Merge pull request #168 from bangbangcon/venue

Venue information

index.md

@@ -11,6 +11,10 @@ what will you do now???? ?? ? ? ? ??
 
 <p style="text-align: center;">
   **Quick Links:**
+  [Venue](venue.html)
+  &middot;
+  [Give a Talk](give-a-talk.html)
+  &middot;
   [Program](program.html)
   &middot;
   [Speakers](speakers.html)
@@ -33,7 +37,7 @@ joyous, exciting, and surprising moments in computing.
 
 ## Save the Dates!
 
-!!Con 2024 will be held on the weekend of August 24-25 in Santa Cruz, California, United States!
+!!Con 2024 will be held on the weekend of August 24-25, [in the courtyard of the Baskin School of Engineering at UC Santa Cruz](venue.html), in Santa Cruz, California, United States! 
 
 It will also be livestreamed!
 

venue.md

@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+---
+layout: default-2024
+title: Sponsorship - !!Con 2024
+---
+
+# Venue
+
+!!Con 2024 will be held *outdoors* (!!), on August 24th and 25th, in the courtyard of the [Baskin School of Engineering](https://engineering.ucsc.edu/), on the campus of [UC Santa Cruz](https://www.ucsc.edu/), in sunny and scenic Santa Cruz, California, USA.  Santa Cruz is a joy of coastal California redwoods, about an hour’s drive from the bustle of Silicon Valley.
+
+## Courtyard
+
+It will be hot and sunny outside!  We strongly recommend bringing your own refillable water bottle (we'll have water available at the venue, too), sunscreen, sunglasses, and possibly an umbrella or a small personal fan.
+
+The courtyard itself will be sunny.  If you need to take a break from the heat, there are shady areas surrounding the courtyard, and a shady redwood forest is a two-minute walk away.
+
+Here are some pictures of the courtyard. Imagine the stage (from which speakers will present) set up against the building on the right, against the bike racks, and lots of chairs in the middle.
+
+![Image of the courtyard. It's sunny. To the right are bike racks.](images/2024-venue-photos/PXL_20240702_182906624.PANO-small.jpg)
+
+![Image of the courtyard from the balcony. The balcony has chairs and half sun cover.](images/2024-venue-photos/PXL_20240702_183057816.PANO-small.jpg)
+
+## Getting to Santa Cruz
+
+### By car from the Bay Area
+
+* The best way to get to Santa Cruz from most of the Peninsula is by way of CA-17,
+which takes you from CA-85 through the Santa Cruz mountains into the city.
+* Please make sure you leave sufficiently early, as CA-17 gets heavy traffic southbound on weekends.
+* Another option, if coming from San Francisco, is to drive down by way of
+Half Moon Bay on CA-1, which would take about an hour and a half without traffic.
+* On rainy days, CA-17 can present adverse conditions, including car crashes
+and mudslides, sometimes even leading to closure of the highway and long delays. We don't anticipate rain (it's very rare at this time of year), but even so, please make sure to drive carefully and check the local news for transit conditions.
+
+### By air
+
+The best options for getting in and out of the Bay Area by air are either
+through San Francisco (SFO), or through San Jose (SJC).  There are tradeoffs
+for each; there are more flights in and out of SFO, but SJC is about half an
+hour to an hour closer to Santa Cruz. Both airports have shuttle options to
+Santa Cruz, if you don’t wish to rent a car.
+
+### By other alternatives including public transit
+
+Santa Cruz is somewhat remote and the public transit options are limited,
+but getting there without driving or flying is possible! 
+
+The [Highway 17 Express](https://www.scmtd.com/en/routes/202440/17/we_ib) bus runs between Santa Cruz and San Jose Diridon Station.  San Jose Diridon Station is the nearest Amtrak/Caltrain station to Santa Cruz.