San Francisco, California

BBB, I must've misunderstood your post. "If you are interested in Alameda as a home base for the SF Gathering, let me know and I can obtain more information for the April 2004 dates." Sorry. c.i.

CI, I haven't yet fine tooth combed your weblink on page whatsis, but will do it soon.

I am not opposed to staying in Alameda or Petaluma (etc) or intown. As we all know, I will get there late, and may just stay with friends. Or at one of those fixed up old hotels in town. But I still care where the main group stays.

Back after I read more.

I just re-read this entire thread and continue to be interested in attending.

C.I. and others are putting a lot of energy and thought into this.

Asherman makes many good points eg. using 'lessons learned' in previous meetings, the various sub-sets of prospective attendees
(like concentric circles from the local to the regional etc) and the probability of attending being related to distance from SF.

Given the different budgets and other considerations, it seems unlikely that we will all be able to stay at the same venue but that isn't necessarily a calamity. I can envision people clustering in a couple of sites -perhaps one intown with nicer ammenities and one nearby that is more suitable for budget travellers (like me).

I don't mind hanging out in your intown digs and going later to sleep in my low cost locale! :-) particularly if the 'budget travellers' all use one comparatively low-cost place. We could then travel together to link up with the main group, perhaps share a cab, have breakfast together etc.

I personally have another option ie. to stay with my brother and his wife in SF itself. (in fact I'm likely to stay there at the end of the meeting for a day or two anyway) I prefer not to stay at my bro's the whole time though since I think that it would diminish for me the feeling of group sharing. This is from a guy who went to both college and grad school while commuting from my parents home. I always felt I missed so much when I went home at night and my classmates got to stay up late in their dorms having bull sessions. :-)

PS
I am still thinking of flying in to Seattle as I did last Fall and taking Amtrak down the coast to SF. Maybe a few of the Wash/Oregon based A2k'ers could be enticed to join me in an A2K 'rapid deployment force'* to link up at the SF meeting!






* hmmm.... it DOES seem a little absurd to use the word RAPID in any context involving Amtrak!!

jjorge, With consideration to all, we're trying to provide info on many different options - locations and price - close enough to the central venue with easy transportation. 1. Oakland International Airport is probably cheaper than SFO, and less crowded. 2. Trains run from the east bay into San Francisco on a regular schedule. 3. Alameda accommodations will probably be more economical than any in San Francisco - or at the very least, better for the same or cheaper price. (I'm rather stingy on paying premium for hotel rooms, but don't mind spending above average for a good meal.) 4. Driving in San Francisco is not recommended, because parking is very expensive, and difficult to find. BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) is the train system used in the greater San Francisco bay area. BTW, how long does it take to take the train from Seattle to SF? c.i.

c.i., i was asking when Easter will be in 2004. It will have an impact on flight and accommodation costs and availability.

Beth-Easter dates
Beth, ask and you shall receive :wink:

Easter Sunday - April 11, 2004

The following U.S. Naval Observatory site is great for finding future dates:
http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/

---BumbleBeeBoogie

I think you will all enjoy this:

http://www.zpub.com/sf/history/

A place not to miss:

http://museemecanique.citysearch.com/1.html

Please patronize the zoo:

http://www.sfzoo.org/

The best Italian food in town, as rated by members of Dine.com:

Milano Restaurant
Rated 4.48/5 by 21
(415) 673-2961
Italian
1448 Pacific Avenue
San Francisco, CA

Thanks BBB - that helps a great deal.

cjh, All very good info. Thanks a million. c.i.

The Coast Starlight leaves Seattle at about 9am. it was supposed to get into Oakland 23 1/2 hrs later. the day I went there was a problem on the track however. A union-pacific freight train had de-railed so we were side-lined for 8+ hrs. in the mountains of Oregon. Then when we started up again we had to pull over and wait several times to let other freight trains pass us. As a result we arrived in Oakland 12 hrs late. The conductor told me that on the pacific coast run Amtrak is at the mercy of Union-Pacific which owns the track. Nevertheless it was a very pleasant scenic trip. The dining car food was more than acceptable, the company was good etc.

I learned one thing however... If I have a connection to make at the end of an Amtrak trip I would have to allow 12 hrs. leeway or I wouldn't take the chance. (even though it was Union-Pac's fault)
There were several people who missed connecting flights to Hawaii, Texas etc!

Looks like a good trip for retirees; don't need to worry about being late for anything. c.i.

exactly!

I just spent a half hour looking at your SF hotel link, CI, and picked out six or seven that attract me, for myself. Will study the list a little harder later in the week.

osso, Maybe you can share your findings on this forum; name, location, prices, and amenities. I'm sure all will appreciate it c.i.

Well, I tended to pick small boutique places for about a hundred a night, less being better. One or two had meeting rooms. SF is such an idiosyncratic place, I hate to just stay at a best western myself, but I will if that is where everybody else is. Remember, I am figuring that I am arriving just as most are leaving.

But the name that I remember as verrrry interesting was the most expensive of the small hotels I looked at, around Union Square...it was the The Hotel Rex.....bookshelves in the lobby. I would forgive a lot for bookshelves in the lobby.

Links in the morning, got to catch 40 winks now.

Just checking in to see how the planning is coming along.

Ashman, Thanks for bringing this forum back to the forefront. Out of sight, out of mind. We have about 18 planning to attend - so far. Some people have provided some good links for hotels in and around San Francisco, so people will need to make their own plans on transportation and lodging. BART now has a train service from SF International Airport to the city and the general bay area. I'm still trying to locate a venue for the Gatherings. I will also take some people on day trips to Napa/Sonoma Wine Country, Sausalito, Jelly Belly Candy Factory, and possibly to Muir Woods. ci