Places, Earth All for Alameda

All for Alameda

Day One - The Farm

We got off about 8:00AM heading north on I-5, listening to The Sons of the San Joaquin as we entered the San Joaquin Valley. At Highway 152, we turned west toward Gilroy where we had enjoyed the Garlic Festival a year earlier. We stopped at a road side produce stand next to an artichoke field. After realizing how big these plants get, I decided to move the ones in my back yard garden. About an hour later we reached our first stop, Ardenwood Historic Farm in Fremont.

Artichoke field.

George Patterson became a successful farmer in the East Bay, eventually owning about 6,000 acres of productive farm land. Today, 205 acres remain as Ardenwood Historic Farm in the City of Fremont. We were just in time for the 2:00 tour of the Patterson House which took a bit less than an hour. We had an excellent docent who lead us through the beautiful house. Mr. Patterson bought 205 acres in 1856 and built

Ardenwood Historic Farm.

the original farmhouse in 1857. The house was expanded in 1889 with a large addition in the Queen Anne style of Victorian architecture. Electricity was added in 1903 and the most recent remodeling was completed in 1917. We wandered through the rest of the farm watching sheep and goats eating, pens of chickens and turkeys, and other small animals. Men in the blacksmith shop were demonstrating iron works with souvenirs for sale. Eventually we worked our way back to the beginning and headed out. I had discovered this on the map several years ago and we had finally visited it.

Somehow I missed a turn and we unintentionally explored an industrial and then residential area south of Ardenwood before finding a street listed on my regional map and finally drove past Ardenwood on the right road a half hour later. Following the Highway 84 sign instead of following my instincts, we got turned around again but eventually reached Niles Depot and Niles Historic District. A historic train ride leaves this depot every first and third Sunday, but it was now closed and there was no train this weekend. We looked around and headed for the last stop of the day, Mission San Jose.

Niles Depot.

Niles Historic District.

It was 5:15 and the Mission was closed, but I was able to explore parts of the exterior for a half hour. We had visited a few years earlier, but it had been early in the day and the sun was behind the church. Late this afternoon, the sun illuminated the front and I was happier with my photos.

Mission San Jose.

Day Two - Big Boat

About forty-five minutes later we arrived at USS Hornet Museum at Pier 3 in Alameda. The previous ship named Hornet (CV-8) departed from this same pier to transport Colonel Jimmy Doolittle and his crew and B-25 aircraft to within striking distance of Tokyo in April 1942 for the first US bombing raid against the Japanese home islands of World War II. That ship was sunk in the Battle of Santa Cruz on October 27, 1942. This Hornet was launched on August 30, 1943. The keel was laid on August 3, 1942 and the ship was

USS Hornet Museum.

commissioned on November 29, 1943. It participated in World War II, Vietnam, and recovered Apollo 11 and 12 after they landed astronauts on the Moon.

After leaving the ship, we drove around the now decommissioned naval base, then the rest of the island. We enjoyed dinner at Ole's Waffle Shop on 1507 Park Street. I had shrimp fettuccini and my wife had salmon and potato and we both topped it with a pecan waffle. While looking for Ole's, we got confused because a block south of Park Street is Park Avenue which we drove in an unsuccessful attempt to find Ole's.

The decommissioned naval base.

Day Three - Another Mission

I exited Highway 101 at De La Cruz Boulevard and looked for the marker for the first site for Mission Santa Clara. It was supposed to be at the southeast corner with Central Expressway, but I couldn't find it. A few blocks south is the second site for the Mission in a small park at the corner of Martin Avenue. A cross and garden mark the location. Both these sites were washed out by flood shortly after founding and the Mission was moved to a new site on what is now the Santa Clara University campus. All that is left of this third site are pavers in

Mission Santa Clara.

the garden and adjacent street marking where the foundations once were and the Women's club building that was once housing for the Mission. We found the Women's Club and for the first time, I found no cars on the pavers on the street to obscure my photos.

About an hour and a half later we stopped at Casa de Fruta, a fruit stand on steroids, with shops, a restaurant, café, wine tasting, train and merry-go-round , sluice, peacocks, campground, waterwheel, fountains, and I'm sure even more. I looked around and bought some guacamole flavored pistachio nuts, garlic cashews, fruit, and taffy. The names all carry through with the "Casa de ..." theme. Casa de Café, Case de Restaurant, Casa de Sweets, Case de Train, Casa de Snacks, you get the idea. We got gas and headed on.

Casa de Fruta.

The last stop was San Luis Reservoir. Last July while we returned from the Garlic Festival, the water level was at about 18%, today is was nearly 85%. It's a normal cycle but still was nicer to see it with water. From here we got back on I-5 and arrived home, arriving about 5:30. Two years earlier we had visited the Midway Aircraft Carrier Museum in San Diego and had planned to visit Hornet the same month, but had to cancel. That trip was canceled two more times before finally completing it this time. After visiting Mission San Jose, this leaves only one Mission to revisit, maybe next year, so stay tuned.

San Luis Reservoir is a little low.

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