Never been to San Diego before? Here are some helpful things for you to remember:

The airport is about 5 minutes from the Gaslamp district and convention facilities. Cab fare will be under $10 or you can always take an airport shuttle (Blue Cloud shuttle I believe) for about $6.
Getting around is easy and the trolley can quickly get you to Qualcomm Stadium, Pacific Beach, or other popular destinations. Bicycle cabs are also very useful if you need to get off your feet.

Pack light. If you’re a shorts and sandals person that will be fine at the conference and you’ll blend in nicely with thousands of other fellow geographers! The weather is always 72 degrees and sunny in San Diego so you may not even need a coat or sweater.. And don’t even think about bringing an umbrella, it never rains in SD! Business casula is fine while at the conference sessions or, go in shorts, a t-shirt, and sandals and blend in with the GIS techs!
 
If you like The Padres you can catch games Tues-Thurs VS the Cardinals, then the Reds are in town through Sunday - See http://www.padres.com/

Are you an NFL fan? Sorry but the Chargers don't start pre-season until August - see http://www.chargers.com/

Need a wireless web connection? The convention center always has Wi-Fi access and the Marriott (and most other major hotels) provide pretty reliable service to all rooms. There’s also a Kinkos with excellent hours about 6 blocks from the Marriott (next to Horton Plaza)

If you need a fast lunch or want a fun gathering place for a couple of cold ones after a long day, check out Dick's last resort... the abuse is worth it! The Rockin BAja lobster is also pretty decent for a cheap, fast lunch.

Things you must see and do at the User Conference

New this year, Sunday evening social to celebrate 25 years of user conferences.

Keynote presentation: On Monday the tone for the week is set by Jack Dangermond’s presentation of the year in review and the road ahead. The day is packed with product announcements, user demonstrations, customer spotlights, award presentations, and special guest speakers. This year we will be treated to a keynote from Dr. Jane Goodall, Founder, the Jane Goodall Institute UN Messenger of Peace. Expect about 10,000 people in the room and don’t worry about sitting up front, every seat has a view thanks to large screen video projectors. My favorite part of the day is the customer spotlights, map and webmap examples, and the low-down on product announcements from Dangermond’s executive staff and project leads. Monday July 25, 8:30 AM

After a lengthy keynote session Monday evening is reserved for the Map Gallery and opening evening reception. If you’ve ever wondered where all the great maps that get published in the very cool ESRI Mapbook come from its right here! In addition to the map gallery, you can also check out the multi-media demonstrations and software application fair as well. This is a cool chance to meet the developers of some very cool applications and customized ESRI products. Monday July 25, 5:30 – 9:00 PM

Energetic? The 5K Fun Run/Walk is always a big hit although I'm ususally sleeping when it takes place! Wednesday, July 27, 6:45 a.m. Cost is $25. Haev you signed up yet? IF not forget it, the deadline is July 1!

Canada Night… Join Alex Miller and crew from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, July 26th in Room 6F, San Diego Convention Center for the annual 'Canada Night in San Diego'. There will be a short presentation to welcome attendees and introduce ESRI Canada staff at the conference, followed by refreshments.

Wednesday night is usually popular for vendor-hosted parties - plan on staying out late this night if you get a few invites! Wednesday is typically family night on the exhibition hall floor so if you plan on bringing the family this is the night to let them meet the exhibitors and fill their goodie bags with some nifty stuff!

Thursday will feature special achievement awards and of course, the Thursday evening party in Embarcadero Park – this year’s theme “The Heart Of Africa” – the best part of the night… the food, the ESRI house band - Gridlock, and the fireworks. Chances are you’ll also see Jack and Laura on the dance floor and some special guests will likely grab the mike as well! Bring the whole family!

This list is by no means comprehensive, however, it gives you a small taste of what to expect. Finally, to plan your week I suggest you browse the long list of papers and sessions and be sure to try and plan your schedule before you get there. With more than 1,000 papers being presented, no doubt you’ll likely want to be in 3 places at one time so developing an agenda is important – See the agenda buildeer at http://events.esri.com/uc/2005/infoweb/index.cfm?tab=onlineagenda - note the handy industry/topic categories including a couple of new ones: Emergency response, and homeland security.

Getting to town early?

The Third Annual Survey and GIS Summit, is taking place July 23-26, bridges the gap between surveying, engineering, and GIS practitioners.

The Sixth Annual ESRI Telecommunications and Location-Based Services Summit, held on July 24, is an opportunity to examine best practices as well as trends in technology, applications, and business models.

The Fifth annual Education User Conference (EdUC) will be held at the Marriott Hotel & Marina in San Diego, California, July 23–26, 2005.

Suggested Weblinks:

• http://www.esri.com/events/uc/
• http://campus.esri.com/campus/seminars/index.cfm
• http://www.esri.com/events/survey/index.html
• http://www.esri.com/events/telecom/index.html 
• http://www.sandiego.org/
• http://www.janegoodall.org/

We'd love to hook-up with you at the show. If you'd like to meet with a rep from GISuser.com or The American Surveyor Magazine, be sure to drop us an email or look for us on the floor.

Images:

Glenn's GISuser 2004 ESRI User Conference Image Gallery

View of San Diego convention center and surrounding area (Source: Google Earth)

Here's a few other useful perspective views:

• Restaurants
• Bars & clubs
• Coffee