From spcecdt Wed Jul 3 01:58:07 1991 From: spcecdt@deeptht.santa-cruz.ca.us (John DuBois) To: /dev/null Subject: Tomorrow Party! Bcc: party Date: Wed, 3 Jul 91 1:58:07 PDT You are hereby invited to the 8th Annual 4th of July Party-on-the-Beach. It will be held on Thursday (that's the 4th!) at Seaside Beach (which is apparently no longer actually owned by the city of Seaside, but it's still Seaside Beach so there). Festivities will be proceeding all day and we are going to try to indulge ourselves in a substantial fraction of them this year, so if the directions which follow are not enough to guide you there you should show up here early (mail me if you don't know where here is) so we can caravan down. Also, if you need a ride you should certainly arrive early to improve your chances. "Early" means by noon. It's entirely possible that due to the vagaries of slack we won't be off until rather later, but hey, that's just life, you know. We will have a bonfire which hopefully will include outlying regions capable of cooking food without vaporizing it, and a grill to take advantage of this potential, which you might in turn wish to take advantage of by bringing bbqable comestibles. It will probably be hot during the day, so you should bring assorted liquid refreshments, and cold and windy later, so you should bring warm clothing and/or blankets. Difficult though it may be to believe, this beach has in the past been observed to harbor a largish contingent of law-flouting types who actually go about setting off missile, explosive, and projectile-type items as though it didn't violate the sensibilities of right-thinking persons everywhere. It might be a slight exaggeration to describe it as resembling a war zone and compare the sound to a cacaphony of screams and tears and violent pressure waves impinging upon your eardrums, and to imply that a constant hail of expended pyrotechnics will be raining down from the heavens throughout the day (and night), BUT if you don't LIKE fireworks, including the type that fly/shoot/explode, you will probably not enjoy this excursion. On the other hand, wot with Seaside having apparently having given up responsibility for this particular coastal band of SiO2 beads to the Parks Department, there may be a crackdown, so we could enjoy ourselves without being subjected to all that pesky revelry. Parking at this beach on the 4th is as tight as... oh, nevermind. If you don't get there early you are unlikely to to be able to find a legal spot near the beach in which to deposit your transportation. If that's the case, and you don't want to risk a ticket, you should unload and leave your stuff with someone at the beach and then park across the highway in the K-Mart lot or other inconvenient asphalt plain. Seaside is between Sand City and Monterey. As you head down Highway 1, you will first pass through the exciting environs of Marina, then Fort Ord (for the moment...), then the aptly named Sand City, and finally Seaside, which, as it happens, is beside the sea. You will see the beach off to the right, next to the highway. Get off at the Seaside exit where you see a large hotel next to the ocean. Actually, it's a bit down on the beach, so it might be hard to spot... keep your eyes open (this is generally a good idea when you're driving anyway). The above-mentioned K-Mart is, as noted, on the other side of the highway, but the sign is pointed in the other direction. If the highway veers away from the beach, you've gone too far. On the bright side, the familiar K-Mart sign will be obvious on the way back. In any case, get on the ocean side of the highway. There is a road that runs between the highway and the beach. Head back up that (north, away from the hotel) and try to find parking. Last year the part of the road near the hotel was legal; furthur up was not. There will probably be friendly uniformed police officers there to assist you in your parking decision. There's also a bit of parking next to the hotel. We will be somewhere on the beach within line of sight of the hotel, possibly down toward the water, but then again, possibly not. The beach isn't that long so you should be able to find us. Depending on how you drive and what the traffic is like, the trip from Santa Cruz should take about 40-60 minutes. Yours for an incindiary tomorrow, John