By Adam Lucas

Getting there
This is by far the hardest part. Flights into Omaha are difficult to find under ordinary circumstances; by Sunday night, most of the best itineraries from RDU were already starting to fill. Most fans don't live in the fantasy land of college athletics and therefore don't have two mid-June weeks to devote to an Omaha summer vacation for the length of the event. They usually follow one of two strategies: go out for the opening weekend, when you're sure to see at least a couple of games, or hold off and wait for the championship series on the hopes that Carolina will make it that far.

No matter which way you plan, flights into Omaha could be a challenge. If you're willing to be flexible in order to save a few bucks, check Northwest flights in and out of Lincoln (about an hour from Omaha). You can also sometimes find better fares on flights going into Kansas City (roughly two and a half hours from Omaha) on Delta or Continental. This seems like an appropriate place to point out that the airport abbreviation for the Sioux City airport is SUX. Based strictly on the abbreviation, I would not recommend going there.

How to get tickets
This is the easy part. Your best bet is to call the UNC ticket office at 800-722-HEEL. If that allotment is sold out, things get trickier. General admission tickets are on sale now. Those are non-reserved seats in the bleachers, where I've heard things can get a little rambunctious. Those tickets also require fans to line up early--the gates open two hours before the first pitch.

Where to park
It's a problem. Rosenblatt and the zoo share parking, which means--especially on the weekends--it can get very crowded if you don't get there early. Here's a little-known fact: if you buy admission to the zoo, they'll let you park in the zoo lot directly across the street from the general admission entrance in the outfield. That's across from the street from the media parking lot (it's a one-way road, so media parking will be on your left and zoo parking on the right), and it's the closest possible parking spot to the stadium. Most people don't park there because they think it's zoo parking only, but you don't actually have to go to the zoo with your zoo ticket. Instead, put it in your pocket (or give it to a nearby kid) and enjoy the short walk to the stadium. If you don't park there, you'll be looking at a longer hike across a highway overpass. Depending on the weather, that can be either pleasant or miserable.

What to hear
I'm assuming you'll get a rental car--trust me, you'll need it. Omaha isn't quite big enough to have a thriving taxi population (that's a compliment). When you're driving around, you'll need some Omaha-related tunes for the iPod. The centerpiece is Todd Thibaud's Back Home In Omaha, which you'll hear constantly on ESPN's coverage. In fact, last year the only thing you heard more on ESPN was Darwin Barney references--this year those are expected to be minimal. You should also check out Counting Crows's Omaha, Grand Funk Railroad's We're An American Band (it's about a night in an Omaha hotel room), and Waylon Jennings's Omaha. The city is also name-checked in Johnny Cash's I've Been Everywhere. Reader Kelsea Brockmeier suggests Bowling for Soup's (Ready or Not) Omaha, Nebraska, which I hadn't heard before but sounds like a good fit. And of course, if you need some Diamond Heel-related tunes, there's a full list of player at-bat songs in last week's THB.com Mailbag.

Where to eat
The UNC traveling party has spent almost a month in Omaha over the last two summers. That's a lot of lunches and dinners in restaurants, so you've come to the right place. In my informal survey of two-time Omaha visitors, The Drover was the most frequently mentioned must-try restaurant. The meal of choice, of course, is the whiskey filet. Angie Bitting couldn't remember the name but correctly described it as "that place that everyone likes that is kind of dark." Yep, that's The Drover. It's a steakhouse, but don't feel like you have to dress up. And if you go in there at any point between this Friday and the day after the Tar Heels play their last game in Omaha and don't see someone from UNC, I'll be surprised. It's reached such legendary status in Chapel Hill that the very first thing Ryan Graepel said to me after the win over Coastal Carolina on Sunday was, "You ready to go get a steak at The Drover?" Answer: yes.

Rumor has it there are other restaurants in town. Joe Bray says the onion rings at Fleming's Steakhouse are the best he's ever had. Angie said she wouldn't recommend the Kong Burger "unless you're really hungry"--which was exactly the case after Carolina's win over Cal State Fullerton in the wee hours in 2006. After that game, legend has it that Joe Bray ate a triple Kong Burger. You'd have to see it to believe it. Both Angie and John Martin recommended the steak sandwich at Rosenblatt Stadium, and John adds that the place to mingle with the ESPN folks after the game is Pauli's. Whitney Martin gets credit for going off the board with Upstream Brewing Company, which she claims has the best wood-fired pizzas.

Everyone always looks at me like I'm insane when I recommend this, but my family really enjoyed Johnny's Café near the stockyards (there are two Johnny's--very important to hit the one near the stockyards). For some reason, it just felt like the Midwest. The clientele seemed very Omaha. Roy Williams likes The French Café in the Old Market, where you can find multiple good dining establishments.

One word of advice: be careful where you eat the day of the game. Otherwise, you might end up like me. In 2006, on the day of Carolina's first game against Cal State Fullerton, Jones Angell and I took our wives to a romantic lunch at Arby's. The Tar Heels won. It seemed obvious to us that our lunch at Arby's had something to do with the victory. We kept going to Arby's on the day of games and the Tar Heels kept winning. So make sure you eat something you like on Sunday afternoon--just in case.

What flavor to get
If you've ever visited this site before, I assume you know you need a milkshake from Zesto's across the street from Rosenblatt Stadium. The first year, this felt like a trade secret known only by Omaha insiders. The second year, it started to get more publicity, and this year it's starting to feel a little bit like Franklin Street on Halloween--used to be a great secret, but now the scene is too big. That being said, don't think I won't be standing in line next to half of the Midwest at some point this weekend. Favorite flavors from our informal poll:

Mike Fox and Larry Gallo were the only people to pick banana--must be something about baseball coaches--but several people mentioned the strawberry/banana combo. Only the savvy veterans know that Zesto's will mix flavors, and John Brunner recommends the chocolate/vanilla pairing. Butterscotch also received multiple votes, as did chocolate. Mandy Forbes gets credit for a unique choice with a hot fudge/peanut butter combination (she convinced me to try it last year and milkshakes haven't been the same for me since).

Where to stay
The team hotel is the Regency Lodge in Omaha, so at minimum plan to stop by there for team sendoff and welcome-back events. Rooms are always a challenge. If you're willing to look outside of Omaha, the Council Bluffs, Iowa, area has numerous choices. The official CWS site--which is worth bookmarking for events and schedules--also has some suggestions for nearby cities.

What to do
Within an hour of your arrival in Omaha, someone will ask, "Have you been to the zoo?" Omaha natives are very proud of their facility, the Henry Doorly Zoo. You should probably go, if for no other reason than to confirm to the natives that you've seen it. Also, the giant dome that you'll see on ESPN's coverage is part of the zoo. It's known as the Desert Dome, and it's the world's largest geodesic dome.

Arrive at Rosenblatt early enough (you'll already be there early because you'll want your milkshake) to take in Fan Fest, the NCAA's interactive area. That gives you a chance to do two things suggested by the experts. Mike Fox says his favorite Omaha activity is walking around Rosenblatt Stadium to soak it all in, while Larry Gallo recommends talking to as many Omaha natives as possible. "It's a great sense of blue-collar America," he said. "What you see in those folks is what you get. They always appear to me to be salt of the earth type folks." In the south, of course, that's one of the highest compliments that can be given. When you're wandering around the FanFest, stop by the nearby Rams Club/UNC GAA tent to meet fellow Tar Heel fans.

As part of their travel experience, last year's team made a visit to Boys Town. If your tastes run a little faster, you could check out the Strategic Air & Space Museum. If you're up for a road trip, the site of the movie Field of Dreams is approximately a four-and-a-half-hour drive away in Dyersville, Iowa. And if you don't like the movie, well, I'm not sure you're allowed to keep reading. John Brunner says the Omaha Botanical Gardens are worth a visit.

If you're looking for stuff to do with the kids, try the Omaha Children's Museum, the Amazing Pizza Machine, or yes, the zoo.

Adam Lucas is the publisher of Tar Heel Monthly. He is also the author or co-author of four books on Carolina basketball.