Schurr, I'm glad your trip worked out! For the future, here's a few more tips:

If you park in a public non-UMich garage, always ask whatever restaurant or store you patronize that day if they'll validate your parking. Most will validate for half or a full hour, which can save you a little dough over time. All street parking is free after 6 p.m. every day, and it's free all day on Sundays. Many UM lots are also free after 6 p.m. although the Taubman lot isn't one of them. If you felt like driving down to State Street for dinner, though, the Thayer Street blue lot and the Thompson street lots both drop enforcement at 5 or 6 p.m.

If you paid more than $60 per night for that Holiday Inn stay, check out the "Michigan - Outside Detroit" forum at www.biddingfortravel.com and get a handle on how to use Priceline for Ann Arbor hotels. Folks there regularly report $35-$55 per night winning bids for 2.5 and 3 star Ann Arbor hotels, and there's even a list there to show you which hotels you're likely to get in a given star class. The hotels listed are overwhelmingly in that Briarwood cluster near the mall.

If you're a coffee drinker, there's a cafe on State Street (I want to say it's the Espresso Royale) that will fill up your travel coffee mug for peanuts. Try going in there and asking about it.

If you're interested in saving while eating out in A2, try www.myclipper.com and enter zip code 48109. That should pull up the A2 coupon page. Among the State Street business with coupons there are New York Pizza Depot, Mr. Greek's Coney Island, and Cottage Inn Pizza. There are also several joints that are cheap in their own right: Try the $5 lunch special at Silvio's Pizza on N. University near Michigan Book and Supply, which includes a slice of pizza, a soup, and a soft drink. Potbelly's at the corner of State and Liberty prices all of its subs at $3.79 and they're delicious. Pita Kabob Grill near State and William also serves some wonderful Middle Eastern pita wraps for under $4.50, although make sure you've got some mints to cover your garlic breath!

And if you ever find yourself with time to explore the town or campus, check out the online events calendars at www.arborweb.com/todayindex.html and www.events.umich.edu.