Laurel finished knitting her second hat – this one for herself. It’s supposed to look like the TARDIS (time machine) from Doctor Who.
We rode the bus to the Golden Gate Bridge on New Years Day. I figured the sidewalk on the bridge would be crowded since that was the case when we were there on Thanksgiving, 2011. So I didn’t plan to walk across it this time, and I’m glad; it was packed. Just getting to the bridge on the city bus was an adventure. Not only was the bus standing room only with little room to stand – we were packed like sardines – but the traffic was heavy getting to the bridge, and it took 50 minutes to go four miles. When we got to the bridge, we wanted to use the restroom; but the line for the ladies room was about 40 people for four toilets (I think). I suggested Laurel follow Charlie into the men’s room since she is now frequently mistaken for a boy with her short hair and androgynous clothing. She needed no further prompting and went in the men’s room where the line had only four people. She said, “I tried to look tough, but Charlie kept hugging me.” 🙂
Today, Friday, we took the BART train to Berkeley. The train goes under the bay, and our ears popped just before we surfaced. Since 2011, Laurel has been participating each November in National Novel Writing Month (nanowrimo.org) and has had many discussions in the online teen forum on the NaNoWriMo website. We went to Berkeley today to meet two girls she met on the forum and who live nearby. She was very happy to finally meet them in person. We were also able to meet the friendly NaNoWriMo staff who agreed to pose for a picture in front of their office. Berkeley was a little disappointing for me. I was hoping for some great people-watching opportunities. I expected patchouli and weirdness. The college students are on winter break, but I still thought we’d see some kind of civil unrest, demonstrations, or…something. We saw two Hare Krishnas and a bearded man in a dress (Eastern Orthodox priest)…On the campus we saw a woman (a professor, I think) wearing a head scarf and a clingy, leopard-print dress and stiletto pumps. That was about it. Some of the downtown architecture was pretty. Ever since 2001 when I read Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead, I can recognize art-deco architecture because it looks like the book cover. The Berkeley Public Library has cool engravings on the side that looked familiar. I told Laurel I thought the building was built in the 1930’s, and we found the dedication plaque that said “1931.” I imagined myself as Adam Sandler in Billy Madison after he wins the second-grade spelling bee and shouts, “I am the smartest man alive!”

See what I’m sayin? Packed!

🙂

T-Rex at University of California at Berkeley, Life Sciences Building