Circle the Bay: Day 20: Alameda Island

Day 20: Alameda Island
(Alameda)

Circle The Bay Part 3

June 12th 2018

20.0 miles in 2 hrs 44 mins

(Total: 230.5 miles in 57 hrs 58 mins)

Alameda is the island off of Oakland, separated by an estuary that was dredged out to the point of accommodating all but the latest generation of cargo ships. At its northern tip is the former Alameda Naval Station, which is being rapidly converted into several non-military uses.

There are wineries and theater projects and startups here, but the Ocean Cleanup project is the one with the most potential impact. They are building a huge floating structure out of giant PVC tubes that will harvest plastic from a northern Pacific gyre. Its innovative sea anchor will slow the assembly relative to surface currents, and plastic will collect against the floating barriers and be collected and transported to land.

There is also the USS Hornet docked on Alameda, a retired aircraft carrier open to tourists. It has been there a long time, but this is the first time I'd actually gotten close enough to recognize it.

In between the Ocean Cleanup assembly and the USS Hornet Anchorage is the Seaplane Lagoon, a body of water big enough to allow planes to land, then taxi to the ramps at the edge of the lagoon to drive out of the water on wheels. At least I'm assuming that's how it works, because my uncle who flew those planes is long gone (30 years gone, not 70 years gone). The last time I talked to him I had just moved to California, but I had no clue at that time to ask the questions I'd want to ask now.

If BART adds a third tunnel, its would make sense to add a stop on Alameda Island. I would think this a bigger priority than adding a stop on Treasure Island, because Treasure Island can be serviced with a MUNI train, as it is part of San Francisco.

I look forward to the return of good governance that gave us the Naval facilities to win World War II, and the innovative engineering of BART to move people around the bay. It seems propaganda about taxes has wrenched our society apart, with people feeling it respectable to avoid paying their fair share for those less fortunate than themselves. When did being well off enough to have the money to assist others become anything but a show of strength (of character)?