talk 573

Intending to keep you on the up-to-date development and issuing as often as necessary
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Welcome

The San Francisco Bay Area Lighters are cordially welcoming the following out-of-towners to join us for the fun events in conjunction with the annual San Francisco’s Albertsons Bay-to-Breakers:

1. S.S. & Kwai-Ling Lau (劉紹偉)
2. Arthur Ma (馬天航)
3. Ivan Choi (蔡業強)
4. Peter Tong (唐上元)
5. Desmond Wong (王以銘)
6. Barbara Tung (董逸華)
7. Bob Chen (陳澎)
8. Gina Mok & Stephen Cheng (莫燕秋)
9. Shirley Lam (林秀靈)
10. Louis Lee (李克敬)
11. May Mei (梅韻韶)
12. Theodore Hsieh (謝天詒)

In addition, we appreciate the following inactive S.F. Bay Area Lighters to rejoin us for this great gathering and enjoying with fun and friendship.

1. Kiu-Ying Seto & her husband Alfred Kwok (司徒翹英)
2. Lily Chan & her husband William Wong (陳莉莉)
3. Lay-Ming Chu (朱履明)

Program’s Events
May 12 (Wednesday) – A.M. To Monterey
P.M. Golf at Del Monte Golf Course
Lodging at Hyatt Regency
May 13 (Thursday) – Golf at Pacific Grove Municipal Golf Course
May 14 (Friday) – A.M. Tennis at Memorial Park, Cupertino
P.M. Picnic at Memorial Park, Cupertino
May 15 (Saturday) – Free day
Optional: A.M. Filoli Garden
P.M. Early Dinner at Walter & Amanda’s Garden
May 16 (Sunday) – A.M. Bay-to-Breakers Run/Walk in San Francisco
P.M. Party at Quality Suites, Millbrae
Dinner at Millbrae’s Restaurant and Party Continues
May 17 (Monday) – Wine Country Bus Trip

Program Changed
The Committee has agreed to delete the original, planned Tuesday’s (5/18) Monterey trip due to the following reasons:
(1) the responses have been low
(2) some of the non-golfer also going with the player to Monterey on the first two days.
Thus, if you are interested in visiting this beautiful Monterey area, please go with the group on Wednesday (5/12) and Thursday (5/13). We will be staying at the Hyatt Regency Hotel for US$99 (senior citizen ½ price rate) per night – good deal discovered by Jai Yee.

Money
Since Man-Duen Chan, the treasurer, is being on vacation these two weeks. As soon as he is back and the check’s payable name is determined, we will (on nexr issue news) let you know where to mail the money to. We are collecting the cost of two events if you have signed up for it:
(1) $40 each person for the dinner and party – we are forced to increase the amount from our original estimated figure of $30 because of the restaurant we have chosen has a better presentation, food and environment. We hope you understand the situation.
(2) $68 each person for the wine country bus trip.

Cellular Phone Numbers
Write down these numbers on a small piece of paper for help during our event days:
Ben: (650) 520-4279
Danny: (408) 569-2806
Chung-Wo (408) 910-2768
Tony: (650) 270-9511
Patrick: (408) 888-7980
Jai-Lum: (925) 285-0502

Hotel Rooms
Action!…Action!…Action!
If you need room. Please book directly with the hotel by calling 1-888-547-2001 and give him/her our group name – “Lighters Bay-to-Breakers”. The group price is $79/night (cut-off date 4/30) regardless of Weekend or weekday’s staying. The hotel is very close to the San Francisco International Airport and is called:
Millbrae Quality Suites (aka: Quality Suites – SFO)
250 El Camino Real
Millbrae, CA 94030
Tel: (650) 259-0400
Fax: (650) 692-5511
Web: www.SFOQualitySuites.com
Account Manager: Ms. Julia Grinberg
If you are having problem in doing this, please call Ben at (650) 573-6367 and he will assist you in getting the room reserved.

Golf at Monterey (5/12)
Tee-Time at Del Monte Golf Course, next to Hyatt Regency where we stay, will be at noon.
Danny will reserve the Pacific Grove Municipal Golf Course later – the earliest is 7 days before the tee-off day.

Tennis (5/14 A.M.)
A-Chai said, “Let’s be there at 9 a.m.” For those who will be at Quality Suites, please try to leave by 8 a.m. because it is still in the commute hours.
There will be two cars leaving for the tennis court from the hotel:
Car #1 - Peter Tong (driver) with Bob Chen and Desmond Wang
Car #2 - Tony Kwok (driver) with S.S. and Kwai-Ling, and pick up Ivan on the way (I280) in San Mateo.

Picnic (5/14 P.M.)
As Danny has said, “The amount of people picking this event is beyond my expectation and it will be fun.” As a result, we have set up an ad-hoc committee just to take care of this outdoor eating, games and fellowship. Kim-Sik has set-up his 12 course lunch menu and will present his gourmet dishes to us one more time. Last count was 25 people.
On Thursday, April 8, the weekly Lighters’ coffee hour was held at this park and an area has been picked by 7 of committee members.

Saturday’s Options (5/15)

Action!…Action!…Action!
May 15 was intended to be a free day, especially for those who come from places other than this area and be able to spend their precious time with friends and relatives. However, we do have some options for you if you are really free from anything. Thanks for Walter and Amanda’s generosity, we will have a afternoon dinner gathering (details need to be determined) at their expensive real estate in Palo Alto. Also, we can have a tour at the most beautiful Filoli Garden in Woodside before then. Would you be interested? If yes, please contact Chung-Wo for the Filoli Garden tour and Walter for the lunch at his garden.
For the Filoli Garden trip, we will leave the Quality Suites (if you take residence there) at 9:30 a.m. and shall meet the rest of us at the “Visitors Center” at 10:00 a.m. The garden is located at 86 Canada Road, Woodside, CA 94062 – 30 miles south of San Francisco. We failed to book the seats on the staff guided tour; thus, we will be on a more leisurely self-guided tour

Registration for Run/Walk (5/16)
Action!…Action!…Action!
Your official registration with the “Albertsons Bay-to-Breakers” can be done online by logging in at www.baytobreakers.com and click to “Registration” at the top. You can save money by signing up before April 15 for $29.50; afterward, it will be $34.50 or $40.00 depending on how close to May 16. If you need help, please contact Chung-Wo Chiu at (408) 910-2768 and he promises to get it done for you one way or the others.

Lighter T-Shirts
Action!…Action!…Action!
Tony has completed the design of a “Lighter T-Shirt” for the Bay-to-Breakers run/walk and can be seen at “www.geocities.com/lighterpc/talk565.html”. Please order yours (www.tonykwok@aol.com) from him and state your size and quantity as soon as you can. Remember the “Lighter Watch” during the reunion at Hong Kong, this T-shirt can be another hard-to-find item later on.

Equipping Yourselves
Here are the 16 items which Walter has suggested:
1. Carry a S.F. Bay-to-Breakers route map and mark down the water stops.
2. Carry a cell phone.
3. Carry the phone numbers of S.F. cab companies.
4. Carry the address of the drop-off place outside the polo field.
5. Carry a camera.
6. Carry $50 cash with dollar bills for muni bus ride or taxis.
7. Mark the location for group picture inside the polo field, where you pick up your T-shirt.
8. Carry a bottle of water
9. Wear sun glass
10. Wear sun screen
11. Wear casual and easily putting-on-off clothing that can be tied around our waist.
12. Carry phone number of our friends in S.F.
13. Carry a Fanny Pack for all of these items
14. Carry an energy bar, just in case.
15. Mark to location of rest rooms at gas stations on the route map.
16. Have a small towel to wipe your sweet.

Park Free at BART
As of Monday (4/5), BART riders will be able to park free ($1 daily fee is charged now) at Millbrae, South San Francisco and San Bruno stations. Good news for us!

Where We Meet at the Foot Race?
Before the walk ….. please meet at curbside in front of 388 Market Street, San Francisco at 7:30 a.m.
If you are taking the BART train, please get off at the Embarcadero Station and take the “Market and Davis” street exit. As you get on to the street level, you will be at 388 Market Street.
For those staying at the Quality Suites in Millbrae, we shall meet at the lobby and depart from the hotel for BART station at 6:30 a.m. sharp. The train ticket is $3.55 each way. It is important that you carry small bills and coins.
During the walk ….. if you decide, for any reason, to quit during the walk, there are only two ways you can do: 1) go home on your own method and meet us at the party in the afternoon or 2) take a taxi to the end of the walk and wait for our arrival and enjoy the fresh breeze from the Pacific Ocean.
After the walk ….. we can meet right after the “Finish Line”. Those who can still walk will then go to the “Footstock” area to pick up the Albertsons Bay to Breaks T-shirt. Those who have enough walking can then process 3 blocks to take the light-rail “N” line on Judas Street. This “N” line will take you back to the following BART stations: Civic Center, Powell, and Embarcadero in downtown. There is a small Chinese restaurant (Wong Kok Restaurant, 4300 Judah Street @ 48th. Avenue, 415-753-2760) just a few steps from the “N” line starting point. We shall meet there for lunch before heading back to Millbrae.

Party
3:30 p.m. is the time to start our party after the runner/walker has his/her shower. There will be wine, beer, soft drink, coffee, tea, bottle water as well as appetizer, munchie, etc. Karaoke is also on the agenda. If it is not enough, we can continue right after the dinner and the door closes at mid-night.
The location will be at the conference room on the 3rd. floor of Quality Suites.

Dinner
The committee has decided to have our gala dinner at Seafood Harbor Restaurant, across the street from Quality Suites, at 279 El Camino Real, Millbrae, CA 94030. A private room for up to 5 tables has been reserved. Dinner will be served at 7:30 p.m. Here are the dishes:

* Barbecued Combination Plate (燒味大拼盤)
* Crispy Fried Milk with Crystal Prawns (脆奶沙律蝦球)
* Sauteed Fresh Squid and Scallops w/Sugar Peas (密豆花枝帶子)
* Conpoy with Crabmeat Soup (蟹肉瑤柱羹)
* Roasted Chicken (一品吊燒雞)
* Vegetable with Bamboo Pith (竹笙扒菜膽)
* Baked Crab in Supreme Broth (上湯焗大蟹)
* Deep Fried Catfish (油浸大魽魚)
* Combination Fried Rice (揚州炒飯)
* Dessert of the Day (精美甜品)

Wine Country Trip (5/17)
We are planning to leave from the Quality Suites at 7:30 in the early morning. We will visit two wineries. Target is to return to hotel at Millbrae by 5:30 p.m. Due to the time constraint, the abalone lunch has been deleted from the itinerary. This will allow us to spend more time at the wineries and Muir Woods. The cost of the trip is thus reduced to $68.
The bus tour will also stop at Muir Woods National Monument for an hour to have a quick walk of the loop trail.

The Latest Numbers
We have had 28 classmates (with or without the family) signing up so far and 40 people will be at the dinner & party. Wonderful!