San Jose
San Jose, "The Capital of Silicon Valley," offers attendees a wide array of entertainment options, including unique museums, nightlife, sporting events, headline entertainment, performing arts, and gourmet dining.
San Jose area attractions include:
The Tech Museum of Innovation
Silicon Valley technology comes alive in this new 132,000 sq. ft. facility that features five themed galleries, an IMAX Dome Theater and 200 hands-on activities.
The Winchester Mystery House
Beautiful but bizarre, this 160-room Victorian Mansion built by eccentric rifle heiress Sarah Winchester boasts a collection of architectural oddities and many examples of outstanding craftsmanship. Guided tours daily.
San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles
This museum promotes the art, craft and history of quilts and textiles.
San Jose Historical Museum
This 25-acre facility brings to life the look and feel of turn-of-the-century San Jose.
Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose
Ranked among the top five youth museums in the nation, this outstanding facility features more than 150 interactive exhibits in science, humanities and arts for children and families.
Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum & Planetarium
This museum boasts the largest collection of ancient Egyptian artifacts on exhibit on the West Coast, and also features a contemporary art gallery and a planetarium.
Paramount's Great America
In nearby Santa Clara, Northern California's largest family entertainment attraction offers thrills, shows and family fun.
Nearby cities and towns
Nearby areas offer further opportunities for exploration. Popular destinations include San Francisco (50 miles), Santa Cruz (30 miles), and Monterey (70 miles).
San Francisco
San Francisco's world famous attractions include the Golden Gate Bridge, Lombard Street, cable cars, Alcatraz Island, The Presidio, Golden Gate Park, The Palace of Fine Arts, and much more (see the tour description below). Scenic Sausalito, Marin County and Napa Valley are just a little further north.
San Francisco area attractions include:
Fisherman's Wharf
Known for its historic waterfront, delicious seafood, spectacular sights and unique shopping, Fisherman’s Wharf offers a wide array of things to do for everyone. Its fabulous location in the 'City by the Bay' puts you within minutes of the Maritime Museum, Alcatraz, Coit Tower and everyone’s favorite, the world famous San Francisco Cable Car lines.
Ghirardelli Square
The historic chocolate factory site offers more than just chocolate. Check out its fabulous shops and restaurants.
Pier 39
Pier 39 is located on the northernmost point of the San Francisco peninsula. Besides loads of shopping and dining, Pier 39 provides visitors with postcard views of Alcatraz, the Golden Gate and Bay Bridges, the San Francisco Bay and the city skyline. Telescopes are placed along the location's perimeter road for viewing the sights.
Alcatraz
Out in the middle of the San Francisco Bay, Alcatraz Island is one of Golden Gate National Recreation Area's most popular destinations, offering a close-up look at a historic and infamous federal prison long off-limits to the public. Visitors to the island can not only explore the remnants of the prison, but learn about the Native American occupation of 1969 - 1971, early military fortifications and the West Coast's first (and oldest operating) lighthouse. These structures and the island's many natural features - gardens, tide pools, bird colonies, and bay views beyond compare - are being preserved by the National Park Service, which is working to make Alcatraz accessible to visitors, preserve its buildings, protect its birds and other wildlife, and interpret its history.
Santa Cruz
This beautiful oceanside community is located on the northern end of Monterey Bay. The area offers outstanding parks and beaches, redwood forests, mountains, museums, wineries, great shopping and dining, steam train trips, an historic beachside amusement park, and much more.
Santa Cruz area attractions include:
Roaring Camp and Big Trees Railroad
Take an 1880s authentic steam train excursion through the redwood forests of the Santa Cruz mountains. Trains run on weekends in March.
Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk
California's only remaining seaside amusement park features more than 20 rides, including the world-famous 76-year-old wooden Giant Dipper Roller Coaster. Open weekends in the off-season.
Santa Cruz Harley-Davidson Museum
This unique museum features antique motorcycles and factory memorabilia within a Harley-Davidson dealership.
Half Moon Bay
This charming town boasts beautiful beaches, redwood forests, flower and vegetable farms, a picturesque harbor, and a quaint downtown shopping area. Golf, whale watching, horseback riding, hiking and biking are popular activities in Half Moon Bay.
Monterey
On the southern end of Monterey Bay lies the picturesque town of Monterey (see the tour description below). With its rugged coastline, fertile valleys, farmlands, rivers, and lakes, this area is abundant in natural beauty and early California history. The Monterey Bay Aquarium brings visitors up close with the region's righ marine life, while Fisherman's Wharf, Cannery Row, restored missions, adobes, and Victorians chronicle and preserve the area's unique heritage.
Monterey area attractions include:
The Monterey Bay Aquarium
Located on Monterey's historic Cannery Row, the aquarium features kelp fields and open ocean exhibits for sharks and sea otters.
Fisherman's Wharf
Fisherman's Wharf was built in 1846 for the many trading vessels bringing goods from around Cape Horn. At that time, Monterey was the major port on the Pacific Ocean.
While its focus may have changed, Monterey's Fisherman's Wharf is still a working pier. One of the many ways the old blends with the new is with whale watching and fishing trips. Monterey is world-famous for its fine dining, and some of Monterey's best restaurants are found on the Wharf. Highlighting the Fisherman's Wharf experience are unique shops selling nautical items from local crafters and souveniers to take home to family and friends.
Pebble Beach
Accessible by the spectacular 17-Mile Drive, Pebble Beach provides, perhaps, the most scenic setting for golf and recreation in the world. With its famous championship golf courses, it is hailed as a mecca for golfers. Pebble Beach hosts a variety of world class golf tournaments, including the U.S. Open and the annual AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am. It is also home to the annual Concours d'Elegance, considered to be one of the most prestigious showcases of the world's finest classic automobiles. Its stunning coastline includes Cypress Rock, Bird Rock and the Lone Cypress, one of the most photographed landmarks on the California coast. Pebble Beach is located on the tip of the peninsula between Pacific Grove and Carmel-by-the-Sea.
Big Sur
Big Sur is a dramatic stretch of coastline beginning in Monterey County and ending 90 miles south in San Luis Obispo County at the Hearst Castle. Volcanic peaks rise from the surf and towering redwoods meet with the rugged coastline. Big Sur's wild natural beauty can be experienced at numerous private and public campgrounds, parks, and beaches, which include three million acres of untouched wilderness and three hundred miles of trails on state and federal land. Big Sur is located approximately 30 miles south of Monterey via Highway 1.
National Steinbeck Center Museum
This museum features interactive exhibits and educational programs celebrating Nobel-prize winning author John Steinbeck's life, work and values.
Adventures by the Sea
Located by the beach in Monterey, Adventures by the Sea offers kayak and bike rentals and tours.
National Parks in Northern California:
Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park embraces almost 1,200 square miles of scenic wild lands set aside in 1890 to preserve a portion of the central Sierra Nevada that stretches along California's eastern flank. The park's features include alpine wilderness, three groves of Giant Sequoias and the glacially carved Yosemite Valley with impressive waterfalls, cliffs and unusual rock formations.
Sequoia & King's Canyon National Parks
Sequoia is the second-oldest national park in the United States. It was established in 1890 to protect the giant redwood trees in Giant Forest, including the General Sherman Tree, the world's largest tree. Mt. Whitney, the highest mountain in the U.S. outside of Alaska, towers along the park's eastern boundary. A small portion of what is now Kings Canyon was originally set aside in 1890 as General Grant National Park. In 1940, General Grant was absorbed into the new and larger Kings Canyon National Park, which eventually grew to include the South Fork of the Kings River and 456,552 acres of backcountry wilderness. Managed as one park, Sequoia and Kings Canyon total over 863,700 acres.
Lassen Volcanic National Park
Lassen Volcanic became a national park in 1916 because of its significance as an active volcanic landscape. Lassen Peak began erupting in 1914, had the most significant activity in 1915, and had minor activity until 1921. All four types of volcanoes in the world are found in Lassen's 106,000 acres.
Redwood National & State Parks
Redwood National and State Parks are situated along a long, narrow stretch of northern California coast, nearly abutting Oregon. Redwood National and State Parks protect old growth coast redwoods, some of the world's tallest trees. Less well-known are the prairies and oak woodlands and the coastal and marine ecosystems. Three California state parks
and the National Park Service unit represent a cooperative management effort of the National Park Service and the California Department of Parks and Recreation.
Organized tours for NACCU Conference attendees:
Sign up for either of these fun tours on your conference registration form.
A Day by the Bay: Tour of the Monterey Coast and a Village Winery
Saturday, March 11, 2000 • $27 per person
You’ll travel from San Jose by bus through the Santa Cruz mountains to the scenic oceanside town of Monterey, where you’ll have time to visit the famous Monterey Bay Aquarium, shop at the scenic Cannery Row shops, have lunch, and stroll by the water. Next you’ll experience the beautiful coastal drive to Carmel, passing the world-famous Pebble Beach golf course. You’ll stop at the Chateau Julien in Carmel Valley for a tour and wine tasting, arriving back in San Jose in the late afternoon.
City Lights: San Francisco Day and Night Tour
Tuesday, March 14, 2000 • $43 per person
You’ll travel by bus north through Silicon Valley into the city of San Francisco, then transfer at Union Square to a motorized trolley for a tour of all the city’s major sites, including Nob Hill, North Beach, Chinatown, and Fisherman’s Wharf. The tour will finish at the Fisherman’s Wharf/Pier 39 area in the late afternoon and you’ll be on your own for dinner, shopping (loads of shopping at Ghirardelli Square, the Cannery, Pier 39 and the Wharf), pictures, boat rides on the bay, etc. You’ll arrive back in San Jose around 10:00 pm.
Monday, March 13, 3:00- 6:00 PM
Santa Clara University: contact Jane Barrantes at Santa Clara University. She will need to know how many people will be participating in order to arrange adequate transportation, which will be provided by AT&T.
Stanford University: contact Teresa Janeway at Stanford University. She will need to know how many people will be participating in order to arrange adequate transportation, which will be provided by Diebold.