Comments on: Things to do near Normal.

Question: Things to do near Normal.

mr_crash_davis — Thu, 18 Aug 2005 19:11:35 -0800

Things to do in Bloomington, IL. Next Wednesday I will be flying to Bloomington, IL for some job training. I'll have all Wednesday evening after about 6 PM and all Thursday evening after about 5 PM. I know Bloomington is the home of the Beer Nuts factory (w00t!) but what else is there to do in the evenings? Difficulty: Probably no rental car unless there's something spectacular worth driving to.

By: jduckles

jduckles — Thu, 18 Aug 2005 19:28:49 -0800

There is a cool climbing gym in some old grain silos near the center of town. That is all I have ever gone to Bloomington, IL for. Its called Upper Limits.

By: MsMolly

MsMolly — Thu, 18 Aug 2005 19:30:19 -0800

Do you rock climb? If so, definitely check this place out. It's awesome. Actually, even if you haven't climbed before it looks like they may have some lessons in the evenings.

By: MsMolly

MsMolly — Thu, 18 Aug 2005 19:41:16 -0800

Jinx!

By: quadrinary

quadrinary — Thu, 18 Aug 2005 19:53:49 -0800

upper limits is about all i know of. it's fantastic, if you're into that sort of thing.

By: mr_crash_davis

mr_crash_davis — Thu, 18 Aug 2005 20:05:20 -0800

Not much of a rock climber, I'm afraid. Tried bouldering many years ago and just didn't have the finger strength for it.

By: pemulis

pemulis — Thu, 18 Aug 2005 20:25:16 -0800

Take a walk into downtown Bloomington and check out some of the college bars! If I remember correctly, Fat Jacks has a special on long islands on weds. Or, you could visit one of the MANY insurance company corporate headquarters that reside in that fine city.

By: mr_crash_davis

mr_crash_davis — Thu, 18 Aug 2005 20:29:43 -0800

"...you could visit one of the MANY insurance company corporate headquarters that reside in that fine city."

Oddly enough, that's where I'll be doing the training, so that's not really an option either. :)

By: sbutler

sbutler — Thu, 18 Aug 2005 22:27:56 -0800

Find a porn store. And stay away from the GKC movie theaters if you want to see a Hollywood flick; I hear they have a roach problem.

Honestly, this is central Illinois. And while it isn't Nebraska or (God forbid) Wyoming, there isn't a whole lot to do. Peoria is about 45 minutes North but I wouldn't suggest it because even for a native finding interesting things is tough. The UIUC campus is 45 minutes in the other direction. I'm rather partial to the downtown Champaign bars but I wouldn't bother renting a car to get there.

... or, you could call for a meetup :).

By: Eamon

Eamon — Thu, 18 Aug 2005 23:24:01 -0800

I'm sure a beer fan would consider the Blind Pig worth a 45 minute drive. If you come in on Thursday, drop me an e-mail and your first one's on me.

By: poppo

poppo — Fri, 19 Aug 2005 04:56:26 -0800

Stalk John Cougar Mellencamp

By: eriko

eriko — Fri, 19 Aug 2005 05:26:55 -0800

Wrong Bloomington, poppo. This is Bloomington, IL, not Bloomington, IN.

Okay, it's not exciting, but the city right next to, almost part of, Bloomington, IL, is Normal, Il.

By: tizzie

tizzie — Fri, 19 Aug 2005 06:28:56 -0800

Congrats on the new job, Crash!

By: NoMich

NoMich — Fri, 19 Aug 2005 07:17:23 -0800

Ugh, two year veteran of Normal, IL here. Well, it's not really tornado season anymore, so there goes all forms of excitement. Normal has the Normal Theater and they show old films. There's a place where you can get kung fu shoes in Bloomington. If the Lemon Grass Thai restaurant is still around, that's worth a shot as they have pretty damn good food. There's a street that claims to be the only street in America that has a university at each terminus. You could always find it and pee on it. You know, just to say that you did it.

By: KirTakat

KirTakat — Fri, 19 Aug 2005 07:51:46 -0800

I lived there for four years (in college), so the short answer is... not much. Considering there are 4 colleges in the town (two four year, two two year) it's a really piss poor college town. Lots of dive bars if that's your thing, otherwise, nada.

The Castle Theater is a pretty decent theater, they show a fairly random collection of movies, sometimes it's an indie flick, sometimes it's mainstream, but it's one of my favorite theaters ever. All the seating is couches, and there's a bar w/ some food in the theater. More fun if you have people to go with.

The Normal Theater (which was mentioned above) is another pretty good theater, they show older movies and some indie stuff. Not quite as comfy as the Castle, but tickets are only $5.

Depending on if you're training at Country Companies, or more likely, State Farm, will give you a different set of easily available options. If you're at State Farm, and you're at the usual hotels they give out for people at them, there isn't a ton in your area. Although there are a decent number of restaurants in that area, including some really good sushi at Tachibana (there's a Mitsubishi plant nearby, and wherever there is a major Mitsubishi plant, Mitsubishi builds a sushi restaurant). Although there is a way better sushi place in Normal, whose name currently escapes me.

Mostly getting around will probably involve a taxi, since the Bloomington-Normal Public Transit System pretty much sucks.

Unfortunately you're going before the school year starts, the town mostly shuts down over the summer.

If you have any questions, drop me a line, my email is in my profile and I still have a lot of friends in that area, so if you know where you're staying, I can probably find a couple of good things for you in the area.

By: poppo

poppo — Fri, 19 Aug 2005 08:03:49 -0800

whoops good call eriko. though imo it would be funny if you went to Bloomington, IL to stalk Mellencamp anyway