Berkeley

  On Labor Day, Mike decided he wanted to go on an adventure.  I am all for adventures, so I was super excited to check out Berkeley.  Berkeley, in my mind, was super mysterious and I had no idea what to expect.  From what I hear about the school, to how it is portrayed in my favorite show, Parenthood, I couldn't wait to go.  We literally had no idea where to go, but we found some great spots.  We also noticed how similar the district nearby campus is like any other campus.  Coffee shops, cafes, copy centers, quirky shops, and little dives everywhere.  When we first got into town, the first thought was to check out campus.  It is located in the Berkeley Hills and so we just kept winding up the hill until we rounded a corner and saw all of Berkeley, the Bay, and San Francisco.  It was breathtaking!

 

 To the right of the tower a few buildings, you can see some stands and a yellow track.  That is where Cal football plays and where we will be returning next month to watch the Huskies take on the Bears.  The stadium is built right into the hill.

  

  There is a science museum for kids up here.  We didn't go in, but we enjoyed the view and the "exhibits" outside.

   

  Climbing on the double helix.    It was modeled after the enzyme amylase.  It's the enzyme in your saliva that converts starch into sugar.  Did you know that the digestion process starts in your mouth?  Science lesson for the day.  :)  When I was in freshman chem at UW, the professor brought all 200 of us students unsalted saltines so that we could taste amylase in action.  I've tried to block all memories of chemistry in college, but I'm trying to remember why it was in chemistry that we would have done this and not biology.  Who knows, but I am pretty sure it was chemistry.  I was kind of excited about this double helix, so I guess the nerd doesn't leave you even if you forget almost everything you learned in college!

  After seeing the city from the hill, we drove all the way down to the water and walked out along the pier.  Before the Bay Bridge was built (you can see the bridge in the pictures above), this was the way you would get to the city.  The pier was 3+ miles long and there was a ferry to the city from the pier.  I guess after Cal football games and other big Berkeley events, the cars would line up for miles to get back to San Francisco.  The pier is still quite long, but they cut it off and there are still pillars that extend quite a ways.

 

 Old pier remnants and the Golden Gate bridge.

 

As we walked back you could see where we were up in the hills.

 

  What a fun adventure!  We didn't get to explore any of the neighborhoods, but when we have a free weekend to do some exploration we might be up here again.  We have explored so much, but there is so much more to see and do!  One of the very fun things about moving to a new area for sure!