Airports

There are three major airports that service the Bay Area. We highly recommend that you fly into Oakland International (OAK) if possible, as it is the closest to both Berkeley and Emeryville. Oakland is a Southwest Airlines hub, and is also serviced by Delta, United, JetBlue, and US Airways. San Francisco International (SFO) is the alternate airport. It would require a much longer trip to get to the East Bay (including crossing at least one bridge over San Francisco Bay), but it is often easier to find direct flights to SFO. It shouldn’t be necessary to consider San Jose International as flights to SFO or OAK should be available.

Oakland Airport is not serviced directly by BART (the local high speed rail, equivalent to Vancouver's SkyTrain or Atlanta's MARTA), but there are many ground transportation options listed on the Oakland International web site. SFO is close to the BART terminus, and also has many other ground transportation options to the East Bay.

Hotel Accommodations

We have secured a group rate for the Hilton Garden Inn located at 1800 Powell St in Emeryville, just off the freeway near the Emeryville Marina. Some of the rooms have a beautiful view of the Bay, all the way to the Golden Gate Bridge.

To book a room directly from their web site with the special rate, please click here. Or you can call them directly at (510) 658-9300; the group code is FFW, for the "Fisher/Fong Wedding".

Directions

To get to the hotel from San Francisco International Airport by car: take US-101 N into the city. You should see signs for I-80 E (also marked Bay Bridge or Oakland); follow them. You should end up on the lower deck of the Bay Bridge heading east. Welcome to Oakland! Soon after you get off the bridge, the highway will split twice; both times, you want to stay on I-80 E, which are the left most lanes - they are marked "Berkeley Sacramento". Once the highway splits the second time (after the three right lanes go off to 580), be in the right lane to take exit 9 for Powell St. At Powell, turn left and continue under I-80; you should be able to see the Hilton Garden Inn, which is the twelve story building on the right hand side.

To get to the hotel from Oakland International by car: you want to get onto I-880 N. You will leave the airport by Airport Road, follow the signs for I-880 - this will lead you onto 98th Ave. Follow 98th Ave and cross over the highway, the on-ramp for north traffic is on the right hand side. Once you are on 880, take it for 7.1 miles until you reach the I-980 E junction (the exit reads "980 to 24 Walnut Creek"). Take I-980 north for 2.4 miles; it will split here and continue as 24, whereas you want to be in the right two lanes getting onto 580 (the right lanes are marked "San Francisco/Hayward"). You should now be on 580 heading west, continue for 2.4 miles and take exit 9 for Powell St. At Powell, turn left and continue under I-80; you should be able to see the Hilton Garden Inn, which is the twelve story building on the right hand side.

Local Attractions

Shopping

There is a grocery/market close to the hotel. Head west on Powell Street and you will find Watergate Market at 2390 Powell St.

Bay Street is a large outdoor mall within walking distance of the hotel. It is on the other side of the freeway between Shellmound and Bay Street. Take Powell Street across the freeway, turn right at Christie Ave, and turn right again at Shellmound - you can’t miss the Bay Street complex. There is a cineplex, lots of parking, restaurants, and 65 shops. Website: baystreetemeryville.com

Need furniture? Further along on Shellmound Street is an Ikea. It is insanely busy on the weekend. The swedish meatballs are recommended.

If you head north to Berkeley, there is a trendy shopping district on Fourth Street with a mix of stores (fashion, home & garden, health & beauty, books, etc.) Take Frontage Road north and turn right on University Avenue. You will be crossing over the freeway. Turn left on 4th. Website: www.fourthstreet.com.

Food

There are several restaurants close by on the Emeryville marina. For casual Mexican food, there is a Chevys Fresh Mex at 1890 Powell St. The Hong Kong East Ocean Seafood restaurant is further along the Marina at 3199 Powell St. and has good (but somewhat pricey) dim sum. The view of the bay is great however. Trader Vic’s is at 9 Anchor Drive (go west along Powell almost to the end of the Marina, turn right on Anchor). Polynesian themed place (think Tiki bar) which claims to have invented the Mai Tai. The drinks here are pretty cool.

For more casual dining options, the aforementioned Bay Street shopping complex across the freeway in Emeryville has several smaller restaurants like California Pizza Kitchen and Asqew Grill, as well as two fuller service restaurants: the Elephant Bar and Restaurant, and P.F. Changs China Bistro. For even more quicker dining options, the Emery Bay Public Market is close by (the building complex is 5959 Shellmound - again, cross the freeway via Powell, turn left on Shellmound), and has lots of vendors with a more international flair.

There are also some restaurants close by in Berkeley. If you head north along Frontage Road and turn left on University Ave, you will be on the Berkeley Marina. You can find Skates On The Bay at 100 Seawall Dr, which is another place with a view of the bay and an emphasis on seafood. The aforementioned Fourth Street has several restaurants as well, including Café Rouge (check our their meat market!) and Eccolo.

Going further afield, there are several neighborhoods close by with good dining choices - we suggest looking up the Rockridge or Temescal neighborhoods on Yelp. If you like Mexican, we are big fans of Dona Tomas (5004 Telegraph Ave, Oakland) in the Temescal neighborhood.

If you really have your act together, there’s always Chez Panisse (of Alice Waters fame), at 1517 Shattuck in Berkeley. We’ve eaten there and it totally deserves its reputation. You'll need to make your reservation for the downstairs restaurant a month in advance, and they go fast (e.g. seatings probably book out exactly one month in advance).

There is a Denny’s on Powell across the freeway from the hotel if you’re looking for breakfast on Sunday. However, there are much better brunch options around if you go further afield. We like La Note, which is at 2377 Shattuck Ave in Berkeley - head along Ashby like you would if you were going to the church, but instead of turning left on College, turn left on Shattuck.

Attractions

Emeryville is just across the Bay from San Francisco. If you’re driving into the city, get onto I-80 West (which, confusingly, actually heads straight south at this point). Follow the signs for the Bay Bridge. The toll is $4 (only collected when going westbound, into the city; if you have at least three in a car and it's rush hour on a weekday, get all the left into the HOV lane and the toll is waived). When you get off the bridge you’re in downtown San Francisco. If you don’ feel like driving (and we don’t blame you, parking is a huge hassle in San Francisco), BART will take you across the bay for around five dollars. The closest BART station to Emeryville is Macarthur, and you can leave your car at the parking lot for the day, or get there by taking the free Emery Go-Round service that services Emeryville. Be careful: BART service ends a lot earlier than you might expect, so if you plan to be in the city past midnight you may end up stranded and needing to take a taxi home.

If you need ideas on what to do in San Francisco, the Official Visitors Site is probably useful. We’d recommend the Asian Art Museum or the infamous Alcatraz Island federal penitentiary. Julian’s favorite self-guided walking tour in the city involves taking the BART to downtown SF; checking out the shops near Union Square; walking through Chinatown, towards Coit Tower (careful, this is a bit of a climb!); looking out at the view of the bay from Coit Tower; then back down the other side of hill through North Beach, all the way to the waterfront and Fisherman's Wharf, before heading back downtown along the Embarcadero.

Pier 39 is a tourist trap and is best avoided unless you like kitsch. Actually, the sea lions on K dock would be worth a trip; unfortunately, they usually go south during the summer months and don’t come back until August. Just remember that even in June and July, it can be very cold in San Francisco - bring a jacket with you!

Weather

"The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco." - attributed to Mark Twain

We really aren’t kidding about the weather. While California is famous for its sunny weather, the fact that the summers can be chilly in Northern California is not widely known. We encourage you to check the weather forecast before your trip for any location you plan on visiting. For example, it is routine for there to be a 30 degree temperature difference between two locations only ten miles away! In fact, on July 4, 2003 (day after our first date), it was 110 F in Marin for a friend’s wedding, and 48 F that night in San Francisco for fireworks!

The 'normal' weather in June in Berkeley is about a high of 71 F and a low of 55 F. Please note that means you will at least need a jacket! It is not unusual to have a high temperature of only 55 F during June. In addition, while infrequent, we do have occasional heat waves where the temperature will approach 100 F.

The best way to pack for the Bay Area is to pack layers, and to check that forecast before you come. Please let us know if you have any questions when the time gets near.