70 degrees.... in the warm California sun!

I probably should feel bad for our families back east who've been him with 3 snowstorms in as many weeks... but it's so hard to even remember what it's like to shovel out 15 inches of snow from your driveway when we have 70 degree weather in January!

Admittedly, it is unusually warm for the SF Bay area right now, but we've got no complaints. Yesterday is was a perfect 70 degrees and perfectly enough, a Saturday.

I began my day with a bus ride to the Rockridge neighborhood of Oakland. I had the great privilege to a 4 person camping tent for free! I found it on the always useful craigslist. After I picked up my "new" tent, I had coffee and cinnamon buns with my friend Peter (more on him below). Peter left early afternoon and Dave's friend Matt popped over and off we 3 went on a walk to downtown Berkeley. After a couple stops into local businesses for errands we checked out the farmer's market downtown. I picked up a head of cabbage and the prettiest bunch of carrots you've ever scene; the guys got soft pretzels.

Dave, Matt and I spent the afternoon wandering around downtown Berkeley on foot. We meandered through CAL's campus and popped into their Hearst Museum of Anthropology to check out their latest exhibit - Egyptian mummies! Then we found ourselves at Top Dog. I enjoyed a Bird Dog (turkey, bell peppers and cilantro) and a lemonade, while Dave enjoyed his standard kielbasa and RC Cola.

After a quick look in Rasputin Music, we headed to the best bookstore in Berkeley, quite possibly the state, Moe's Books. You might be familiar with Moe's, as the bookstore Dustin Hoffman was stalking in The Graduate. On a completely unrelated plain, my very first time in Berkeley was having coffee in the very same coffee shop Dustin Hoffman is sitting, with my friend Peter. What an absolutely great afternoon that was. Peter is a Berkeley native and a was teen during the really amazing time of the 1960s. What was happening here in Berkeley and San Francisco during that time changed the United States. It truly is a gift to listen to Peter, I'm never disappointed with his stories from that time of his life.



At Moe's Dave and I got a couple of books. He got a Hunter S. Thompson classic and I got a book by my latest favorite author, Octavio Paz. With tax, $3.30; how can you beat that?

I'll admit - I was exhausted. I convinced the guys it was time to go. The sun was starting to set and my dogs were barkin'. We likely walked close to 6 miles, so not only did we have a lot of fun, but we certainly burned off our hot dogs. It was an absolutely beautiful day here in Berkeley, unexpected for January. Perhaps this means we'll have a hot summer? The guys certainly hope so.