1960

In Conde Nast's annual surveys, San Francisco has consistently shown up at or near the top of favored travel destinations throughout the world. So we are lucky indeed that as a class we will celebrate our collective 60th birthday in what is often called by Californians "The City."

The party will be April 23-26, 1998, and it has already been the subject of meticulous planning by a committee headed by Dick Foley and Hap Dunning. Other class members have been important participants.

A more detailed version, complete with prices, will be circulated by mail to the class, but this is a once-over-lightly. The only price I will mention here is that WaltFreedman has obtained a commitment from the elite Stanford Court Hotel atop Nob Hill for rooms at $160 a night. There will be a hospitality suite there, and other rooms for lesser rates will be available at the University Club and the Queen Anne.

Even before San Francisco is reached, there will be optional precursors.

Gary Vandeweghe is arranging for a golf outing at various scenic Monterey Peninsula courses. There are more than a dozen.

Alex von Summer has had the idea of a five- or six-day caravan of cars/vans/motorhomes, mostly rented from Albuquerque to Las Vegas (600 miles) the week before. Possible stops include Monument Valley, Canyon de Chelly, the Hopi mesas, the Grand Canyon, and Zion National Park. If you are interested or have suggestions, please Jet Alex know by writing to him at 19 Pilot Rock Lane, Riverside, CT 06878.

The main event will begin Thursday night, April 23, with a performance of Beach Blanket Babylon, described by Dick as "a zany, uniquely San Francisco musical review which could well be the highlight of the entire weekend." A dinner at a North Beach restaurant may immediately precede.

All events will be optional, but few will want to miss Friday in the wine country of the nearby Napa Valley. BruceHasenkamp has arranged for luxury buses, visits to wineries, lunch, and the day culminating in a "very special" catered dinner in the caves of the Clos Pegase winery.

Saturday will be a recovery day with everyone on their own until dinner. But those who desire may go to lunch at Hap's favorite dim sum restaurant in one of those superb but little-known San Francisco neighborhoods away from the tourist districts.

Then a four-hour dinner cruise on the elegant three-deck, 150-foot San FranciscoSpirit yacht on San Francisco Bay, with a cash bar and a great band, and Alcatraz and the Golden State distinctly in the foreground.

Sunday Dick Gale is planning to head up a picnic on Angel Island, now a national park, with many opportunities to tour historic buildings and hike to the top.

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