stylings of Boston, sans the smugness (and now sans the mobsters -- more or less). And its only a three-hour Acela Express train away.

Rhode Island’s storied capital is the proud parent of Brown University, as well as Providence College, University of Rhode Island and nine other colleges. But everyone from ivy leaguers to 13th graders at community college manage to meld together peacefully around the College Hill district (though, public drunkenness down Thayer Street has become a bit of a problem with some).

A heavy dose of private and public development dollars and a couple of FBI probes gave Providence’s crime-plagued Little Italy nabe (more officially and ironically known as Federal Hill) a much needed enema in the ‘80s. The revival continues today, city wide, takes the same form as it does everywhere else in the world: condos and hotels. Wise-guy cuisine remains true to form, thankfully - amble down Atwells Ave. and stop at Cassarino’s Restaurant for the ravioli; Mediterraneo for the antipasto.

WaterFire is what it claims - an art installation of 100 bonfires (artist Barnaby Evans calls it his "fire sculpture") burning away above the three rivers at the city’s center. Lightings are scheduled through October - August 26 was its 200th (waterfire.org).

Stay: Hotel Providence is a historic sophisticate smack dab in the arts district (from $179, thehotelprovidence.com).  
Info: providenceri.com