My Cal freshman surprised and gifted me and Cindi with this adorable sundress.  Very Berkeley, very sweet. Cindi and I resting in an atrium beside the dining hall at the Foothill dorms.  

“Adopt the pace of nature; her secret is Patience.”

  Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ceanothus or wild California LilacNot only does Ceanothus resemble the lilacs I recall from my childhood on Long Island, they also are faintly perfumed with a similar essence; sweeter but less aromatic or strong. Native to California, Ceanothus is a shrub that once established (like all indigenous plants) needs no care.  It seemed well suited to the Bay Area judging by how prolific and healthy the bushes we encountered were.

Prunus Cerasifera or flowering plum

Spring adorns these decidious trees with light pink flowers which fall as the maroon foliage unfolds and sticks to the delicate twigs all summer long.  Here, they welcome students on either side of the path to their dorm rooms.

Italian Stone, Ponderosa and Monterrey pines, Oaks, ginkgo bilobas, eucalyptus, cedars, redwoods, palms, olive and elms abound on this UC campus.  Large, old trees are the foundation of its landscaped grounds.There is no shortage of California native squirrels to forage the many nut filled trees.Berkeley squirrels rock!

Although I am not in the Bay Area –  I still have lots to report.

Peerless Coffee is on Oak St. in Oakland and is a haven and study for coffee lovers.  The Vukasin family business began in 1924 when John Vukasin’s passion for gourmet coffees sprouted his unique idea to share and provide coffee with a storefront.  He sold “different” and “better” coffee both retail and wholesale.  His wife Sonja, collected coffee and tea antiques and memorabilia.  The collection was displayed in the store and eventually enlarged into an adjacent space for a museum.  Here you can enjoy viewing among other artifacts, a full sized 1922 Model T Ford.  Reservations are a must for a small or large party tour – call first. Monday – Friday.  510-763-1763.

 My kids get their coffee here every morning of vacation and I had a great decaf soy latte with sugar free hazelnut shots.

Cinnamon and cinnamon roll and vegan lovers unite and created Cinnaholic (in Berkeley), a make your own toppings and icing/sauces or pre-made/created rolls.After sharing a blueberry infused roll with raw vegan cookie dough (no worries) and a coconut with coconut icing roll, I OVER indulged on a ‘make your own’ number.   A cinnamon vegan roll with macadamia nut and maple sauces and pecan and walnut pieces as my toppings. MMMMMmmmmm.

The city of Berkeley has a ‘je ne said quoi’ attitude that resonates with me.

The University and its grounds vibrate with static electricity that I feed on.  From the first time I stepped on Berkeley concrete off the BART in 2007 accompanied by my son to visit the campus in his Junior year, I have felt the buzz.  I thought I felt he belonged here but I realize now – it is I who has a bond with the place – beyond my two offspring who venture here.  I love the food, the greenness and the multi-ethnicity, here.  I love the hippie, eco-sophisticated and vegan energy, here.  I love the nobel laureate, smart, nerdy, computer hacker, innovative, compassionate, open, political, bum-friendly, edgy, discriminate yet tolerant, span of generations and distributions of wealth, here.  I love the views, the prices and the liveliness, here.  I love that the buildings are squatter, the treed campus is steep and hilly and the way the University flows into downtown and Berkeley thrives because of all the young blood, here.  I am not saying I want to move, but I definitely look forward to the experience – every chance I get to come up, here.

A formal double row alignment of spring flowering trees marching up and down one of the many centers of UC Berkeley or better known as the Cal campus.  Summer blooming lilies fill in the center.  Elsewhere, I noticed groups of agapanthus or ‘otherwise known as’ lily of the nile clumps springing up, purple and white.

Endless and timeless, always picturesque, ever changing yet always beautiful, the campus explores itself within the confines of structures.  Students, professors, employees and visitors get to behold the landscape of an ascetically pleasing stroll wherever they go.  The aged tree canopies make the oldest UC campus feel grounded, secure and established.  There is a lot to be said for the value in plants and their design, how they help with mood, inspire and uplift the viewer.  That belief is clearly protected at Cal.Above the street, a view from the enclosed walkway bridge that connects two dorm sites where my youngest resides.

Bookended, Berkeley has been and is home to my oldest and youngest.  Across the great expanse of the USA, my middle one lives on the opposite coast, from whence her parents met and grew up – go figure.

This vacation, I got to be part of an important welcome back to one, time spent with all, a farewell to one on spring break and a kick-off to another at the start of her time off.

Today I leave with my youngest and drive back down to OC.  May she endure the drive with me and land softly, securely and happily back into her nest.  May V have a safe and pleasant flight back to the East Coast, may her re-entry be productive and interesting. May M start his first week at his new job in SF with enthusiasm and energy. May J soon find the position of her dreams.  May they all be joyful and healthy.   I love them all so much it hurts.  To see them flourish, enriching their worlds and living their dreams,  is a gift,  I am so grateful to witness.

After a relatively long road trip (@7 hours) and certainly the longest road trip for Cindi (three stops I needed anyway) that we know of, we landed safely at my son and girlfriend’s flat in Oakland, Alameda County, California.  NY daughter is spending her Spring Break with them, Berkeley freshman daughter is 15 minutes away, so I invited myself up for a ‘reunion’.

The Bay Area is notorious for its fresh, interesting and innovative as well as mature approach to food and I look forward to a few good meals and the unavoidable few good extra pounds – although it is a walking, talking kinda urban vibe which alleviates some of the extra calories and guilt.

Cindi took to everyone immediately and vice versa.  We ate at a German restaurant by my waterfront pet friendly hotel (more about this another time) and just spent some lazy together time before heading to a Chinese market (their apartment borders Oakland Chinatown) and a supply store for the feast that was to bedevil us anon. Navigating through this triple tiered Chinese grocery store where fresh, frozen and dried fish, fowl and produce was displayed in naked and abundant abandon was a sensory explosion not unlike fireworks in your head.  My kids confidently sought ingredients, handled themselves like they were born in Asia and left with a box of goodies that were to about to take a transformation I never would have dreamed of.

To say that my NY daughter, V has grown in her culinary skills, is an understatement.  Neither photographs nor descriptions could do her expert hand or her discriminatory palate any justice.  You just had to be there to experience the masterpiece and the creation.

First, she tempted us with steamed then sautéed, crispy bottomed dumplings with homemade vegan filling designed to enchant your taste buds and mouthfeel with cilantro, tofu, onion and secrets.  V’s deft handling of dough mesmerizes.

About to be cooked.Finished and served with an Island Sauce from Trader’s. “Hey, can I have the half bitten one?”  I must have eaten at least four of these between the communal platter and ‘taste and doneness evaluations’ by the stove.More tomorrow on what has proven to be an eye opener for this mom.

Goodbye to comfy, cozy, sweet dreaming in my own bed for awhile.

Cindi and I are going on a Road Trip to Oakland/Berkeley to see all three of my kids on spring break!

Wish us safe and happy trails.