RWA National Conference in San Francisco

July 27th to August 2nd, 2008

Welcome to our home town.  The Black Diamonds want you to enjoy your stay in the city by the bay.  Below are some links and pictures to assist you during the RWA National Conference.

The Ferry Building Market Place is a great location to have lunch and see the wonderful views of the San Francisco Bay.   As mentioned in our June Newsletter, there is a farmers market full of fresh Northern California grown produce.   http://www.ferrybuildingmarketplace.com/

Farmers Market Link http://www.ferrybuildingmarketplace.com/farmers_market.php

Pictures taken from the Alameda/Oakland Ferry

Conference Location- San Francisco Marriott

The San Francisco Marriott  is located in a prime location of San Francisco.  The hotel is beautiful and centrally located to shops and restaurants.  The pool is a good size and has a relaxing feel and located inside. 

The court yard next to the pool looks like a nice place to relax and unwind in-between workshops.

Shopping, Restaurants, Sight Seeing and Transportation

Directly across the street from the hotel is the Metreon.  You will find fun, entertainment, games, restaurants, and retail stores. 

The Westfield shopping center is a quick 3 to 5 minute walk from the hotel.  There is a food plaza with lots of dinning choices.  For a list of the dinning choices:  http://westfield.com/sanfrancisco/dining/index.html.  Also refer to our July Newsletter for more dinning options in San Francisco.

Westfield also has many stores including Nordstrom's, for a list of stores at Westfield follow this link: http://westfield.com/sanfrancisco/ourstores/index.html

Also located next to the hotel is Yerba Buena Gardens.  A beautiful garden in the middle of the city with art work and waterfalls.

The Market Street Cable Car stop is just 5 minutes from the hotel, 2 minutes from Westfield shopping Center.  http://www.sfcablecar.com/

Union Square from the Market Street Cable car station it is just a short 4 minute walk. http://www.unionsquareshop.com/

Pier 39 and Fisherman's Wharf

One option to getting to Pier 39 is picking up a Cable Car from Market and taking it down by  Ghirardelli Square.  It is a great way to see the sights of the city. 

Pier 39 has lots to offer including access to Bay Tours, Alcatraz and wonderful seafood restaurants.

Some of the companies that offer Bay tours are : Red & White Fleet , Blue & Gold,  and Adventure Cat Sailing. 

If you are taking a trip to Alcatraz please book ahead, you will not be able to get on without a reservation.  You can find out great info from: http://www.nps.gov/alcatraz/ and purchase tickets http://www.alcatraztickets.com/

Transportation

There are a lot of different transportation options in San Francisco.  From Cable Cars, Muni (Bus),BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit "Subway"), Ferry, a Taxi, and your feet.  For tips on Taxi's, getting around the city and a list of local Taxi companies check this site out : http://sanfrancisco.about.com/od/gettingaroun1/qt/sftaxitips.htm. 

The Marriott and the RWA National websites also have great information about transportation around the city.

Transportation to the Hotel

There are many Different options to getting to the hotel.  BART is an easy way to travel around the city and for us locals a great way to get to conference.   I rode BART from the Dublin/Pleasanton BART station and it took about 45 minutes to arrive at the Market street station.  If you are parking at BART you may have to pay to park, be sure to check out the BART website for all the details.

Out of Towner's:  You can also take BART from the Oakland or San Francisco Airports.   Both Airport websites have a complete list of transportation options include shuttle services.   SFO: http://www.flysfo.com/web/page/index.jsp, Oakland: http://www.oaklandairport.com/index2.cfm.  If you are flying into San Jose: http://www.sjc.org/

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