Ok, you guys have been kick ass with the replies and can't thank you all enough. I actually live in Pinole which is in the east bay area on the richmond/berkeley side so the other shops mentioned are more than an hour away.
So I went to Alameda bicycle but they didn't have much of a selection in stock. Not even one Specialized Hardrock Sport. I was able to test ride a rockhopper which I really liked but was above my budget. The sales rep was pretty knowledgeable and did her job on trying to upsell me from the hardrock sport and xc model.
I ended up going back to the pedaler and buying the '07 specialized hardrock sport!! The guys there were pretty cool. Can't wait to get on some trails now!!