Oakland, for non-Oaklanders

Hello there!  If you are reading this, you are likely one of our dear friends who is considering joining us on June 28.  If you are traveling from afar, we hope to persuade you that late June is a lovely time to see the Bay Area, and that flights are priced fairly reasonably these days.  If you are just coming from within the state, we may have parking tips for you.

A few items which we know at this point...

The wedding itself will be in Joachin Miller Park in Oakland, off of Skyline Boulevard in a gorgeous little redwood grove called Roberts Park.

The reception will be at the Oakland Metro, a big performance space near Jack London Square at 630 3rd Street 94607.  

The Oakland Metro is 4/5 of a mile from 12th and Broadway.  12th & Bway is the center of downtown Oakland, and also happens to be the location of the nearest BART station.  (BART = Bay Area Rapid Transit, our primary public transportation system in the East Bay.)

First things first, a few hotel recommendations for out-of-towners:

The Inn at Jack London Square is within a four-block walk of the Oakland Metro, and is beautiful.  We are working on getting a reduced group rate.  Online rates are in the $89-$199 range.

The Waterfront Hotel is a longer walk (seven blocks), but also very nice and in a similar price range.  The Waterfront has a great view of the bay from many of the rooms.

On the less pricey side is the Jack London Inn , which is also seven blocks away from the Metro.  It's right at the corner of Broadway and the Embarcadero, so it is smack-dab in the middle of Jack London Square.  You can get a room there starting at $59 if you use one of the major online booking sites (Hotels.com, Travelocity, Expedia).

There's a Marriott at the Oakland City Center right near the 12th Street BART station, which extends your walk to 13 blocks.  (These are fairly short blocks, so we're talking a 15- to 20-minute walk.)  It's a bit pricier, ranging from $160 to $240.

If you want to leave the vicinity of the Oakland Metro, there are plenty of other accommodation options, both in Oakland and in Berkeley and San Francisco.  A few:  the LaQuinta near Oakland Airport, the Imperial Inn in downtown Oakland, the Rose Garden Inn in Berkeley, the French Hotel in North Berkeley, the Phoenix in San Francisco's Tenderloin district (if you want the rock and roll experience), and the Clift in Union Square for the boutique, cosmopolitan SF style.

That's all for now, but email me (kevin AT griddlemusic DOT com) with any questions you may have, and we hope to see you in June.  Bring your guitar.