Berkeley Love

My first road trip in a while was fantastic. My mom, brother and I drove up to Berkeley on Sunday the 9th, and stayed there until Thursday to help my brother move into his new dorm. He's got an all guy floor and no roommate so far. The guy has yet to show up. Odd, considering school started yesterday...

Berkeley is so amazing. There must be something in the water that makes the people there nicer, more friendly, and not quite so....... L.A.ish. There's something so laid-back and comfortable about the whole town that just makes me want to pack up my things and head up north. Then I remember that the weather is significantly colder there, and I need a sweater with under 85 degree weather, and I rethink that idea. My brother loves it though, and I will definitely be making frequent trips up there to see him.

We got to go into San Francisco for a day as well. The BART is just an amazing mode of transportation. When are we going to get one of those? I really think that people would be far more encouraged to take public transportation if it was actually readily accessible. Who ever heard of having to drive to the subway stations?

On Thursday my mom and I started making our way back down. We stopped at Gilroy, where apparently there is a huge Outlet Store chain. Gotta remember about that one. Then we continued on to San Simeon, where we spent the night. The next day we took a tour of the Hearst Castle, which was absolutely amazing. I still can't believe the indoor and outdoor swimming pools, and the three guest houses all complete with ocean views. Too bad Patty isn't getting any use out of them.

Friday was an exercise in transportational frustration. Although we left quite early in the morning, we drove for almost 7 1/2 hours to get back to Los Angeles. The 101 freeway was closed due to the earlier mudslides, so we had to take the 5 instead. Then on the 5 we spent 2 1/2 hours going 4 miles when all 4 lanes were reduced to 1. I love the rain, I really do, but it would be nice if we got a little bit of it at a time, as opposed to 4 years' worth at once.