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Let's get some going then- are there any backgammon players in the Bay Area?
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There are quite a few strong players who live in the Bay Area. See the
Backgammon By The Bay club.
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I was thinking of going to my first tournament this saturday (in Berkeley). What should I expect/be prepared for?
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If you are used to playing on a computer, you might miss the automatic pip count. You might want to practice counting pips a few times, hiding the counts, and then revealing the counts to check. If you have never counted pips, it may be more arithmetic than you are used to doing, but it is worth a lot to know the count. Some people have elaborate methods, and some people have fast methods, but the important thing is that you have a method you will use when you need it.
Another thing to get used to is that you may be playing clockwise or counterclockwise. (When one player is playing one way, the opponent is playing the other.) Some players play online and get used to one direction, and have difficulty adjusting. You always roll on the right hand side of the board, though.
If you have only played informally, make sure you understand the Crawford rule for matches, and the Jacoby rule for money play.
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I'm a pretty solid player again my friends but would probably get destroyed by someone who really knows when to double and take/forfeit
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It's common for people to overestimate the effect of the doubling cube. While you can make huge mistakes with the doubling cube, most players give up far more equity with checker plays, even in matches where the cube decisions are more complicated. This is because you have many more checker play decisions, and until you are an expert, it is easy to give up significant amounts of equity on positions that you think are not interesting.