Concord, California - This East Bay city of Northern
California's San Francisco Bay Area is located 29 miles east of San
Francisco, adjacent to beautiful Mt. Diablo.
The largest city in Contra
Costa County enjoys warm, dry summers and cooler winters with temperatures
seldom dipping under 35 degrees. The city of approximately 128,000
residents "Where Families Come First", according to the city promotional
materials, serves surrounding cities such as Lafayette, Orinda and Walnut
Creek with its large selection of restaurants, stores, shops and
entertainment.
Having booked a hotel
room at the
Hilton
Concord, we found the hotel was very nice, and location absolutely the
best. You can walk from your hotel to the shops and restaurants, making for
a convenient location in a really nice hotel with great amenities.
With many options for
overnight accommodations exist, Concord is a great choice, offering a
variety of chain restaurants and hotels such as the Concord Hilton which
features tastefully-decorated rooms and suites ideally located between
Waterworld USA and The Willows Shopping Center. Both are just an easy 1 to 3
minute walk. Waterworld is a Six Flags theme park that half the hotel rooms
at the Hilton Concord overlook. The other half of the rooms overlook Willows
Shopping Center. Shops include REI, Old Navy, Any Mountain, Nevada
Bob's Discount Golf, Comp USA, Cost Plus World Market, Shoe Pavilion and
several banks.
Crowne Plaza Hotel
Concord
is also worth checking out, as is
Embassy Suites Hotel Pleasant Hill-Walnut
Creek.
Where to eat: The outdoor shopping mall includes a performing arts
theater and restaurants such as Quiznos Sub,
Claim Jumper, Fudruckers, El Torito, Tony Roma's, Elephant Bar Restaurant, Benihana.
Concord has many restaurants to choose from, and many are California's most
popular chain restaurants. Mimi's Cafe
is quite popular and often has a waiting line as we found out when visiting.
Not only does Concord offer
great restaurants and shopping, it also has theater, kids' activities and
for teens and adults, the fantastic Chronicle Pavilion where musical acts
are featured in large concert venues. If you time your visit to coincide
with a performer you enjoy, your evening will be filled with fun not far
from your hotel room.
Concord can also be used as a
home base for San Francisco vacations. While the city is located outside the
hustle and bustle of cooler, foggy San Francisco, it has two BART (Bay Area
Rapid Transit) stations for rides in and out of San Francisco. Major
freeways provide easy car access to San Francisco as well.
The oldest and largest
children's event in the Bay Area, Bay Area KidFest, is held on Memorial Day
weekend at Todos Santos Plaza. Holiday events for 4th of July, Labor Day,
Halloween and the Christmas season are traditions in Concord.
Concord was once inhabited by
a small tribe of Chupcan or Bay Miwok Indians who lived as hunters and
gatherers, eating elk, deer and salmon along with fruits, berries and other
foods. Like so many regions of California, Spanish explorers surveyed its
lands in 1772 but land grants by the Mexican government in 1828 contributed
to the early roots of farming in what has become today's Concord. Don
Salvio Pacheco received the Monte del Diablo or "thicket of the devil" land
grant in 1834 in an a vast area from the Walnut Creek channel to the hills
and from the Mt. Diablo foothills north to the Bay. He called it Todos
Santos (All Saints), a name which is seen in the local plaza today. Concord
was adopted as its official name. While no reference to the Concord grape
has been established, (grapes are grown in Napa to the north), a local
newspaper editorial in the 1800's lauded the name change from Todos Santos
to Concord. Concord generally means "agreement" and can also refer to
"harmony." While Pacheco did not agree with the new name, much of the
property sold from Mexican land grants was renamed to reflect social and
economic changes.
Waterworld USA
1950 Waterworld Parkway
Concord, CA 94520
Phone: (925) 609-1364
www.sixflags.com
Pixieland Amusement Park
2740 E. Olivera Road
Concord, CA 94519
Phone: (925) 689-8841
Fax: (925) 676-3872
www.pixieland.com
The Entertainment Zone - Q-Zar Laser Tag
2295 Willow Pass Road
Concord, CA 94520
Phone: (925) 521-9663
www.theentertainmentzone.net
Chronicle Pavilion at Concord includes a line up of top rock, pop, country
performers and musical festivals such as OzFest.
2000 Kirker Pass Road
Concord,CA 94521-1642
Pavilion 24-hour Recorded Hotline:
(925) 363-5701
Pavilion Main Office Phone:
(925) 676-8742
www.chroniclepavilion.com
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