Alameda,California Shoreline

Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area was special. I miss the area at times (particularly San Francisco) and look forward to visits. However, I never really enjoyed my hometown of Alameda while growing up, except some of the large homes of the affluent. Probably, on a bus window somewhere, is still a flattened nose print from when I took my weekly piano lessons and would longingly gaze at these homes with their manicured lawns. I couldn’t say Alameda was anything special. In fact, growing up there I longed to leave. Possibly that ‘s the fledgling wanting to flee the nest and explore. Or - growing pains - my mother would have said. I can’t say the shoreline, as seen by a teenager was much. In many places boulders held in the sand and land fill areas. What little beach there was was course-grained sand. Walking out in the water caused you to sink in muck - up to your ankles – and was almost like a type of quicksand. (You had your own set of exercises and sucking sounds trying to pull your feet out). We lived in a town, which held a naval base and were told the water and beach was safe - we now know that not to be true. The naval air station had used part of the bay for a dumping area, which is now being cleaned up.
At one point in my life, when returning, I took time to really look at my old island. Perhaps the adult is no longer anxious to flee and sees everything from another perspective – it is now familiar (like a favorite shirt) and has changed and become “my home town”. Somehow it had changed while I was gone. I now saw the old Victorian homes (or “Painted Ladies” as they’re called) and the renovations being done – in some cases wild paint jobs – in others wonderful color combinations. I saw landscaped meridian strips and areas where more landfill had been placed. Not just homes had been built, but also a large shopping center encompassed a new part of the island. It was while grocery shopping for my mother and taking the shore line drive (so I could see the San Francisco skyline) that I first noticed the beach. It was in full bloom. Ha – imagine - a beach in full bloom. I was stunned. Flowers of all different types and colors had been planted and were blooming. It looked beautiful. There were clumps of traditional California poppies, snapdragons – a myriad of flowers in many different shapes and colors all intermingled. I was amazed. My hometown had changed.