Outside Activities
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The Club Car 2015 Convention Committee has worked hard setting up the different tours and activities for your enjoyment during the convention. Check the News & Updates page periodically for updates.
You MUST be registered for the Convention to go on any tours listed below. If not already registered, please go to the Registration page to register for the Convention. You may add available tours to your registration and pay for everything all at once on our secure shopping cart by PayPal. A PayPal account is not needed to use your credit card.
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Tour
Thursday, May 14, 8:00 AM – CLOSED 4/25
The half-day tour will involve presentations and demonstrations on the history of the Lab and overviews of current programs. A highlight of the trip will be a tour through the National Ignition Facility (operational constraints permitting), the world’s largest laser used for research into high energy density physics (HEDP), material properties in pressure and temperature realms previously unattainable, and the development of fusion energy. This is a major national facility for investigating the basics of matter. You will view some exciting state-of-the-art research programs and facilities up close.
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Founded in 1952 as a second nuclear weapons lab, LLNL has grown into a multi-program facility that includes stewardship of the nation’s nuclear stockpile, advanced conventional weapons, biotechnology for medicine and counter terrorism, energy development, high energy density physics (HEDP), and new age facilities needed to perform research in all areas.
This tour MUST be purchased in advance by April 24, 2015. Non-U.S. citizens must purchase their tickets by April 1, 2015. (See Note #2 below). Tickets for this tour will NOT be sold at the Convention. (See Note #3 below)
NOTES & ADVISORIES:
- This tour involves extensive walking and standing for 3½ hours. For your comfort and safety, please wear flat-sole, closed-toe and closed-heel shoes
- Due to the nature of the facility, you will need to fill out a brief security form at least two weeks in advance, by April 29, 2015, to have the form reviewed.
Price: SALES CLOSED.
If you have signed up for this tour, your LLNL Tour Request Form (Click here for PDF version) for pre-clearance into the Lab MUST be submitted by WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, or you may be denied admittance!
Send your form directly to Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Do not send them to anyone on the convention committee.
VTA & BART Extension Tour
Thursday, May 14, 1:00 - 5:30 PM
This half-day bus tour of Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) light rail facilities and future Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) routes. The tour will follow the route of the Warm Springs BART construction and get acquainted with its planned integration with VTA light rail. We will visit one of the rail shops. This tour will not leave the Convention Hotel before the Lawrence Livermore Lab tour returns.
Price: $25.00
If registered, order tickets on the Company Store page. If not registered, go to the Registration page to register for the Convention before ordering these tours. You may pay for your registration and the tour at the same time.
Back to QwikLinksSpeeder Rides in the Canyon
Friday, May 15, 10:00 AM, 11:00 AM, 1:00 PM, and 2:00 PM – If you have never been on a Speeder Ride in the Canyon, you are truly missing something special. For those who don’t know what a speeder is, it’s a small gasoline engine powered “car” that runs on rails. Riding one is an absolute blast!
For an idea of what it's like to ride in a speeder, click here.
The group that owns the speeders takes them all over the place. It’s kinda like a motorcycle gang on rails. (Okay, we’re joking, but you got the idea.) Enough speeder owners have volunteered their speeder so that we can have 15 people for each time slot.
The rides are Friday, May 15, at 10:00 AM, 11:00 AM, 1:00 PM, and 2:00 PM, starting at the Niles Canyon Railway Niles Station, running through historic and scenic Niles Canyon to Brightside and back. Transportation between the Hotel and Niles will be the responsibility of the participants. (We used carpools in 2013.)
NOTES & ADVISORIES:
- Deadline to buy tickets is Friday, May 1, 2015, after which remaining seats will be sold to the general public by the speeder club.
- Riders must wear long pants and closed shoes, preferably not tennis shoes.
- Riders will also be required to sign two legal releases, one for the speeder club and one for the Niles Canyon Railway.
Price: $25.00 (limit 15 seats per tour) First come, first served!
To purchase tickets, go to the "Company Store" page.
If not registered, please go to the "Registration" page to register for the Convention. Speeder ride tickets may also be purchased when registering.
Back to QwikLinksSPCRR - Railroad Museum Car Barn & Equipment Tour at Ardenwood Regional Park
(Society for the Preservation of Carter Railroad Resources)
Saturday, May 16, 10:00 AM - Noon
Ride the narrow gauge train from the Arden Station at the park entrance to Deer Park, then continue on to the Car Barn and a tour of the SPCRR Railroad Museum and equipment restorations. Purchase your tour tickets here, from the Convention website. Tour guests should be at the Ardenwood Station entrance office by 10:00 AM, to ensure making the 10:15 AM train departure. There is ample parking at the Ardenwood Station.
Car Barn Tour guests will also need to purchase their own ticket at the gate to get into the Ardenwood Regional Park ($3.00 for adults and seniors).
Train conductors will call out asking for those boarding the train who have tickets for the Car Barn Tour. Pending space availability, passengers on the train that are not going on the Car Barn Tour will depart the train at Deer Park. SPCRR will most likely be running a three car train that day since is it a Rail Adventure day at Ardenwood.
The SPCRR, Society for the Preservation of Carter Railroad Resources, is a non-profit 501(c) corporation operating the Railroad Museum at Ardenwood Historic Farm Regional Park, 34600 Ardenwood Boulevard in Fremont, is close to the original Carter Brothers shops in Newark. The Railroad Museum restores equipment representative of those bygone days. The collection contains over 17 wooden cars from the 1870s and 1920s. Most of the cars were built by the Carter Brothers in Newark or the West Side Lumber Company.
They are actively restoring 3 cars and have 7 cars in service. Operations are on 1½ miles of track in Ardenwood recreating the original SPCRR's Centerville Branch running through farm fields and eucalyptus groves. Restoration efforts are occasionally performed in front of the park visitors using hand tools and 19th century techniques. Typically, on special event days, costumed brakemen and drivers operate the branch railroad while telling stories.
Price: $5.00. Plus $3.00 admission to the park, paid at the gate.
Deadline to buy tickets is Friday, May 15, 2015.
Transportation between the Convention Hotel and Ardenwood will be the responsibility of the participants.
If registered, order tickets on the Company Store page. If not registered, go to the Registration page to register for the Convention before ordering these tours. You may pay for your registration and the tour at the same time.
Back to QwikLinksAnother Nearby Prototype Tour
For something different, try the self-guided driving tour of Newark. See the companion webpage Newark – A Railroad Town from the Beginning for turn-by-turn directions of Newark's history and the narrow-gauge South Pacific Coast Railroad. The instructions may be printed out and taken with you to enhance the tour and get you back to the Convention Hotel. This tour may be done anytime, even before or after the convention! No tickets needed.
Back to QwikLinksYou MUST be registered for the Convention to go on any of the paid tours. If not already registered, please go to the Registration page to register for the Convention. You may add available tours when you register.
Not registered yet?
Then go to the Registration page and climb on board The Club Car 2015!
Outside Activities Chairman
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