Ocean in View

BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA: Yesterday, I spent the day with Tim and his roommates in Berkeley. We watched the World Cup game in the morning (the USA tied Italy 1-1). Afterward, Tim and I made the trek to the Communist Cheese store. Or at least I was given to believe that they were commies. Instead, I found a private corporation that sold luxury goods to rich Californians. There were two things that made them "commies": the workers were all shareholders in the business, and they give discounts to oldsters and those "in need." Now, I don't know who exactly is "in need" of a block of Roquefort, but who ever they are, they get 5% off.

The next day (today) was dedicated to exploring the Bay Area. We drove first into San Francisco to do the tourist thing, picking up souvenir shot glasses and what-not. Tim suggested we have lunch at the In-n-Out Burger, a west coast fast-food chain. It was as awesome as promised. Then there was the drive to the Golden Gate Bridge for the obligatory photo there (at right). Then it was across the bridge to Marin County.

We took a drive up the Shoreline Highway, which featured some awesome views of the mountains and the ocean. Here's the weird thing about northern California beaches: in Philadelphia, we have the eternal summer vacation debate - down the shore or up the mountains. Here, they do both. You look to your right, there's the beach. You turn to the left, there's tree-covered mountains. It's crazy! I stuck my foot in the ocean, just to say I had done it, but went no further because it was wicked cold.

The final stop was back in Berkeley at the Indian Rock. This is a big outcropping of rock at the top of the hill in Berkeley that offers a view of the whole Bay Area. Pretty cool place just to hang out and talk about life or whatever. A very California kind of place - a person could just chill here all day and never get any work done.