Re: San Francisco
Re: San Francisco
- Subject: Re: San Francisco
- From: Deborah Shadovitz <email@hidden>
- Date: Thu, 06 Nov 2003 14:41:11 -0800
There's been some great info about the SF show here so far. I think I can
add a bit more.
First, like Louise said, go!. When I started out on the Mac I thought I
could not afford to go. I thought that I was not making enough of my income
from the Mac so I could not justify the cost. Then a friend who was driving
up (from the LA area) talked me into keeping her company in the car. We
stayed at the Pickwick which was $60/night back then. I was not writing
professionally back then. I was freelance, doing graphics. Although I was a
main leader in the LA Mac Group, the staff and press got to go to the famous
breakfasts so I could not go. There was no UGU at that time. So there I was
among the masses, crowded into the hall - with an ear to ear smile on my
face. And it was great! When I didn't know a product I just stood and
listened to questions being asked. It's a great way to learn. I think I won
a prize that year. At any rate, the trip more than paid for itself and the
experience changed my life. Going to Macworld connects you to the national
and international community in a great way. By the next show I had friends
from all over and would not ever consider not attending. I only bore you
with that story because I've heard so many others tell me the same thing.
On 11/6/03 12:49 PM, "Hank Harken" <email@hidden> typed:
>
Don't get the car and save yourself the rental fees and also spare yourself
>
the parking headaches. San Francisco has a great public transportation
>
system and you can get almost everywhere in the city though the use of BART,
>
trolley, and bus. Go to one of the newspaper/magazine stands and
>
buy a city transit map.
So true.
I've driven up for several years. Once I parked in a town further south at a
friend's and took Caltrans the rest of the way. Left my car for the week.
Other times I've parked at the hotels; sometimes there are package deals for
parking. The best deal for parking is the big public structure about a block
away. $14 or $17 a day as I recall.
It's been fun at times to have the car. I got to drive a bunch of friends
all around and over the bridges. But life without the car is just as much
fun there. To get around to parties etc at night, it's easier to pile into a
cab or share a limo than to take out the car and pay the in and out fee.
Most of my first years, I bought the one week bus/train pass. The trolley is
expensive and you have to pay again if you get off and back on. The pass
does away with that extra fee. You'll definitely want to take the trolley to
the wharf and get off at Lombard street to walk a bit of it. So that's 3
fares: 1/2 way, the 2nd half, and back. One year I stayed at the Van Ness
Holiday Inn and even used the trolley to commute. The trolley stops right
outside that hotel.
>
If anyone is getting ready to make travel arrangements for MacWorld
>
Expo in SF, you might want to compare airfares between arrival
>
into SF International Airport and arrival at Oakland International.
>
Sometimes you can get better fares at Oakland. To get to central
>
San Francisco, there is a shuttle bus (small fare charged) which takes
>
people to the BART station. There you can take a BART train into
>
San Francisco. Reverse the process for the trip home.
Better fares, but it's a hassle. It's what... a bus, then a train, then
another train.
>
I understand you can now get to a BART station from the San
>
Francisco Airport. Access to public transportation used to
>
be a problem for that airport.
I took a public but for about $1. But they don't let you take luggage on
it. They just let me do it once.
>
I have to warn you that if you plan to visit Cupertino and the campus
>
of a certain computer company ;-) public transportion is a little
>
more difficult but I have taken a bus to the HQ of our favorite
>
fruit company. It's outside San Francisco and you take the buses
>
for the regional system for the peninsula. The name of the transit
>
authority escapes me at the moment.
Not to mention that so many of Apple's people are at the show. It's kind of
cool to go there once, but there's not much there that you'll see. The QTVR
movies that came with QT3 showed it all. It's really only worth going if
someone there invites you or for something like when UGU was there.
I recommend staying closer to Moscone so you can drop off your stuff at the
end of the day - or when it gets heavy mid day. To me, Macworld is like
summer sleep-away camp. You're in your room only to sleep or hang out with
friends. Whether I've been broke and paying my own way or had my room
provided for me, I've preferred to share with friends. One year we ended up
with 5 women: 2 per bed and one on the floor. It's all part of the fun.
For those who have been to Boston or NY but not SF, it's an entirely
different experience. The east coast show is a shadow of the main show. More
of the full staff comes to SF, as someone here already said. Unfortunately,
the party scene in SF is not much these days, so it may be better than east
coast, but not much.
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