Road Trip: No better place to be opening weekend than Berkeley

Story and photos by Joe Connor, our Eco-Friendly Road Trip Correspondent.

SoCal's got better looking women and, of course, better football, but there was no better place to be than Berkeley -- yes, Berkeley -- opening weekend of the college football season. It was one of those perfect Saturdays where everything falls into place, including strolling one of the prettiest campuses in the Pac-10 hours before kickoff and the gorgeous, cool and sunny weather ... to even finding the perfect parking spot.

Perfect parking spot at Cal? Say what? Finding a parking spot to tailgate at Cal football is traditionally about as enjoyable as a root canal, but I had a plan and Sigma Nu would be my guinea pig. After failing to convince three other fraternities to let me park my Green Machine in their front lawn in exchange for cases of energy drink, the boys at Signa Nu (on probation, no less) agreed. Dean Faber would have been proud. And even better: I didn't have to climb a tree to beg for a parking spot.

Pine trees and other large stalks of ungodly proportions dominate Cal's campus. Where is the cannon fired from every time Cal scores a touchdown? Below the trees. Where can fans watch the game at Memorial Stadium free? On a hillside, below the trees. Where do fans tailgate? Below the trees.

Perhaps because they were on double secret probation, Signa Nu was a dull-fest hours before kickoff, so I headed out across campus in search of the spirit of the ultimate Golden Bears tailgate. As I crossed lower campus, I couldn't help but notice half a dozen Bear-hat wearing Cal fans tailgating beneath the trees. I never met a tailgate I didn't like, so I introduced myself and within minutes the self-described "Drunken Bears" were chanting "Joe! Joe! Joe!" trying to convince me to do a beer bong.

"No, thanks dude," I replied. "Don't need to be falling over my colleagues on press row."

"Boooooooooo!" the Drunken Bears shouted in unison.

Well, they weren't all hammered. Certainly not Christian Arellano, who has sold 600 Bear hats since last season and donated all proceeds to the Berkeley Food and Housing Project, which is facilitating a two-year transition program for women with psychiatric disabilities.

Last year, about 50 USC fans bought the hats when the Trojans visited Cal -- and then immediately proceeded to burn them. All below the trees, of course.

"Once they pay, they do whatever they want with them," Arellano quipped.

On a more serious note, the Cal business major added: "Near my apartment, we see a lot of homelessness here and it's really sad. This is way to give back locally to help the homeless transition back into society."

So far, the Drunken Bears have donated $6,000 as a result of their hat sales. As for how much money they've spent on our old Buddy-Weiser, well, let's not go there. At least they didn't climb any trees. But Michigan State fans probably felt like doing so, considering how the Spartans beat themselves with missed opportunities in losing to Cal, 38-31. Meanwhile, the Green Machine survived Signa Nu.

Next stop: a place where there's even more tall trees -- the University of Washington.