San Fran, CA Annual SF Fan Force picnic

In an effort to get better weather, it was decided to move the annual picnic to later in the year. Right now we are talking about the weekend of June 26 or 27. Let me know what date works for you and also any ideas for a possible location. If we want to be sure of warm weather we are probably looking at either south bay or east bay, or possibly marin. Let me know what you guys think.

 

I will always vote for East Bay, just because there is a better chance of me attending! Lake Elizabeth in Fremont is nice. As of now, the 26th and 27th are open for me.

 

So far, it looks like I may be available that weekend, but my schedule is always in flux. I'm OK with any park as long as it is warm. I don't know how warm Marin is since I'm not as familiar with it.

 

That's my birthday weekend and I'm normally in Fremont with family. If we do it at Lake Elizabeth (beautiful place!) then I can bring some food (whatever my Mom makes!!!)

 

The GGG picnic has been there the last couple of years. There's paddle boats and a water park!

Hopefully, my schedule will sync with the picnic. Is anyone making a reservation? If not, someone has to hold a spot early in the morning.

 

Should not be problem for me to go there shortly after work. I could scout out the area this weekend.

 

Thanks, Robert. Could you let us know what the area looks like? (Or for those who have already been there, could you provide a description?) For example, I'm curious about things like shade vs sun. Will the picnic area be shaded? Or is it very open? If the latter, we would want to plan to bring portable shade.

 

lots of sun, not enough shade. should bring umbrellas. easy parking. directions a little tricky. clean facilities and the paddle boats are sometimes free when kind strangers let you use theirs

 

There is some shade. The more shaded areas are the reserved ones. Of course that requires quite a bit of money. The first come first serve sites are usually only one table with a grill. Most of them are clean, although i saw a couple of rusted ones. we could bring an extra table of course if needed. Also there are a couple of tables that are near enough to each other that we may be able to claim both.

Two tables that are close to each other:
[image=http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b69/Harlock415/Misc/P1010649.jpg]

a single one:
[image=http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b69/Harlock415/Misc/P1010646.jpg]

 

Thanks for scouting, Robert! And thanks for the extra info, Sharon Rose. It's good to know that they have clean facilities. I see what you guys mean. If we go here, we'll definitely have to bring some shade for everyone. We don't want to turn into crispy lobsters. I believe that Eva has (two?) portable shade units. Maybe she could bring those? I might have access to a small shade umbrella... I'll have to see whether my parents still have it and if it's good shape.

Are there other options that people would like to consider, or have we settled on Fremont Central Park (Lake Elizabeth)? Looking at the map, I see a couple of other options for the East Bay, including (but not limited to):

- Lake Chabot (just east of San Leandro)
- Don Castro Regional Recreation Area (Castro Valley)
- Redwood Regional Park (just east of Oakland/Piedmont)
- Garin/Dry Creek Regional Parks (between Fremont and Hayward)
- Tilden Regional Park (northeast of Berkeley)

 

There's also Arlington Park in El Cerrito, easy access from El Cerrito Del Norte BART station via the #7 bus.

Will try to make it to the picnic where ever it is.

 

I could try to hit up a couple of these places in a few days.

 

Well, only if there is interest from people in these alternatives. If everyone would prefer to just go with the first suggestion, then I wouldn't want you to go out of your way. It's a big time investment to drive around to places and report back. I just wanted to make sure that everyone had a chance to give input and consider options.

 

Lake Chabot looks beautiful...

 

i love how gale is volunteering our mom's culinary skills lol

lake elizabeth is cool but lake chabot looks waaaaay better though i have never been there.
we can also do santa cruz or los gatos yeah?

 

I was at Lake Chabot once back when I was a teenager, but I can't remember much about it except for the weather being hot and swimming in the lagoon.

Sure, we could also consider Los Gatos or Santa Cruz. Vasona Lake in Los Gatos is very pretty. For Santa Cruz... were you picturing something at the beach? I love Santa Cruz, and the beach sounds like a fun option. Additionally, the Boardwalk is there if people wanted to catch some rides. But I should also caution that the weather can be hit or miss. Chances are it would be warm and sunny, but there are also some summer days when the fog comes in and keeps everything cool till around noonish, and it might come back in early evening.

I was under the impression that people wanted a somewhat more centralized location, though, in addition to something warm? Either way, I'm flexible. (As long as it's not freezing. )

 

As much as I love the Boardwalk, it is too far for most folks. I think the East Bay is the best choice compared to SF (weather wise).

 

Santa Cruz is too far for me, and last time I tried to picnic there the wind blew sand all over my food. I'm fine with Elizabeth or Chabot, have we settled on an official date/time yet?

 

I believe it it settling out to be the last weekend in June, but I don't think we've decided on Sat vs Sunday yet, nor a time.

We can always plan a separate group trip to the boardwalk this summer. That way we can socialize, cook and eat at the picnic, and have another day when we focus our time on going on lots of rides.

 

I gotta agree with the few other people that have posted regarding SC. While I like the place itself, its quite a ways to go for a few hours.

 

party poopers. kidding.
wherever it is, y'all need to decide soon and when it will be, so it can be calendared.

 

I am going to vote for Sunday June 27th. That saturday is a bit busy for me. I don't care about location but I agree that somewhere in the east bay would be best and most central for people.

 

I'm fine with Sunday. I guess let's have everyone sound off here their preference for day, and we can tally the result.

 

Sunday the 27th is good.

 

I will choose Sunday the 27th. Baring possible family things I may have to take care of.