As children, Northwestern students thrived watching Sesame Street, as adults, they drink with Elmo. AP

AFTER 2 A.M.: Mark II Lounge. "The Deuce" is a jukebox-and-darts type of dive that caters to the "can't go to sleep" crowd by leaving its doors open till 4 a.m. No food here, so for late-night eats stop by the only 24-hour joint, Burger King, and chat up Sherman, the night manager and an Evanston staple.

MUST-EAT: Mustard's Last Stand, a dumpy hot dog shack across the street from Ryan Field, does up Chicago-area favorites: Vienna-style red hots served with whatever you want (though they scoff at ketchup users). Need something heartier? Take the El into Chicago and hit up Gino's East for the finest Chicago-style pizza to be found.

DOSE OF CULTURE: Spend your "Day Off" at the Art Institute of Chicago --just a 20-minute El ride away -- as another famous suburbanite once did.

RULE #57: Attention nighttrippers: the last train back from Chicago departs at 1:48 a.m..

MUSIC MUST-STOP: Tommy Nevin's Pub, which was recently named Playboy.com's "bar of the month," serves Irish breakfast all day long, but the real attraction is the attached Nevin's Live, a haven for local acts like The Foster-Walker Complex.

GETTING AROUND: If you make a night trip to Chicago you'll need to take two Els: the purple, then the red.

TICKET MASTER: Scalping at Ryan Field is like shooting fish in a barrel. One big fat fish -- with a bazooka. (Read: finding a seat's a cinch.)

ONLY AT NORTHWESTERN: The traveling bar. Fraternity members pack backpacks full of beverages and make house calls at freshman dorms before football games.

PREGAME: To say that the Alumni Association's Wildcat Alley, a childish painted face-and-Moon Bounce affair held at Rocky Miller baseball Park, is the coolest thing going on just before game time is a little depressing. True, but depressing.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR: Homecoming: Michigan at NU football, Oct. 29 (night games are always a relative hit in Evanston). Indiana at NU soccer, Oct. 16, pits preseason No. 1 against No. 17.

PACK YOUR: Thermal underwear. Ever heard of lake-effect?

RITE OF PASSAGE: Watch the sun rise over Lake Michigan or, for the less sappy, paint the big rock in the southern quad. With a shortage of football wins, the rock's been getting Illinois shout-outs and snarky send-ups like "Why not us?" as of late.

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