So. I'm here to tell you about my trip to Berkeley, California, home of the National Novel Writing Month headquarters. The reason I went actually had nothing to do with NaNoWriMo, but I couldn't possibly go all the way to Berkeley without visiting the Office of Letters and Light. More on that later.
The real reason I went was to attend The Tenth International Conference on Neuroesthetics with my dad. No, it doesn't sound much like something I'd be interesting in, but this year's theme was on the importance of being playful, and Dad thought I'd enjoy it. He was right! Berkeley is several hundred miles away from Yuma, so we were driving for most of the day. On the way, I saw some giant concrete dinosaurs, lots and lots and lots and lots of cows, lots and lots and lots and lots of wind turbines, a very large amount of agriculture, and a car painted like a shark.
Other than that, the drive wasn't too eventful, except for the part where I fell asleep, Dad got lost, and we had to call Mom to get directions. (I wasn't LOST. . . I just was a little unsure about where to go next. . .)
Once we got there, things started to get even more interesting. Rather than stay in a hotel, we opted for a cottage in the middle of a garden.
It was lent to us for the weekend by a nice lady named Karma, who is a semi-professional opera singer, actress, massage therapist, and minimalist. The cottage was like something from a fairy tale, with wood paneling, a skylight, gargoyles, herbs, Asian trinkets, and a very nice little piano that Karma encouraged us to play on. (We found this cottage on AirBnB.com--Karma rents it out whenever she is going someplace for the weekend. It was less expensive than staying in a motel--and way more fun--plus it was within walking distance to campus!)
Right outside the cottage was one of the coolest treehouses ever.
For dinner that night, we ate at a Chinese vegetarian restaurant. Afterwards we walked down the street, looking at all the other cool shops and reading the menus at other restaurants to plot out our meals for the next day. Did I mention that the trip, including food, was paid for by the college? (We split meals since I thought we would be turning in receipts and I did not want two meals on the receipt--it turns out I had a per diem and we could have fit in one more restaurant visit--noted for next time!)
One of the other things about Berkeley was that it was green. I hadn't realized just how much I missed the dark, vibrant green of places that aren't suffering from a constant onslaught of sunshine and blue skies. Berkeley is definitely a place with character--I can totally see why it's the location of the NaNoWriMo headquarters. (The main reason to take Megan was indeed to give her a break from Yuma--you wouldn't think constant blue skies would get old, but clouds and green are soothing!)
After the conference the next day, which I'm not going to go into much detail over (it was terribly interesting, but I'm afraid that my notes consist largely of swirly doodles and random words from a few of the talks--if you want details, go to my dad), we went here:
And there:
And to the Office of Letters and Light!
Since it was Saturday evening, I didn't knock on the door, though I saw people moving about through the curtains. (Had I known she saw people moving about I would have insisted we knock!) I was able to meet the infamous Chris Baty doll (plus llama) in person.
I wrote a note to the OLL staff and stuck it under the door. I have no clue if they ever got it, but it was fun being all sneaky and mysterious.
Unfortunately, we didn't get pictures of any of the food we ate. As I mentioned earlier, the cost of food was covered by the college, so Dad and I ate out at several absolutely fantastic restaurants. We ate many things, including but not limited to strawberry gelato, French croissants and pastries, pad Thai, Alfredo noodles, and the most heavenly crepe I've ever had, filled with strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries in chocolate sauce with whipped and ice cream on top. The conference had refreshments of its own, as well--pastries, cookies, breads, cheese squares, even noodles at one point. (Megan has already figured out what academic conferences are really about! But we did enjoy the great speakers as well, including Beau Lotto--seen here at TED!)
Overall, the trip was amazing. I certainly hope it's not the last time I visit Berkeley! I'd love to spend more time there and explore the area. I wouldn't mind being an intern at the Office of Letters and Light someday!
(I hope we can go back too!).
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