Alameda, CA

Alameda is a beautiful island on the San Francisco Bay. Its Victorian houses rival those of San Francisco and it still has that suburban feel to it.

I lived here with my sisters, my mom, and my grandmother when we first arrived to the US in 1982. I moved away after getting married to follow Jon to Newfoundland, Canada, but we moved back after his term was over. When he reenlisted and was sent to Hawaii, I stayed to finish school. When I got a job across the Bay, we moved to Palo Alto, then to Hayward back in the East Bay. When I got a job at Microsoft, we moved to Seattle.

My mom and my grandmother always lived here. They moved around to different apartments or houses, but they stayed within Alameda. So Alameda will always be my "hometown." The place where we spent our holidays.

Alameda grew when Bay Farm was created by dumping soil on the edge of the Bay. The city had changed when the Naval Base was shut down. Business come and go, while some remain the same.

And as I drive around this town, memories flood back. I remember homes and apartments where my mom used to live. The beach where I went to be alone. The gas station on Lincoln Avenue and Webster Street, where I worked while going to school and where I met Jon. The park on Eighth Street and Central Avenue where Jon and I stole away in the dark while we were dating. The Nation's Burgers on Webster Street where we had coffee and cheesecake after my shift. Loard's Ice Cream at the South Shore shopping center. The MacDonald's on Central Avenue. The "O" bus that went straight to downtown San Francisco. The library on Santa Clara Avenue and Eighth Street. Otis, which takes you to Doolittle, which takes you to Hegenberger, which takes you to the Oakland International Airport. Alameda Hospital on Clinton near South Shore for too many painful trips. St. Barnabas Church where I took my grandmother so she could attend mass. St. Barnabas School across the street where my youngest sister and my nephew Ian went. The banks on Webster that kept changing. The busses that picked up casino patrons on Lincoln and left for Reno for a day or a weekend of gambling. Ralph's Market (a Filipino grocery store) on Eighth and Lincoln, and no one in the owning family is named Ralph. Sampaguita (a Filipino restaurant) on Webster Street. The hotel (now Days Inn) on webster and Atlanta. Longs Drugs on Oak Street. The music store on Lincoln and Oak where I started taking voice lessons. The many businesses along Park Street. The Christmas lights south of Park Street.

In spite of being so close to Oakland with its high crime statistics, Alameda had surprisingly maintained a relatively low crime rate. When a crime occurs within the city limits, all the police had to do is block the Posey Tube tunnels and raise the bridges, and the perpetrators are trapped on the island. Unless they escape by boat, of course.

Unfortunately, Alameda has become expensive now, like the rest of the Bay Area cities. The Victorian homes have been subdivided into apartments. The gas station where I used to work is now under a different management. The competing gas station a block away was torn down and a hotel was built on it. South Shore is expanding even more. The Mariner Square Loop is now also developed for commercial use and a new shopping center Marina Village is thriving in that area.

But the view on the beach remains beautiful, and the park remains mysterious at night. The population is more diverse, but the people are still friendly.