Letter to Participants of AVI 2002 Conference

Contact Information

Phone numbers:

1 (831) 425-5620 - Nilauro at AVIUSA office
1 (408) 670-0648 - Nilauro's Cell/Mobile for Fri 19 - Tue 23 ONLY
1 (866) 2-HELP-AV, or 1 (866) 243-5728 - FREE from anywhere within USA. Use if calling from a payphone.
1 (831) 234-2789 - Constance's Mobile for Transport issues
1 (408) 803-0928 - Chandresh's Mobile if no-one else is available

AVIUSA Office physical location:

AVIUSA c/o Talisman, 719 Swift St. #5, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
email: info@aviusa.org
fax: 1 (831) 425-7829

What to Bring - Checklist

  • Good, bright flashlight VERY IMPORTANT - the trails to your cabins are hard to see at night
  • Sweater or light jacket, and layered clothing - expect sudden climate changes, bring shorts too
  • Good hiking shoes and socks - prevent poison oak rashes that last 3 weeks
  • Loose clothing - for yoga/stretch, Festive Clothing - for Sat night's Moroccan music performance.
  • Bathing suit - if you want to swim in the ocean or local swimming holes
  • Shampoo - Not provided at conference center
  • Alarm clock - you don't want to miss stuff!
  • Sunscreen lotion - especially for Monday's excursions
  • Laptop - if you'd like to help us take notes during the sessions
  • An open mind - last but not least

Other preparations

  • VISAS/PASSPORTS: Please make sure that your passport is valid, and that you have a valid visa for the United States. If you think you can get the visa upon arrival, double check with the USA Consulate in your country.
  • EMAIL: If you are bringing a laptop with email capability, look for the local access numbers based on these: Ben Lomond (831) 336-XXXX or Santa Cruz (831) 425-XXXX. We will have a phone line you can use to check your email. We'll also have a computer set up for others without a laptop to check their email.
  • TEMPORARY EMAIL ADDRESS: If you would like us to set up a yourname@aviusa.org email address for the duration of the conference, please let us know.
  • SMOKING: During this season, the fire danger is HIGH, and smoking is ONLY permitted on the porches by the meeting halls. Absolutely not allowed in the cabins.
  • PETS: are not allowed at the Conference Center

Excursion Options for Monday

For those of you still there on Monday (55 people), we will have 6 hours to break off into groups and explore certain aspects of California. Please look at the following list, and start thinking of what you would like to do. If considering the Monterey Bay Aquarium, reserve your spot by replying soon.

Options:

Big Basin To Waddell Beach Walk: Gently downhill 6 Mi (9.5 km) hike through several ecosystems from Redwoods to the Ocean. More information, including elevation map, topo map, and turn-by turn directions (going the wrong way), can be found at: http://www.bayinsider.com/recreation/guides/hiking/hikes_big_basin.html. If you have a fast computer and Quicktime installed, you can check out some virtual reality shots at: http://www.virtualparks.org/scenes/ZAzDNHE5Ce9as-nptYYBzog.html

Henry Cowell State Park And Natural Bridge State Beach By Van Or Car: For those who want to see the Giant Sequoias and the beach, but don't feel ready for a long hike, this is for you.
More information on Henry-Cowell can be found at: http://sports.yahoo.com/parks/locs/ca/casphencowellredsp.html, or, if you have a fast internet connection and Quicktime, check out the 360degree Virtual Reality at http://www.virtualparks.org/parks/hcrsp-qtvr-map.html.
More information on Natural Bridges can be found at: http://sports.yahoo.com/parks/locs/ca/caspnatbrib.html, or, for virutal reality: http://www.virtualparks.org/scenes/ZA1TcWjYvFCi6wZ_TvgD2oA.html

Monterey Bay Aquarium: Because Auroville's ideals are fully in line with those of the Monterey Bay Aquarium, we have been invited for a FREE guided tour by two of its most qualified guides. The maximum for this tour is 30 people, so sign up now if interested. The drive is 1-2 hours each way, depending on traffic (hopefully we'll all fit in the two 12-passenger vans).
Part of a review of the Aquarium on e-Pinions says:
"Monterey Bay Aquarium is built on Monterey's Historic Cannery Row. The Monterey Bay Aquarium actually recreates the bay's habitats, the deep blue sea to the tidal pools. The aquarium features many permanent exhibits and several special exhibits. A very interesting remark made, that held a tremendous amount of truth is that we know more about the surface of the Moon than we do about the mysteries of the deep. Many displays at the Monterey Bay Aquarium are on display for the very first time ever. If you love the ocean, and marine life as much as I do, then you must see this remarkable place." - more reviews from e-Pinions at:
http://www.epinions.com/trvl-Family_Travel-Zoos-All-Monterey_Bay_Aquarium
The Monterey Bay Aquarium's website is at: http://www.mbayaq.org/

Stay At Sequoia Seminar Center: Play horse-shoes, volleyball (if enough people are there), or just relax under the sun or the Sequoias, read a book, or whatever.

List of Participants

For a list of participants, check your email. For privacy reasons, we cannot include that information here.

Airport pickups/dropoffs

We are only organizing transport to the conference center for certain people. Each of the people we are planning to pick up has received an email from us.

If you think you are being picked up from the airport, and have not yet received an email from Constance, please contact him IMMEDIATELY at cnstnce@cruzio.com.

Driving Directions

Do not arrive at Sequoia Seminar before 6:00 pm - you will be turned away.

If you have not received an email from Constance, we are assuming you are finding your own way to the Sequoia Seminar conference center.

For directions with a map, enter your starting address on the main AVI 2002 page.

Sequoia Seminar
11445 Alba Rd
Ben Lomond, CA 95005
(831) 336-5060

Sequoia Seminar is located near Ben Lomond (California State Highway #9) about ten miles north of Santa Cruz. Coming from the north, Highway #880 becomes #17 in San Jose (at #280 intersection). Turn off Highway #17 at the Mt. Hermon Rd exit and turn right onto Mt. Hermon Rd. This is the second Scotts Valley Exit. Follow Mt. Hermon Rd through Scotts Valley and on to Felton. You will come to a "T" intersection with a stop light which will direct you to the right for Highway #9 and Ben Lomond. Make this right turn and at the next intersection/stop light turn right again onto Highway #9. It is about three miles to Ben Lomond. Go through Ben Lomond, cross the bridge at the northwestern edge of town, and turn left onto Alba Road (after the Econo Lodge and the gray Quaker Center sign). Proceed up the hill, turning left into Sequoia Seminar at the entrance sign. If further directions are needed call Sequoia Seminar at (831) 336-5060.

Presenter Guidelines

In General, we would like to have interactive discussions. Presenters should use 1/3 of their slot to present the current situation, and use the remaining 2/3 for questions/answers and discussion. For 1.5 hour sessions, this means presenters should use 30-40 minutes max for their presentation, and the remaining 50-60 minutes for discussion. Some sessions are 1:10h long, so 20-30 minutes should be used for presentation, and 30-40 minutes for discussion. We will write an individual letter to each presenter.