The 29th Pacific Coast Gravity Meeting will be held at the University of California at Davis on March 29-30, 2013. The conference will cover all aspects of classical and quantum gravity, both theory and experiment. In keeping with tradition, the style will be very open and informal, with the aim of fostering communication among gravitational physicists with varied backgrounds. Students and postdocs are especially encouraged to give short, introductory talks about their research. As a regional meeting, the PCGM normally draws most of its participants from western North America, but all are welcome.
An extensive list of places to eat can be found in the Davis Wiki. A shorter list of restaurants recommended by conference organizers is here. For lunches, some places very near campus are Raja's, Pho King, Hoa Viet, Ciocolat, Burgers and Brew, and a variety of other restaurants on 3rd Street between A and D. (Unfortunately, because of Spring Break, campus food services will be closed.)
The 29th PCGM will begin at 9:00 am, March 29 in the Roessler 66 lecture hall, UC Davis. (See Program for details.) Refreshments will be served at the breaks during the meeting.
We have booked a block of 40 rooms at the Best Western University Lodge for the conference, for arrival March 28 and departure March 30. The hotel is within easy walking distance of the conference venue. To obtain conference rates (about $90 a night), make your reservations before March 14 (phone 530-756-7890) and mention the Pacific Gravity Conference.
A second block of 35 rooms has been reserved at the Hallmark Inn, also an easy walk to the conference site, also for arrival March 28 and departure March 30. To obtain conference rates ($109-$119 per night), make your reservations by February 28 (phone 530-753-3600 or 800-753-0035) and mention the Pacific Coast Gravity Conference. You can find a more complete list of hotels near the campus here. Some of the hotels farther from campus may be slightly less expensive.Davis is located in California's Central Valley, about 15 miles west of Sacramento. You can get here by Air, Train, or Car.
Downtown Davis and the UC Davis campus are small enough that you should be able to walk wherever you need to go. Here is a useful walking map, which will give you directions from the two conference hotels. While getting to campus is easy, finding Roessler Hall might be a little harder. Here is a campus map, and this will take you to Roessler on the map. (Dial the size one notch smaller and you should see downtown Davis at the top right.)
Air:The nearest airport, Sacramento International Airport (SMF), is about 25 miles from downtown Davis. Airport transportation includes the Davis Airporter (800-565-5153; reservations needed 36 hours in advance) and the SuperShuttle (kiosk at the airport, sometimes long waits). Taxi fare is about $70.
Train:Davis is on the Capitol Corridor train line, connecting to the San Francisco Bay area and San Jose. Trains run about 15 times per day. The Amtrak California Zephyr and Coastal Starlight trains each run through Davis once a day, but the run may be quite late.
Car:Davis is located on I-80, near the junction with I-5 in Sacramento. For directions to the Physics Department, see the visitor map.