Annual Asilomar Conference - February 16-19, 2007. See details below

---

Stanford Mansion Tour - Saturday, March 3, 2007
website http://www.stanfordmansion.org/

One of the truly historic sites of California history is located in the former home of Leland and Jane Stanford. As a result of the efforts of a foundation, formed to restore the home as it was in the 1860's and 1870's, we now have an opportunity to experience the home as the Stanfords knew it in their lifetime. Interactive exhibits, artifacts and an orientation film are part of the visitors' legacy. One may observe many of the original furnishings of the Stanfords, the polished wood paneling, gilded mirrors, and crystal chandeliers. Visitors are also welcome to stroll through the Victorian Garden surrounding the Mansion.

Date: Saturday, March 3, 2007 Time: 1:00 PM
Deadline: February 21, 2007, Maximum number 50 Minimum number 10
Price: $15.00 Checks should be made payable to PBK NCA

Directions: Take I-80 east until reaching the Pioneer Bridge which crosses the Sacramento River. Take I-5 N exit toward Redding, and look for the Q Street exit. Take the latter exit, and continue all the way on Q Street until you reach Eighth Street. The Mansion is located on the corner of Eighth and N Street. For directions from your home, see Google Maps.

Location: 800 N Street, at the corner of Eighth and N Streets, in downtown Sacramento, two blocks west of the State Capitol. Enter through the gate on N Street, Follow the brick path to the Visitors Center at the rear of the property.
Parking on Saturday is said to be readily available, since State employees are not competing for parking on weekends.

---

On Saturday, March 31, The Phi Beta Kappa Society will be officially installing the new Pacific (Chi of California) chapter in Stockton.

The Installation will take place at 3:30 pm in Stockton on the University of the Pacific campus in the Faye Spanos Concert Hall. Professor Gregg Camfield will give the keynote address, “The Liberal Arts as Whack-a-Mole.”

The Installation will be followed by a reception at 5:00 in the Reynold’s Gallery, which is displaying Gregory Kondos, “Mount Olympus to the Pacific Rim.”

To help mark the occasion, the Pacific Humanities Center will be showing two films:
"Bob Roberts" on Thursday night (March 29) and "Almost Fiction" on Friday and Saturday nights (March 30-31).
Both show at 8:00 pm in the Pacific Theatre. Admission is $3 for faculty and staff, $5 for the general public.

We also wish to call attention to Pacific Opera Theater’s presentation of "L’incoronazione di Poppea" by Claudio Monteverdi, March 30, 8:00 pm, Long Theater, $15 adults, $8 students, $5 seniors. Tickets can be purchased through Pacific's box office or at the door.

Make it a long weekend of celebrating Pacific’s accomplishment!

For more information, email

---

RAILROAD MUSEUM TOUR IN OLD SACRAMENTO - Friday, April 20, 2007

All Aboard for the Railroad Museum! History buffs, and non-history buffs, you're all welcome! Come visit one of the renowned Museums in all of California, the California State Railroad Museum in Old Sacramento. Even those of you who have never experienced the fun of traveling on a Pullman car as a youngster, hauled by a steam locomotive chugging away, punctuated by the lonesome and haunting warning of the train as it approached automobile intersections, you'll love this visit to California's and America's past. With the advent of the transcontinental railroad, following the Gold Rush, the trials and tribulations of crossing the continent in a covered wagon became a thing of the past. The transcontinental railroad project took place largely during President Lincoln's administration, but the event was clearly overshadowed by the Civil War. (Lincoln, himself, had been an attorney for the Illinois Central Railroad).

The construction of the railroad was accompanied by many collateral events, including the importation of Chinese workers who played a vital and valuable road in its construction, the development of locomotives powerful enough to scale the mountain ranges of the great west, and the culmination of the joining of the two railroads, the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific, with the driving of the Golden Spike at Promontory, Utah in 1869. (The Golden Spike National Historic Site is now part of the National Park Service).

Our tour begins with a movie, followed by a tour of the exhibits. The great locomotives of the past have been lovingly restored. Special features are the Pullman dining car and the Pullman sleeping car. Don't miss this tour!

Date: Friday, April 20 Time: 11 :00 AM Meeting Place: Lobby of the Railroad Museum, across from the Parking Lot, in Old Sacramento. The public parking garages located at either end of Old Sacramento are recommended over the on-street sites, which are limited to 90 minutes.
Directions: Directions are available here.

Another website is here

Minimum Number: 10 Maximum Number 50 Fee: $ 20.00

---

PBKNCA Annual Meeting and Awards Dinner - Sunday, May 6, 2007

Join the PBK NCA Board in celebrating this year’s accomplishments in the charming setting and collegial atmosphere of the UC Berkeley Faculty Club. Take this opportunity to renew old acquaintances and meet and be inspired by the dedication and achievements of our scholarship and teaching excellence award winners.

Social hour begins at 4 p.m. and dinner will be served at about 5 p.m. Choose between salmon, roast prime rib of beef, or vegetarian. No-host bar during social hour but dinner will include house wine, coffee or tea, plus salad and dessert in addition to your pre-selected entrée which comes with rice or potatoes and seasonal vegetables. You will note that there has been a slight fee increase this year, necessitated by our increased cost. Remember that the fee includes not only dinner but also wine, parking and gratuity.

Date: Sunday, May 6, 2007
Time: 4 – 8 pm
Deadline: Sunday, April 8, 2007
Price: $55.00 (includes parking)
Directions: The Faculty Club is on the campus of UC Berkeley (University Avenue exit off I-80). About a week before the dinner, registrants will be mailed a “Faculty Club notecard” that will include driving directions and a foldout campus map with parking instructions.

---

Chinatown Walking Tour, Saturday May 19, 2007

On the web at SFGate

What could be more San Franciscan than its Chinatown, the largest enclave of its kind outside of Asia? Come join us for a walking tour, led by a City Guide expert. We will visit the side streets and alleys of this colorful section of the City.

Learn about the family associations, the sewing shops, and other community organizations. Visit the live markets with their chickens and turtles, and the produce markets; view the famous Chinatown Gate, and check into some of the art galleries. Inquire of your guide regarding the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory, and such fascinating Chinese style buildings as the Bank of America and the Bank of Canton.  Explore the shops offering a multitude of Chinese products. Check into the wide variety of Churches, and the better restaurants. City Guides are very well informed and welcome questions.

Date: May 19, 2007
Time: 11 AM
Place of assembly: Portsmouth Square (Washington and Kearny) upper level at flagpole near the elevators.
Minimum Number: 10
Maximum Number 25
Fee: $ 20.00 per person
Deadline for Registration: May 4, 2007

Directions:
Traveling by Bart, get off at Embarcadero and either walk two short blocks via Drumm and Sacramento streets to the junction of Sacramento and Davis. Take a California 1 Bus to Portsmouth Square. Fares: Regular $1.50, Senior $0.50. Exact change needed.

By car, from the North, take 101 into the City where 101 becomes confluent with Van Ness, turn left into Clay Street and go up to Kearny. Portsmouth Square is at the junction of Clay and Kearny. Parking garages are available.

From the South, take 101 North to Van Ness, turn right on Clay and head toward Portsmouth Square at Kearny.

---

Nob Hill Walking Tour - Saturday, June 23, 2007

Come join our expert City Guide, and fellow Phi Bete, Paul Cooney, on a tour of San Francisco’s legendary site, Nob Hill. Famous hotels are to be found here, including the luxurious Huntington, the Fairmont, the Mark Hopkins, and the Stanford Court. Learn about the background of the men behind these institutions who amassed the wealth that enabled them to build these magnificent facilities. Other features include a great cathedral, the Pacific Club, and many other points of interest. Paul is a walking encyclopedia on the subject of San Francisco. He assures me that most of the walk is on a level surface, although it does involve one moderate grade. We will meet in front of the entrance to the Stanford Court Hotel. The hotel is on the corner of Powell and California, and the address is 905 California Street.

Directions:
By car, from the north, take 101 South which runs along Lombard Street, continue on 101 by turning right into Van Ness; turn left on California Street. The hotel is on the corner of Powell and California, and the address is 905 California Street.

From the south, take 101 North to Van Ness, turn right on California, and follow the above directions from that point.
On-street parking is very difficult. There are several parking garages in the area. If one drives up Sacramento, a one way street, from Powell, one will note a public garage on the right hand side, very close to Mason. There is also a garage near the Huntington Hotel, the Crocker Garage. If you are feeling unusually lucky and must park on the street, take lots of quarters.

Coming from the East Bay on Bart, one could disembark at Embarcadero station, take the Drumm Street exit, and walk over to the intersection between Drumm and Davis, and catch a California 1 Muni which goes to Sacramento and Taylor. Taylor is just one block from Mason. Fares on the Muni system are $ 1.50 for adults under 65; 50 cents for seniors. Exact fare is required. Although one could take a Cable Car to Nob Hill, the fare is five dollars, and on Saturdays, the cable cars are crowded with tourists.

Date: Saturday, June 23, 2007
Time: 11:00 AM-Please be on time for all walking tours. Don’t be left behind !
Deadline: May 23, 2007
Minimum number: 10; maximum number: 20.
Fee: $ 20.00 per person
Meeting Place: Front Entrance to Stanford Court Hotel, 905 California, on the corner of Powell and California

---

Tour of the Audubon Canyon Ranch: The Bolinas Lagoon Preserve, Saturday, July 7, 2007

Click here for enlarged view. From SFgate.

The Bolinas Lagoon Preserve is a thousand acre sanctuary located on the lower portion of the Marin peninsula, above Stinson Beach. It consists of open hillsides, coastal scrub, grassland and chaparral, redwoods, stream ponds and freshwater march habitats. The Preserve supports a major nesting ground for herons and egrets, particularly the Great Blue Heroin and the Great and Snowy Egret. The Preserve is a part of the Audubon Canyon Ranch, founded in 1962 to save the nesting colony of egrets and herons. These beautiful birds nest each spring in the tops of tall redwood trees in Picher Canyon. In the nearby Lagoon and tidelands, they find food for their young and themselves. All sorts of wildlife in addition to the herons and egrets abound in the area. Although eight miles of hiking trails are available, facilities are also available for the less ambulatory among us. There are picnic tables; bring your brown bag lunch with you, and your camera and binoculars. It’s an opportunity to enjoy a charming area of our state; don’t miss it! Website: http://www.egret.org/bolinas_lagoon.html

Date: Saturday, July 7, 2007
Time: 11:00 AM
Deadline: June 23, 2007
Fee: $ 10.00

Location: Approximately 20 miles north of San Francisco

Directions: From the south and north:

Take Highway 101 north from San Francisco or south from San Rafael to the Sir Francis Drake Boulevard exit. Follow Sir Francis Drake Boulevard Northwest for about 21 miles to Olema. Turn left (south) on Highway 1, and follow for about 10 miles to Bolinas Lagoon. Preserve will be on the left approximately 1 mile further.

Minimum: 15
Maximum: +-25

Note: For some information about hiking in the Bolinas Lagoon, see http://www.bahiker.com/northbayhikes/audubon.html

---

Tour of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory September 7, 2007

Come visit a world famous scientific and historic landmark, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The Berkeley Lab is the home of the first cyclotron, invented by the Laboratory’s founding father and UC Berkeley’s first Nobel Laureate, Ernest O. Lawrence. Discover how the Laboratory, founded in the depths of the great depression, initially in a small wooden building, went on “from typewriter to cyclotron” to win a total of eleven Nobel prizes for its distinguished and brilliant staff. High on the hill overlooking the UC Berkeley campus (the view of the Bay is great), the Laboratory is the oldest of the US Department of Energy’s laboratories. Its annual budget exceeds $ 500 million dollars, and it employs 3,800 persons, including over 500 students. It is organized into a multitude of scientific disciplines. Next best to visiting the Lab in person, the full extent of its scope may be appreciated by pulling up its website at www.lbl.gov. One of California’s most innovative and prestigious scientific institutions, it is well worth a visit  A two hour guided tour of the Berkeley  Laboratory has been arranged for us on Friday, September 7. We are to meet in downtown Berkeley and transported by bus  as a group to the Laboratory.

A map of the site, as well as directions, may be found at http://www.lbl.gov/Workplace/Transportation.html

Date: Friday, September 7, 2007
Time: 10 AM  Please be prompt!
 Fee: $ 10.00
 Deadline: August 24, 2007

Meeting site: Corner of Center and Shattuck Streets, downtown Berkeley, adjacent to the Wells-Fargo Bank building at 2144 Shattuck.

Directions and Parking: If feasible, take Bart to the Downtown Berkeley station. The Wells-Fargo Bank building is a very short walking distance from the station.
If coming by car, bring lots of quarters to feed the parking meters. An alternate option is the public parking lot on Center Street, a short distance from Shattuck.
From the north, take US 101 South to the Richmond Bridge via I-580 East. Exit at University Avenue. Turn right on Shattuck.  The Wells Fargo main Building is at 2144 Shattuck, corner of Center Street and Shattuck.
From the Peninsula, take US 101 and cross Bay Bridge. Take the Berkeley exit,
enter I-80 North and take the University Avenue exit. As noted above, turn right on Shattuck. From the south, Take I-880 N and merge into I-580 W/I-80 E. Take university Avenue exit..

Minimum: 15
Maximum: 20