Hotels

We finally have our hotels confirmed. We have rooms reserved at three different hotels for you to choose from. Here's the scoop:

First is the Berkeley Marina Doubletree. This is a great full service hotel with easy access to the main highways to Oakland, San Francisco and Marin. As the name suggests, it's located on the Berkeley Marina and has beautiful views of the city. Click on this link to book rooms. Our group code is #2664557 and will entitle you to a 10% discount off of the best available rate for your room. We recommend requesting rooms on the 2nd floor with water views! This hotel has limited access to public transportation, so we'd suggest renting a car if you plan to stay here.

Second is the University Inn - Berkeley. This is a nice hotel, located near downtown Berkeley. It is walking distance to 4th Street, home to great shops, but does not have a bar or restaurant on the premises. Our block of rooms here is for Friday Check-In to Monday Check-Out, but if you are planning to stay a longer or shorter amount of time they are very friendly and flexible. Our rate is $89 a night, and you can book by calling 510-849-1121. Make sure you tell them you are with the Davis-Runkle Wedding to get the rate. This hotel is very close to public transportation.

Finally, we have rooms at the Hilton Garden Inn - Bay Bridge in Emeryville. As the name implies, it is located near the Oakland end of the Bay Bridge and is also near the Emeryville shopping district. This is a full service hotel with a bar and restaurant on site, and has easy access to everything. Our block of rooms here is also from Friday to Monday, and the rate is $129 a night. We have not yet received the group code for this hotel, but we will update the blog as soon as we do. The group code for this hotel is DAVRNK. You can book online by putting the code in the "Group/ Convention Code" space under the Special Accounts heading. You can also book by phone by calling (510) 658-9300. We will also be posting information about good restaurants and things to do near these hotels. Happy Travels!

P.S. Once you book your hotel, please drop us a note letting us know where you'll be staying and your arrival date.

Registries, Part Deux

Just a quick update that we are now also registered at Macy's. We've closed our registry at Sears since their website proved less than secure and we kept adding pots and pans to someone else's list. A lot of fun could be had with this security loophole, but I just couldn't bring my hacker-self to inflect hideous china or bad linens on a fellow bride. So, now you can find our lists at Macy's, Crate and Barrel, and Tail of the Yak.

Wine Country: Sonoma

For those of you who enjoy a nice bottle of wine and the beautiful countryside, we recommend a day trip to the Larsen Family Winery in Sonoma. They're open everyday from 10am-5pm and are a kid-friendly, dog-friendly spot. Pack a picnic, grab the kids, and head up for a day. They have a bocci ball court, picnic tables with a grill, and a small petting zoo. Also, they're just minutes away from downtown Sonoma and a smattering of other great wineries, too.

P.S. The wine tasting fee is waived if you buy a bottle.

Sunday Night Out

For those of you looking at tickets now, here's a quick heads up. Our Party will take place in the early afternoon on Sunday, but that night we will be meeting up at a local watering hole for some catching up with old friends. So, if you'd like to hang out with us then (and we'd love to have you there), make sure to book your return flight for Monday.

Ici Ice Cream

Ici Ice Cream is another great local shop at 2948 College Ave, just north of Ashby in Rockridge. They craft homemade ice cream from local ingredients and offer an amazing assortment of flavors, from blood orange sherbert to ginger vanilla. They make their own cones on site, and have a wide array of cookies, ice cream sandwiches, and pastries for you to try. Their ice cream has a very homemade taste to it, not the typical overly sweet stuff you get in the grocery freezer. Definately kid-friendly spot to hit after dinner in Berkeley or Oakland.

Bonus: on top of having delicious ice cream, they also have a beautiful store with great signage and enticing displays. Intimate with an old fashioned flavor, but decidedly new and fresh, all at the same time. No surprise that one of the owners is a graphic designer.

Tail of the Yak

One of my favorite stores in the world is Tail of the Yak, located at 2632 Ashby Ave, just west of College Ave. It is a cabinet of curiosities, a living Neutral Milk Hotel song, and the place I go for inspiration. Driving by, you always see folks staring at their windows, wondering what is inside. Don't be intimidated by the buzzer to get; the women who run this store (30 yrs and counting) are quite friendly and helpful. They have a rotating collection of bizarro things collected from around the world--old glass barometers, fine crystal from Paris, vintage silk ribbon, crazy lady antique costume jewelry, gorgeous hand-bound notebooks from India and local letterpress shops, a stuffed emu, along with Mexican paper streamers, cards, linens, etc. There are too many things to name, really.

They're open from 11-5pm everyday except Monday. Ben and I are also registered here for those of you who get in town early, or our local guests who want to support a beautiful local business. Just ask one of costumed ladies behind the counter for the registry book. P.S. This is not a good place to bring small children.