They say hindsight is 20/20, but in this case our hindsight is your, ummmmm, front … sight. We jotted down the things we learned late in our college years, and have since regretted every day we didn’t know about them. You know, stuff like “Water Street is not downtown” and “Don’t go home for summer, cuz this place is awesome when it’s warm.”

ENTERTAINMENT

• For movies, you should already know about the cheap options provided at Davies Theatre (UWEC) and Applied Arts Building (Stout), but check out the discount Tuesdays at the Cameo Budget Twin. (In summer, check out the Gemini Drive-In and the free shows at Back Alley Summer Cinema Series.)
• McIntyre is not the only library. Check out LE Phillips Public Library in Eau Claire or Menomonie Public Library, where there’s way more resources, art displays, and loads of CDs and movies.
• You don’t have to be 21 to see a music show. Underage shows happen routinely at Grand Little Theater and Nate’s Dungeon (a hardcore basement venue).
• Being a student affords you several discounts around town, including discount stage productions at places like Fanny Hill, The State Theatre, and Mabel Tainter.
• It’s easy to be insular and only take part in campus ventures, but this town has plenty of opportunities for student artists, including community theater (ECCT and CVTG), local art galleries (library, State Theatre, art co-ops), writerly ventures (NOTA and Volume One), open mics (The Mousetrap), and even thrown-together music shows (The Side Project).
   

FOOD/DRINK

• A mainstay of the collegian diet is cheap food, and experienced students know about the popular weekly specials at places like Grizzly’s (Tuesdays), Happy Hollow (Tuesdays), and Court’N House (Thursdays).
• If you’re ever looking to get away from Water Street hotspots that are always packed, look into nearby cool places like Clancy’s, Mousetrap, and Wigwam.
• There’s a rumor – though it may be illegal to pursue – that free food can be found every evening around 10:30pm at the dumpster behind Little Caeser’s (where they throw away the leftover Hot-n-Ready pizzas every night). Only the shameless need apply.
   

RECREATION

• The upper campus dorms aren’t the only place to play Frisbee golf in town. Try Mt. Simon Park, where they also have sand volleyball.
• If you’re into walking, hiking, or biking, the Chippewa Valley has tons of sweet trails to trek. Search out places like Lowes Creek County Park, Red Cedar State Trail, Chippewa River State Trail, and Beaver Creek Reserve.
• This whole place is famous for its natural beauty, so take a weekend away with some friends and go camping at sweet places like Coon Fork Lake, Harstad County Park, and Lake Wissota.
• Before too long, most students learn about the popular activity of tubing down the Chippewa River, but it seems to take longer for them to hear about the popular swimming hole at Big Falls. Look it up.

SHOPPING

• It’s cheap, it’s local, and it’s a gathering spot. Get up early on a Saturday and check out the downtown farmers market.
• We all know you guys look forward to Oct. 31 every year, and the spot that knowledgeable students congregate for Halloween costumes is Savers. Just don’t come to my house looking for trick or treat candy, cuz it ain’t happenin.
• College students either have no money or very little money. As such, you should know that you luckily don’t need much to spend a day shopping for goodies. It’s called garage sales and thrift stores, and this place has tons of them (we suggest Vine Street and Hope Gospel Mission, respectively)!
• The mall isn’t the only good place for gifts. Try hip places like Truckers Union, Eclectica on Grand, or Tangled Up in Hue.
   

KILLIN’ TIME

• Friday/Saturday evening activity: Check out the alleged hauntings in Caryville. Read the entry in Wisconsin’s Road Guide to Haunted Locales before you go.
• Saturday afternoon activity: I know you can only afford crap like Milwaukee’s Best Ice, but Chippewa Falls makes a beer called Leinenkugel’s, and you should totally go on their brewery tour.
• Saturday afternoon activity: Drive out to Chippewa Falls and check out the animals at Irvine Park Zoo.
• All day Saturday activity: Relive your childhood with mini golf, go-karts, laser tag, and arcade game fun at Action City.
• All day Saturday activity: Scour the interesting finds at the scattered, multiple-floored Antiques Emporium. It seriously takes several hours to properly experience this place.
• Sunday afternoon activity: Visit Carson Park, an excellent place for a picnic, riding the swings, feeding the ducks, going on a mini-train ride, or playing a pick-up tennis/baseball game. This is also the place where the Eau Claire Express plays, and the fountain of knowledge that resides at Chippewa Valley Museum resides.