Geography: Berkeley is located on a sloping aluvial plane between a range of 1000 foot hills to the East and San Francisco Bay to the West.  It is  directly across from the bay's opening to the Pacific Ocean, known as the "Golden Gate".  The Pacific coast in northern California is rugged and spectacular. To the East, beyond the hills lies California's huge agricultural Central Valley, stretching hundreds of miles north to south and roughly 60 miles wide east of Berkeley.  East of the Central Valley the land slopes to the crest of the Sierra Nevada mountains near the Nevada border.  Passes in the Sierras range from 7000 to 10,000 feet.

Rain: It won't.  There is a small chance of afternoon thunderstorms in the Sierras.  July rain in Berkeley is essentially unknown.

Temperature: The Pacific off  northern California is cold---around 55 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer.  Consequently the climate in the Bay Area is mild, more often cool than hot. Mark Twain wrote that the closest he ever came to freezing to death was one summer in San Francisco.  Typical highs in Berkeley in July are in the mid-60's to 80. Evenings are predictably cool. You will need a sweater.

A typical day in Berkeley begins cool, overcast with low clouds---fog at the beach that lifts to around 800 to 1000 feet as it moves inland.  The overcast usually burns off by 10 am, though it sometimes persists through much of the day.  Usually the overcast returns around sunset.  Though this is typical, Berkeley does have heat waves with temperatures upwards of 90 degrees and no night/morning overcast.

If you are planning to travel after the confernce, you should know that the weather just a few miles inland is much hotter and drier.  Typical highs in the hills and Central Valley east of Berkeley are in the mid 90's.  During heat waves, highs are often over 100. Nights are cool. Weather in the mountains ranges from very hot in the foothills to nighttime freezes at high elevations.

Driving: It is easy to rent/return a car at either the Oakland or San Francisco airport.  Generally everything is easier in Oakland than at SFO because it is so much smaller.

Parking is not easy in Berkeley.  Before renting a car, check with your hotel to see if you can park it.  There is a long-standing policy at U.C. Berkeley that full-time faculty members who win a Nobel Prize get a parking place. Otherwise, don't ask.  Parking in neighborhoods in Berkeley is limited to two hours unless you have a permit, which you don't.  In business areas there are parking meters.  Meters and tickets are an important source of income for the City of Berkeley.  

Parking in San Francisco is harder.  Rumor has it that there are more registered cars in San Francisco than there are garages and parking spaces.  It is not impossible to park on the street in San Francisco, but you'll be competing with professionals.

If you want to see the California coast or go to the mountains or wine country, driving is really the only practical means.  The freeways are congested and in poor condition, so expect delays if you leave after about 1975.

Public Transportation: It is possible to get around Berkeley and San Francisco by public transportation.  BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) is a rudimentary light rail system.  In fact, it is possible to take BART from either the Oakland or San Francisco airport to Berkeley.  There is a shuttle from OAK to BART and BART now runs directly to SFO.  If you take the destination Richmond train, you want the Berkeley station, not the Ashby station (in south Berkeley) or the North Berkeley station. The problem with using BART to get to/from the airport is that the Berkeley station is downtown and your hotel probably isn't.  There is a taxi stand on Shattuck Avenue near the BART station.  But this is starting to get complicated and time-consuming.

Especially if you are going to/from downtown Berkeley to/from downtown San Francisco, BART is a good choice.  Rail streetcars connect to BART at stations along Market Street.  These are one route to the western parts of the city.  

San Francisco and the East Bay have elaborate bus systems.