The first major update, which will be repeated throughout this message, on Facebook, and everywhere else I can think of, is that we are running special holiday weekend days and times:

1. SATURDAY MAY 29TH AND SUNDAY MAY 30TH: 7:00PM – 1:00AM
2. 7:00 shuttle leaves Blind Lady stop headed south at 7:00
3. 7:10 shuttle leaves Alchemy headed north at 7:10
4. Service will end at Blind Lady (1:06AM) and Alchemy (1:02AM), please plan accordingly

We make this change to help support 30th on 30th, that great neighborhood event during which many of our best restaurants and bars offer great specials to encourage you to get out and enjoy yourselves and experience our community. Heaven Sent Desserts has already started whetting your appetites with this.  We are also doing it because that was a very strong night for us last month and who doesn’t love a strong night?

Our second major update is a quick recap of this week’s specials:

$4 wells/$4 drafts at Station Tavern

Late night happy hour (10-1) at Alchemy

$1 off everything at Blue Foot

$5 off your first drink at Bourbon Street

NOTE: We would love to have rider specials around food, art, or other entertainment, so if you have friends with businesses, please encourage them to consider joining in.  We want to promote the arts and music and all our great food, but we need help to do it.  Maybe any one of the several artists or art schools we have promoted for free will read this and decide to offer some sort of discount to help get people out who enjoy art.  I tried to get a busker to hop on board and give us an acoustic jam, but haven’t heard back.  If you play and want to get on one of our shuttles to have a little fun (and you are good, of course) please let us know.  I think it would be cool to hop on and have some random episode of unplugged going on in the back of the bus. am I alone on this?

Third update – Art Around Adams is on the way!  We’ll hopefully have some information about this event on the shuttle this weekend.  This will be a great way to support local artists and music, have some fun, and see what’s going on in Normal Heights.  I hear there will be, well, art of course.  But also music, food, and lots of fun to be had by all.

Fourth update – In the yard for a week…

We need time to update our website, encourage businesses to sign on, replace our janky signs that are falling apart and get a few more administrative items squared away.  And we might even give ourselves a three-day vacation.  Thanks for your understanding, this will help us get going for the core summer weeks (we are in discussion for some of the areas big summer weekends and want to be ready).

Fifth update – An untold history

Well, it’s not really untold, it’s just that lots of people haven’t heard it.  We started the Park-2-Park Shuttle with an eye towards respecting the rich history of our neighborhoods.  An important part of that history–and San Diego’s history–is the struggle for equal treatment within San Diego’s Gay community. So on the weekend of June 25th and 26th–a couple days before the anniversary of the events at the Stonewall Inn and a major event in the history of Gay rights–we’ll be running a special on board DVD and working with businesses to support telling this part of our shared history in San Diego.  I am reaching out to friends to try and represent things properly and also we hope to have a few local public figures stepping in for Erin and I to provide a sense of the story we can’t tell.  The shuttle will still be about our neighbors, and great food and drink and music and culture, but on that weekend it will also be about another part of our history.

If you happen to still be reading and like little puzzles and riddles and free stuff, I’ve got something that might be cool, here’s what you do:

1.  Take the first two words of the original streetcar company to cross Switzer Canyon; add

2.  The number of tables in the room at Ritual Tavern with the owners wedding picture; and

3.  The artist who designed Alchemy’s tree; and

4.  A photo of you and at least one other person inside ANY of our participant businesses.

Bring the information to either Erin or I on the shuttle and the winner gets breakfast on us!  Note: You cannot use the Internet for numbers 2-4 (we will verify).  Thanks for riding the Park-2-Park Shuttle, we look forward to seeing you this weekend.

The Apes of Wrath were playing down at Whistle Stop.  I had never heard of them (yes, I live in a cave), but we must have taken 30 people down to the show and they all had great things to say.  People came from Normal Heights, North Park and University Heights, and it all worked smoothly.

One guy said he was shocked at how we arrived literally on the button for timing every time he went to get on the shuttle.  This makes us feel great because we know how important the convenience factor is.  We will continue to make being on time, friendliness, and comfort the hallmarks of The Park-2-Park Shuttle.  If you ride tonight we will show you what we mean.

I had a lengthy conversation with a group of riders who were convinced that our biggest market would be the super-hammered, loud drunks and college crowd. SORRY, NOT US.  The market in our communities (and neighbors) is plenty big enough for us to focus our marketing energies on people who respect what North Park, South Park, University Heights and Normal Heights are about.  We are happy to help take people who shouldn’t be driving off the street.  But we also like to help people get to art shows (like the one at La Purga Studio tonight–thanks to SD Urban for the info) and just go out for a nice meal. *Hopping down off soapbox*

We want to offer great service for Cine Cucina next weekend, and 30th on 30th the following weekend, and provide great summer options to help people have a great time and be socially and environmentally responsible.  But to get us over the hump we want to encourage folks to come out and ride tonight (here’s that link to buy a pass online again).

By the way, here are a few things going on tonight:

At LeStat’s: Banding together benefit.

At Queen Bee’s: Sight and Sound.

At South Park Bar & Grill: Live Blues Jam Session.

And even if all you want to do is go out without losing your parking spot, ride with us and we’ll make your night fun and easy.

This one is really simple.

If you like the Park-2-Park Shuttle, please tell every business you visit in North Park, South Park, University Heights or Normal Heights these three things:

1) You rode it and loved it.

2) Supporting the Park-2-Park Shuttle through advertising/promotion is cheaper than buying a business card-sized ad.

3) We drop people off within 200 feet of most businesses…and if they serve food or drink Erin and I (the hosts on the shuttle) have tried it.

And then tell them you really hope they’ll promote with the Park-2-Park Shuttle!

We are at two businesses right now–Alchemy and Blind Lady.  This is great and we love both of them.  We loved them before they were helping us/promoting with us, but we are even more appreciative of them now.  They both support biking, local business, and are run by very cool people.  This month we are trying to add 8 more businesses to the list.  If we can succeed, and more of you ride, we will be around for the summer.  If not, our experiment in fun, local, unique transport may not make it long enough for us to implement all of our kick-a%* ideas for the summer (and we have a lot of very awesome summer ideas involving street tacos, pool parties, live acoustic shows on board…the list goes on).

So, with that, your charge, should you choose to accept it, is to remember the next time you go into Blue Foot or Mosaic or Vagabond, or Parkhouse or Pizza Gourmet or The Linkery or El Camino or Smoking Goat or Urban Solace or Toronado, or wherever you normally go, these three things, and tell.the.owners:

1) You rode The Park-2-Park Shuttle and loved it (or you are getting on this week to come to their place).

2) Supporting the Park-2-Park Shuttle through advertising/promotion is cheaper than buying a business card-sized ad.

3) We drop people off within 200 feet of most businesses and if they serve food or drink Erin and I have tried it.

And then tell them you really hope they’ll promote with the Park-2-Park Shuttle!  Thanks for your help and support.

But you didn’t come here for my random musings, soooo…ON TO THE SPECIALS! (drum roll please…)

NOTE: All specials valid ONLY with Park-2-Park rider pass (wristband)

1) Alchemy (Shuttle Stop A in South Park): 10:00pm – 1:00am $3/drafts; $3/wells; $2 off wine by the glass

This stylish and relaxed restaurant serves up fresh, local fare and great drinks during the late-night happy hour.

2)  Splash Wine Lounge (2 blocks east of Shuttle Stop D on University): $5 Tasting card when you purchase a $20 card

Sample wines from all over the world without spending a ton and enjoy the relaxed ambiance.

3) Bourbon Street (Shuttle Stop H):  $5 off your first drink (must show your wristband to security when you enter)

If you don’t spend much time in University Heights, here’s a great reason to explore.

4) Mosaic Wine Bar (Shuttle Stop C): $5 for a 5-wine tasting

This is a fun place in North Park to start your night out, take in some art in their gallery, and still have an easy time hopping back on the shuttle for more fun.

5)  Station Tavern (Shuttle Stop B): $4 draft beer and $4 well drinks

The owner works magic all over the area and this converted streetcar station is no exception.  If you come on the early side the outdoor area has a train play area for the little ones.

6) Velo Cult (Shuttle Stop B):  15% off a bike light purchase

We like bikes and bike safety, and so we’d love if you went to this bike shop in South Park and picked up a bike light.

7) U-31 (3 blocks east of Shuttle Stop D):  15% off your total bill & NO COVER ($5 value – good for the D.J. lovers among us)

Please note: If you know a place that you wish offered a special for Park-2-Park riders, let the managers or owners know, we want to help you get the most value and try the most places. We don’t have anyone offering discounts on apps or deserts (or meals, for that matter), though hopefully that will change.  We’d also love to see some of the art and live music places in the area get in the mix, so please spread the word.

Also, we are working on a little plan for the weekend of the 22nd that should make it pretty fun to be out and about.  Stay tuned for details.  On another front, we are going to have a couple disposable cameras laying around tomorrow and Saturday.  Kind of like at some wedding receptions, only no one’s uncle is getting too drunk (hopefully) and dancing like Elaine from Seinfeld.  Hahahahahaha!  For those still reading, there’s a pretty cool couple of events coming up in the next few weeks.  First, on May 16th, the Festival of the Arts returns to North Park.  Then, the weekend of May 22nd, before you hop on the Park-2-Park have a stroll around Cine Cucina–an open air market, film festival, and cool food event centered in North Park.  And stay tuned for a great event coming up on June 19th in South Park when the Old House Fair returns! If you know of something cool happening somewhere else in one of our communities, please post about it or email or tell us on the shuttle.  We want to promote all of our neighborhoods, these just happen to be events on the top of my mind. (By the way, if anyone wants to help me figure out why wordpress won’t insert my daggone photos any more I would be super thrilled and in your debt.  I click on the insert icon and it just doesn’t work. alas)

I almost forgot, we are also working to resolve a few of your concerns:  We will have a printable version of the map and timetable available soon.  We have a stop on the north side of Adams just west of 30th Street.  You will not hear the B-52s a third week in a row.  And our new handouts make it explicit which are the last stops to get on if you want to go from one side of the route to the other.  If you’ve read this far, and want to text when you are out tonight to find out where the nearest shuttle is, you can send a text to 619-565-6456. Just put where you are (example: Linkery headed to Alchemy or Ritual NB).  We are good about staying on time, but sometimes it’s just good to know.  Also, you can always ask me or Erin to find out where the other bus is, and we will help coordinate getting you on that one (if you want to get from Lei Lounge to Normal Heights, you can usually hop off at Filter, cross the street, and then save a few minutes by getting on the other bus headed to BLAH).

Once again we met a ton of interesting people and everyone seemed to enjoy the night.  I’d love to hear where people went, how they liked it, which foods were good and not so good, and just other interesting stories.  We also always want to hear what we can do differently and how we can improve. I’m going to go try and sneak in a couple more hours sleep before the day gets going, hope to see you again later today.

A group of friends who were out enjoying themselves on our launch weekend

Seriously, it was a great start to what Erin and I hope will be a new, fun, easy way to explore the neighborhoods.  We talked to people who started in Normal Heights, went to University Heights, and ended up in South Park.  And people who went to house parties, home from work, and to the Roots Fest on Adams.  I can’t tell you how many times I jumped off the shuttle at The Station in South Park to give a few folks enjoying a beer and a burger some information about the huge bus that just pulled up.  It was fun…and exhausting.  Here’s a shot of the Park-2-Park while we were waiting to pick people up near the Blind Lady stop in Normal Heights:

The Park-2-Park Shuttle in action

These photos were all taken with my iPhone, so I’m hoping that some of our guests who were out with their friends will read this, take pity on my poor camera, and send in some of your own photos!  We got so many great suggestions about different things we can do to improve the experience, we are evaluating them all.  Maybe we’ll do some quirky contest for the most odd-ball suggestion.  Lots of people asked about bike racks (sorry, that could be awhile) and wheelchair access (coming VERY soon).

I heard that everyone enjoyed getting to know Erin (my wife, for those who haven’t met her yet).  This is understandable because she is after all quite awesome.  We had a few children hop on board (with their parents, of course), lots of people “discover” new places they hadn’t tried before like Alchemy and Jayne’s Gastropub, and just seemed that everyone had a really solid time:

This could be you for Dining Out or 30th on 30th!

We were happy to see a Burlingame contingent, a Lafayette entourage, even got some groups from Ocean Beach who joined us at the spur of the moment and seemed to have a really good time down at Hamilton’s.

This weekend, you probably have heard that we are doing 2-for-1 rider passes for all passes bought on 4/29 in support of Dining Out for Life.  The more you spend and the more places you go, the more you will do to help prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS and support those in need right here in San Diego.  The LGBT Center does incredible things for San Diegans and they need your help.

A couple things to note for this weekend:

1)  We want to see ALL of you on the shuttle!  Come have some fun and help us prove this is a great new service that people really want.  Your support will make this possible.

2)  Buy your passes online!  It’s easy, fast, and then all you have to do is hop on.  Also, we don’t have a distribution at Rebecca’s in South Park this week.

3)  30th on 30th is always packed, please use the Parking Garage and make it easy, remember, the driver rides FREE (just show us your parking ticket when you board and we’ll stamp it and give you a wristband)

4)  Be sure to show off your wristbands wherever you go.  It will help us improve our service if more people and more businesses know that you got to their businesses on the Park-2-Park Shuttle.

That’s it for today.  Please post your comments and photos and we look forward to seeing you soon!  Oh, one last thing.  A very active local volunteer community group in North Park is having its Annual Board Elections tomorrow at the North Park Theatre.  If you ever wanted to get involved in helping make a community feel like a community, here’s a great chance.  RSVP to Dan (dtandon@northparksd.org).  Pizzeria Luigi’s on El Cajon is providing some pizza, there’ll be great information about the free Bird Park Summer Concerts, and good times to be had.  Plus you can become a member and run for a seat on the Board of Directors.  Visit www.northparksd.org for more information about the North Park Community Association.

I wrote yesterday asking for mercy about my signs.  I must say, I underestimated a bit how long it would take to put the signs together.  Then there was the fun little brain teaser trying to reverse order them in my trunk so I could put them out on the route in the order I’d be driving (aside: this turned out to be a wasted exercise for reasons I’ll explain later). Not to worry, though, as I’d planned out the day and given myself plenty of time to get everything done on schedule.  I had it nailed down, was feeling good about the progress…and then the rain came.  REALLY?!?  I’d decided to meet my print vendor down at the yard to put the signage on the shuttles at 4:00 p.m.  Me being the, ahem, particular type that I am, I showed up at about quarter till, rain dropping on my windshield, wondering if this would compromise the operation.  Well, uh, yeah, it kinda did.  Being the troopers we are (not to be confused with this Troop), we muddled through the rain drops to get the signage mounted.  One slight problem, though, I was supposed to be meeting my friend and inaugural Rider Enjoyment Team partner back in North Park to put out the signs and ride the route.  Alas.

I raced (at the speed limit, I say) back up to North Park, took a detour through South Park to place the first few signs, and then was trying to explain to my amazing sister-in-law and good friend what I needed them to do while making our way from my house to the parking garage for the departure.  One of my goals was to have the initial departure out and on time…but it was 5:48 and I needed to load stuff in the car.  Fortunately, all of those trips to Urban Solace, The Linkery, and West Coast paid off because I know the exact right path for every possible time of day and driving or riding condition between my house and their restaurants.  We get to the parking lot, put everything into the shuttles, and get my friend off and going on route number one north.  6:03.  Damn.  So close.  I managed to pull the second shuttle out of the lot at 6:10 on the dot!  Woo-hoo, we were partially on time.  Oh, and by “I”, what I mean is Thomas the former MTS bus driver and all around nice guy who I got to know over the next several hours.

During the course of the night, I met reporters, couples, friends, a sous chef, and folks just out to enjoy themselves and not drive.  The first night was a bit slower than I’d hoped, but we did get to work some kinks out and I met people who were really happy and glad to see this service running, so it felt great.  Some people purchased their passes at Pigment across from the Parking Garage. Others down at Grant’s Marketplace in South Park near Alchemy.  A few purchased online, too, which is still the easiest way to do it. One guy had the Paypal confirmation on his phone, which would be great if people did that because it will save paper and make things very simple.  All in all, a good first day’s run.  I realized I need to bring food or a granola bar or something, and water.  Last night I was able to scarf down some rolled tacos and horchata, but that is super unhealthy as a nightly meal and the next day or so will require some care.

We launch service at 6:00 (northbound) and 6:10 (southbound) today and will go through the weekend.  Want to know where and what time you can get on AND where to use your rider pass (wristband) for discounts?  Here’s a schedule:

Here’s another copy of the map.  This one has arrows to help you see the direction of travel (counterclockwise) and where to wait at any given shuttle stop:

This map wil help you know where to board and where things are

Here’s what the shuttles look like, but honestly they should be hard to miss:

The easiest way to buy your pass is online direct from our site.  You can buy it from your phone while you are finishing dinner if you haven’t thought about it, then just bring the confirmation email on your phone directly to the shuttle and we’ll get you a wristband.  If you want to read a couple other useful posts, I recommend: Very important information (which has the clues to getting passes to Festival of Beers) and Times and Discounts (which is probably self explanatory). This is the end of the “official” blog information for today.  Everything below this is just me musing a little bit and isn’t essential to enjoying the ride…

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If you are still reading, you won’t mind that I am now going to use words like janky and write about pulling my hair out (which will be funny if you ride on the shuttle I’m on).  Speaking of jankyness–wait, are you supposed to drop the “y” and add an “i”, any English majors out there)–anyway, so I picked up the signs yesterday which my rock star designer Felicia delivered on flawlessly and then brought them home to put around the stands I have on loan.  I got the stands from local Realtor Mary McT, who seems to be everywhere in North Park selling homes.  Terri and Isaias of Blast Print, my printing vendors, have been awesome, so I was feeling pretty good.  Then I get home and it turns out the signs don’t fit exactly around the stands.  All this to say, please be gentle when commenting about my janky signs.

On another front, I am so grateful for the handful of businesses who have been really supportive.  I know that they are making a business decision, but I also think they are supporting our effort to create something good in our neighborhoods.  No, I’m not going to start singing kumbayah or anything, but we are really appreciative for living and investing in such a great group of communities.  This is especially true of the South Park Business Group.  I am certain South Park is going to continue to flourish because of their efforts.  There has also been lots of support from the gang on 30th Street, which crosses several communities in the area.  Okay, lots of work to do between now and 6:00 p.m., so I need to get to it.  Have a great day…and please buy a pass online and come join us tonight.

Here are the specifics about the Festival of Beers expanded service…

When: 5/1 – 12:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Pick-up locations: North Park Parking Garage (29th and University) – every 20 minutes (12:00, 12:20, 12:40, etc.) and Alchemy Restaurant (1503 30th Street) – every 30 minutes (12:00, 12:30, 1:00, etc)

Drop-off location (only one): Live Wire (2103 El Cajon Blvd)

Cost: $5 for a round trip pass

The easiest way to purchase a rider pass is on our main page.  You may also pick a daily pass up any day of the week at Grant’s or Rebecca’s in South Park, Zensei, Lefty’s or Filter in North Park, the Lafayette Hotel in University Heights/North Park, or Lestat’s in Normal Heights.  Please see the map on our website for addresses of each location.  If you have any additional questions, they may be answered in our Very Important Information post or on our site.  And you can always email me at info@sdpark2park.com.

Note: This promotion is only available if you parked in the Parking Garage.

Step 1: Park in the parking garage

Step 2: If you have had too much to drink, leave your car in the Parking Garage over night and take a Taxi home (e.g. Orange Cab, Yellow Cab, Johnny Cab, etc.)

Step 3: Bring back a receipt, signed and dated by the taxi driver the next time you ride, and we’ll buy you breakfast.*  The easiest way for us to verify your receipt is for you to ask the Taxi driver to write the phone number also.

*This is a while supplies last offer.  We have made lots of arrangements, but if all of San Diego County comes to the Parking Garage to ride the shuttle and consume adult beverages, we’ll run out.

This DUI prevention promotion is made possible because we are working with a few local restaurants, and by a few, I mean two–The Big Kitchen and Alchemy.  Yes, they are both in South Park, but that isn’t a bias of ours (though South Park is pretty freakin’ cool, in my opinion).  We offered the same deal to a few other places in the other communities, these just happen to be the two who were willing to participate.  If you have a local favorite that isn’t on the list, please encourage them to get in touch with us.

The goal here is to encourage a responsible choice, please remember our Mutual Respect Policy and have consideration for others around you.  Also, if for some reason you choose to park in a residential neighborhood, please use your inside voice when going back to your car.  If you’ve ever spent a couple hours getting a child to sleep, you’ll relate to how much you want to keep them that way.

So those are the basics.  We launch Thursday, the 22nd, and buying your pass online from our main page will make life easy.  Just print the confirmation and bring it with you right to the shuttle when you board and we’ll get you squared away.  Also, if you plan to check out Roots Fest on Adams, remember the Alchemy/Roots Fest Brunch Deal: 2 brunch entrees, 2 drinks, 2 all-day rider passes for $32.  You can purchase this deal online or from the restaurant.  Plus the shuttle is running express from Alchemy to Roots Fest all day on Saturday and Sunday.