Day Eight - Reno to Berkeley

After seven days and almost three thousand miles we have embarked on the last leg of our trip that will take us to the hills of Berkeley, California.  We didn't take off until around nine this morning because we only had a three hour drive ahead of us.  As soon as we cleared Reno we encountered the Sierra Nevada mountain range and it was awesome.  We climbed up over the mountains with snow capped peaks in the distance and we even crossed over the Donner Pass.  We descended from the mountains into wide open valley filled with fields of strawberries and groves of apricot trees.  It was so different from the past three states that we had driven through.  Once again we saw fields of green after endless miles of brown grass.  We encountered traffic for the first time on our whole trip when we drove through Sacramento.

The excitement in the car was building as we wound our way through the last range of hills that surround the East Bay.  When we saw the bay in front on us, we knew that we had finally arrived.  The past two years has led us to this point.  All of the struggles, and all of the experiences that I have had over the past six plus years has led me to this point.  Even though i thought that this might never happen, here I am.  I almost can't believe it, like I am going to wake up and it was all a dream.  But let this be known, that even through those dark times we must continue to persevere and God will take care of the rest. 

We pulled into the parking lat and were met by a few returning students.  They showed us our rooms and gave us our keys.  I unpacked the trailer as quickly as possible and got all of my stuff in my room so that we could head to Alameda to return the trailer.  I had no idea where we were going but we found it and made it back to the campus in one piece, which worked out pretty well as we got to see a but of Oakland and Alameda.  It took me almost three hours but I set up my room and with a few things left to do, it looks pretty good.  Not too shabby given that the last time was in a dorm was ten years ago. 

I spent the better part of the night hanging out with a Middler who showed me around a but and gave some inside tips about professors and classes.  It was cool to spend time with someone other than my two traveling companions.  Don't get me wrong I enjoyed driving across the country with them, but I definitely need some time alone.  Tomorrow is a free day, though I think I will walk around a but and try to get the surrounding streets down.  Orientation begins Monday so tomorrow is all about rest.  Can't wait to see what happens next.