Quote of the Day: "Bonfire, like BOND fire. Like be with your friends. BOND. bon bon what does that even mean? bon bon like a marshmallow BON"
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| At the Gates to Berkeley |
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| In Cal's Main Field |
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| Our Little Golden Bear |
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| Haley working her Girl Scout Magic |
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| Cal Poly SLO Guy Actually Lighting the First Fire (before it burned out) |
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| Yay Fire! |
Our trip has been a culmination of sightseeing and challenging drives, but the conversations within our own group and with strangers has added flavor to an already complex vacation. The events of our night in Rohnert Park at the comparatively luxurious Good Nite Inn were unexpected and enlightening. While in the Jacuzzi with Christina and Katherine, we learned from an ex-navy seal how to make a bomb with chlorine tablets and soda bottles and to never stop pursuing our dreams. While I took his words of wisdom with a grain of salt, it was lovely to hear how the hotel resident attempted to protect a victimized woman and how he ended up in a lawsuit with the navy officials. It was interesting to say the least and in comparison to our midnight event, much more intriguing. We spent the later part of the night learning about life in San Diego from the football players who were also staying in the hotel. Parents: don’t worry; it was so boring we went to sleep early. Anyway, our experience in Rohnert Park turned out not to be a day out on the vineyard, but instead, a girls night out (well, at Burger King, Starbucks, the pool, and in the room).
Our drive out of Rohnert Park consisted of just another decision-making process that led us to a place that will soon be very special to me. Although the night before we had discussed visiting Hearst Castle and San Francisco, Katherine and Christina suggested we visit Berkeley. I rapidly accepted the idea and soon enough we were searching for parking around the university campus. The girls screeched with excitement as we walked toward the parking lot! As we walked through Telegraph (the popular boulevard) with our ice cream sandwiches, I felt proud to be a Bear and ready to be a student. We continued to walk through the campus and ended up in an area in which I had no sense of direction. Although we had imagined ourselves returning to the car within five minutes, our adventure through campus soon turned into a complete maze through the city. I’m glad I got lost in Berkeley with the girls. I feel lucky to have friends who were willing to venture through my future home. Christina reminded me that there was no harm in roaming around so when we ended up back at the car I felt a bit relieved and accomplished. In contemplating two great attractions, we ended up at Berkeley instead but it turned out to be a beautiful day.
As I drove us toward Atascadero, we our thoughtful conversations. Not late after, we arrived at my Uncle Frank’s house where his two dogs warmly greeted us on the driveway. We headed off to dinner at Avila Beach, located close to Cal Poly SLO. The delicious dinner was followed by a bonfire with the girls. While Haley and Katherine reserved a pit, Christina and I went in search of a local grocery store. The nearest one was in Shell Beach and it wasn’t even a grocery store! Graham Crackers were $5 and there was no lighter fluid! We substituted the crackers with chips ohoy (so good that I would do it again) and borrowed lighter fluid from the neighboring pit on the beach. After begging for help from numerous people (flashback to the 11th power Malibu adventure), we actually ended up taking over a pit given to us by a very kind family who was ready to leave. Their roaring fire kept us at the pit until midnight as we reflected on the ups and downs our trip. We had my uncle super worried and I felt terrible, but we arrived home safe and were greeted by ice cream this time. It’s an early morning tomorrow. We start our day with rock climbing in SLO, hopefully a stop by the Madonna Inn, and then back home!
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