Adios a Berkeley

So my two years here are fast coming to a close. A week from today I'll be on a plane back to DC, and in seven weeks - God willing and the creek don't rise - Anette and I will be together in Tanzania. My CAS colleagues, who are also some of my closest friends out here, had a BBQ for me up in Tilden Park yesterday. It was perfect California day, 75 and sunny, and we had an array of platos sabrosos, including Oliver's parrilla mexicana con carne asada, cebollas y tortillas, Leah's cilantro mint cole slaw and grilled eggplant and zucchini, and Elisabeth's authentic Norwegian "kransekake." Leah also gifted me with a half a dozen water filters that proved their mettle on the CAS Tanzania trip last summer. The Halpern, Martinez and Crawford clans brought their kids, who delighted in throwing the frisbee into the poison oak again and again. Bill showed up on his bike in the late afternoon, having already ridden 100 miles up Mt. Diablo and back (he biked across the country before becoming a teacher). We lingered until the last slanting rays of sun lit up the golden hills and transformed the bark of the majestic redwoods to their true color.