1374 – Alameda Walk 1 | On Location

Episode 1374 – Alameda Walk 1 | On Location

 

[START OF RECORDING]

 

SCOOTER: Friends beyond the binary, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, it’s time a episode of Sleep With Me, walk-with-me style. This is a podcast to put you to sleep. This one will be a walking episode. We’ll be walking through city streets of Alameda. It should be somewhat sleepy, though there will be me walking over some bridges, there’s gonna be traffic sounds, bus sounds, car sounds, bird sounds, street crossing signals, beeping and stuff like that. So, if you don’t like that kind of stuff, I would skip it. But this episode’s also recorded in binaural audio, so you could also walk along with this episode. It also has some travel recommendations, so maybe at some point we’ll put out a video or enhanced version of this. But yeah, this is Sleep With Me, a podcast to put you to sleep.

 

If this is your first episode, this is different than…we put these out pretty regularly, or our goal is to put these out at least monthly or if not more. These are popular episodes 'cause we try to put out a variety of content for people to sleep to. For some people, every piece of variety works for them, and for other people, eight or ten of the episodes we put out a month work for them. Yeah, so, this is just one of the many styles of episodes we put out. Probably now, hopefully on a regular basis, we could do this because of the people that opt in and want to be a part of this. Like, the show is a part of their lives and they realize if they opt in…oh my gosh, a great blue heron is flying by about thirty feet off the ground, soaring. Hopefully I could soar you off into dreamland.

 

But if you opt in…like the show is a part of your life and then you opt in…you say, I want to be a part of the life of the show, that’s how…literally how we do this. So, I appreciate it so much, especially these style of episodes that take a little bit more work. I really appreciate it. So, thank you so much for listening. Even a puppy barking and saying, yeah, Sleep With Me, go for it. So, yeah, I’m glad you're here. If you ever want to check out other shows…you say, I don't know about this walking-around one…dogs-barking-in-the-distance one, check out…there’s a lot of different episodes. So, I’m glad you're here, and I hope this one can help you fall asleep.

 

INTRO: [INTRO MUSIC] Hey, are you up all night tossing, turning, mind racing? Trouble getting to sleep? Trouble staying asleep? Well, welcome. This is Sleep With Me, the podcast that puts you to sleep. We do it with a bedtime story. Alls you need to do is get in bed, turn out the lights, and press Play. I’m gonna do the rest. Yeah, it’s…I’m glad you're here. Let’s see…I’m sorry, this is a on-location episode, so I’m not…do the rest…hey, are you up all night tossing…? Difference…I don't even know what comes next, to be honest. I’m not even kidding. Hey, welcome to Sleep With Me, the podcast…hey, are you up all night tossing, turning, mind racing? Trouble getting to sleep? Trouble staying asleep? Welcome. This is Sleep With Me, the podcast that puts you to sleep. We do it with a bedtime story.

 

Oh no…I’m gonna do the rest. What I’m going to attempt to do…that’s what I forgot. Welcome, by the way. Imperfect podcaster, imperfect podcast for a imperfect world, you know? What I’m gonna try to do is take your mind off of stuff so you could fall asleep and take your mind off of whatever is keeping you awake, really. That’s how you fall asleep with this show. That could be thoughts, like things on your mind, thoughts, it could be feelings, anything coming up for you emotionally, it could be physical changes, changes in time, temperature, routine, you could be going through something, you could be getting over something. Whatever it is, I’m gonna try to keep you company and take your mind off of it so you could fall asleep. The way I do it is I send my voice across the deep, dark night.

 

I’m gonna use lulling, soothing, creaky, dulcet tones, pointless meanders, and superfluous tangents, all to keep you company and take your mind off of stuff so you could fall asleep. That means my voice is not traditionally soothing. With these styles of episodes…I’m gonna cross…I’m crossing the High Street Bridge right now, which is where this episode will also start. This is a walking-through episode. You might be like, man, why would you go for a walk to put me to sleep? How is this supposed to put me to sleep? I say, well, good point. Yeah, this is different. But the whole idea is…well, one, you deserve a good night's sleep and you deserve something that can meet you where you are, respect where you are, and just be there for you, and that’s what this show attempts to do.

 

I can't do that for everybody, right, 'cause not everybody’s looking for someone to just talk to them as they fall asleep and keep them company, but that’s kinda what this show does. I believe you deserve a bedtime where you could get the rest you need, and I want to help that in the way I can, and with this style of episodes…me just going for a walk. Right now we're crossing over Alameda Oakland Estuary on High Street Bridge. You can kinda hear the rumble of the cars, which is kinda nice, in my opinion. I don't know…don't worry, I’ll listen…this episode will be listened to and edited before it came out. But so, I’ll know. If I say, yeah, this is kinda sleepy…yeah, so, if this is your first episode, definitely keep trying if you find out it doesn't work.

 

That’s what most people, regular listeners, say; hey, it takes two or three tries, 'cause we put out such a different…a variety of different-style episodes, and…yeah. One of the things that doesn't work with the show is when I’m overthinking, and right now I’m like, huh, is this working or not, crossing over this bridge? So, I gotta set aside my overthinking to help you with whatever’s keeping you awake, whether — like I said — that’s thoughts, feelings, or physical sensations. So, I am glad you're here. Later on in the episode we’ll go for a walk. Or, we're kinda already on the walk, and we're just gonna walk around and talk. It’ll be like on a walking tour, but the walking tour never got started. You're like, wait, we just walked three or four miles? I thought this was…you were gonna point out…yeah, we just kinda walked and I talked.

 

It’s a little walk and talk. What else do you need to know about Sleep With Me? This is a briefer intro than we normally do, though this will be a nice, long episode. But the show starts off with a greeting so that you feel seen and welcomed in, then there’s support because…so paying for the show is based on you opting in, right? You could listen to the ad-supported version — that’s what a lot of people like to do — or you could opt in and you get ad-free episodes and a bunch of other extras and stuff like that, and that’s up to you, whatever works for you. But that keeps the show coming out regularly with a variety of styles of episodes. Then there’s a long, meandering intro, and the intro…and tonight…I guess also the first part of the story will be to help ease you off into dreamland.

 

You could set a sleep timer if you want for forty-five minutes or sixty minutes or thirty minutes. Just kinda see what works as you become a regular listener because, one…or one of the things that’s different about the show is I’m not really here for you to totally listen to me, but I’m not really here just as background noise. I’m here kinda for something in-between. Even for regular listeners, that can change. Sometimes I’m just like a TV on in the other room, sometimes I’m like a audiobook you're kinda paying attention to or a podcast you're kinda paying attention to, and sometimes it’s just like I’m mumbling noise that you aren't listening to that’s just there or that you put back on. So, a little bit like a out-of-focus picture.

 

But it’s something you get used to kinda using over time, 'cause I’m also not here to put you to sleep. I’m here to keep you company while you fall asleep. That part is very different, right? For most people, a sleep podcast is kinda…comes across like something…hey, this is gonna put me to sleep. No, I’m here…there’s no pressure to fall asleep with the show 'cause I’m here to keep you company while you fall asleep, and then you wake up; you say, I’m pretty sure the dude was out walking on…I don't even know, but I still fell asleep. ‘Cause my job is to be here as a voice in the deep, dark night, to be your bore-friend, your bore-bae, your bore-sib, your neigh-bore, your bore-bud, your bore-bestie, your bore-bor, your bore-bie, your Boris Borlaf, your bore-bruh, bore-sib, bore-cuz, your best bore-friend f’eva, so that you don’t have to feel pressured to fall asleep.

 

Or if you can't sleep at all or you need a break during the day, you could just listen and know you got somebody that’s here to barely entertain you. Again, that does take some getting used to. So, I’m glad you're here. I think I explained the structure of the show earlier than I did that stuff. But yeah, basically, tonight what’s gonna happen is we're gonna go for a walk, and I’m hoping this could be a ongoing series of episodes we do on a regular basis, like one a month or one in the public feed and one in the paid feed a month or something depending on what the support is and just to add one more piece of regular consistent variety to the show, because that’s what’s really the most important thing about the podcast, is the consistent variety for a lot of people.

 

So…but yeah, what I’m gonna do is I’m gonna walk around where I live, Alameda California, and kind of…I guess in a sense take something that would be two or three paragraphs in a article…like, hey, here’s some restaurants you could check out and some place…shopping areas and a couple buildings, but I’ll take over an hour to do it so that you have something there. So, I’m glad you're here. I really work hard. I yearn and I strive. I’m always trying to find new ways to be here for you and stay with the ways that have worked, right? This is something I’ve worked for years, and we stopped doing it just based on time and resources, but this…we're trying to get back into it. So, I’m really glad you're here. I work really hard. So do a team of people. We yearn and strive. I really hope we can help you fall asleep. Thanks again for coming by, and if you're interested in opting in and being a part of it 'cause the show is a part of your life, here’s a couple ways you could do it.

 

Alright, hey everybody, this is Scoots here, and this is something that may or may not be a part of a one-to-five-part series, a part of a ongoing project or series of on-location episodes we’ve had planning for…and I know we released…oh, no, I know one is edited at the time of recording this, one is half-edited, where we just go for a walk. We’ve done these as bonus episodes on Sleep With Me+ around the holiday season looking at lights and a couple other occasional bonus episodes. But we’ve had this goal to make this a regular thing, and that means from my end, regularly recording them but also regularly getting them edited as we record them. Right now maybe Russell is listening to this and editing it and laughing.

 

We’ve started to get a good flow going, so…'cause a lot of times what happens…a little behind-the-scenes and then I’ll get to the who, what, where, when, and why. So, okay…so…oh, what happens is I don't have too much of a problem getting on-location episodes recorded. I guess I…the two things I struggle with are recording them consistently and then getting them into a editing pipeline. I guess that’s what I was trying to explain and I failed. So, it’s like getting them recorded on a consistent basis where they could be…like, for example…and maybe this is a note for Drew…is like, recording one a month, which already my producer brain is saying, well, that’s not gonna be enough, which I guess in this temporary situation I guess I tend to agree with you, Drew, but I would say that maybe that’s what we work towards if we're recording more.

 

Let’s get consistency. So, if you're listening to this, you're also hearing behind…this is kinda behind-the-scenes of anything. So…okay, so, if this becomes a one-off episode or a five-part ongoing episode, what are we doing? Who, what…who; okay, I think we got the ‘who’ part, Scooter walking around, still trying to keep it sleepy, but these are also binaural episodes that you could listen to for more of an experience. Binaural means that I have these headphones that have a microphone in each ear. So, if you were listening to these with headphones, you'd be getting a stereo experience. Yeah, if you were listening with headphones, it’d be like you were walking with me or even more directly inside my head, walking as me. So, I think these are really fun.

 

They're also…these…I’ve talked about this a lot in our bonus episodes, but I’ll try to do it concisely. But what I’ve learned when we first had our first successful episode doing this, which I think was only a bonus episode, I walked all the way from International Drive to Universal Studios in Orlando, and I discovered, wow, these mics are very flexible. Other things we’ve used to record on-location…there’s two styles you can use; a handheld mic, which I normally record in, and walking around with a handheld mic…there’s a lot of issues. Hand…oh wait…yeah, I guess this is the ‘how’, but…who, what, where, when, how…but you get a lot of handling noise, but you also get a lot of people that interrupt you, to be honest, and in a variety of different ways.

 

But normally when you're walking around with a mic, it seems very official. So, anyone in any official position is going to kinda bug you, and then people that just…just like when somebody’s reporting from…like, hey, this is like…we're getting ready for the parade; it starts in two hours. You get people that are seeking attention, right? So…but these…and then the other form of mic you can have is one that’s like omnidirectional lavalier mic. That’s what I used for years and years and years, and the only issue with that is like, it’s hard to wear it. It’s not as forgiving.

 

Omnidirectional means it’s collecting sound from everywhere, which is cool because it gets a lot of the noises from the street and traffic and stuff, but then it also…you can't necessarily hear it ‘til you're doing the edit if the entire thing’s unusable, 'cause it doesn't just…it just doesn't have the power to your headphones you need to be able to hear if there’s wind noise. So, anyway, these are…I guess what I’m rambling and meandering towards is like, we’ve learned that these binaural mics really work, and it adds this cool other element to listening to it. But if you're listening to it on your phone speaker or whatever, it works. That’s just a straightforward Sleep With Me episode. So, if this becomes a series of episodes or what are we doing today…we are walking around in the town I live in, Alameda.

 

Whoops…but except that I was gonna walk into Oakland over the bridge, and then I forgot. So…hm…oh, I guess I could come back that way; okay. How would we do that? We’d cross over that bridge; okay. So, what we’ll do then is we’ll change up what we're doing, stay flexible. So, we're gonna do a series of walks in Alameda and hopefully San Francisco, maybe Oakland. I’ll be recording these over the next…February, March, April, May…March, April, May, June, July…so, I have five months, maybe six months. I wonder how many episodes I can record in six months. I’d like to record…a minimum of twelve would be my goal. So, okay. So, again, Scooter and Drew are having a conversation in front of you. That’s a good goal.

 

I mean, twenty-four is probably unrealistic; you're right, and…so, I think that’s a goal to shoot for, but it’d be great to get more. Not…and Alameda, San Francisco, and Oakland. So, I think I can cover most of Alameda in four walks and then maybe a fifth walk, or I guess I could do it on a bike depending on the wind levels. Yeah, I think I can do this in four loops, right? So, this will be the first loop, and…but I already didn’t go where I thought the loop was gonna go. But I’ve lived in Alameda for a very long time. I lived in a variety of apartments or apartment-like structures, and more than likely I won't be living here come the fall of 2025, though who knows?

 

I have a couple things…my life has kinda really been unexpected and gone through a lot of changes in the past six to ten months, and I have some serious…some stuff coming up. So, we’ll see. But I guess the good thing about me is that I am one of those people that’s deadline motivated, and sometimes I forget to come up with my own deadlines. So, if I end up living in Alameda in the fall of 2025, that’s fine, too. This was an accidental deadline. But I was supposed to record a episode in San Francisco today, to be honest. Now I’m glad I didn’t because it is a little bit windy, which means in San Francisco it’s probably much more windy. I have a little bit of wind protection that I think sounds like it’s working pretty good. But what was I saying? I gotta cross the street here. That was a bus that went by.

 

That’s actually the…oh, the Transbay bus that if we were riding the bus in San Francisco we would take. I did try to record a episode on that bus. Or, did I not? I guess I didn’t record that day. It was only…anyway, so, we're gonna be walking around Alameda. Now, we're kinda just gonna be walking, so this is kinda like a anti-walking tour, but I guess I’ve found that that’s what happens with my walking tours, is I don't have any historical or architectural knowledge. I do, however, like walking, and I do, however, find that a good chunk of the people that support the podcast directly really enjoy these styles of episodes. So, putting these out on a regular basis feeds that group and delights them if we can.

 

But even if it’s by them falling asleep or being able to have something we make that they don’t have to listen to…so, yeah, that’s the ‘why’. I have walked I think where we were walking before. I don't think we got this far on the holiday lights tour. If we did, it was about the furthest we’ve ever gotten. So, we're gonna be doing a little bit more walking. We will be talking in the sense of…kinda like these…you see it in the New York Times, like thirty-six hours or long weekends in this place or Sundays with…for Alameda, I do want to kinda do this. So, this could be a walk that I can post a map to and kinda give you an idea of…I would highly recommend.

 

It’s one of those places like…if you're only gonna be in the Bay Area for twenty-four or forty-eight hours, probably not, but if you live in the Bay or you're visiting, spending the day here or half the day here, it could be really rewarding. I think particularly if you live in the Bay Area or in California, I think you could make a long weekend of it, maybe mixing it with other stuff. So, yeah, and if you like architecture, Alameda is its kinda own…it does have this small-town feel, and people call it the town sometimes, and it’s just different than other places I lived, and I really like it, I guess is…in the end. So, I don't know if this will become a love letter to Alameda, but a really-like letter.

 

So, what we're gonna do here is I’m walking from the far east side of Alameda in the general vicinity of…if you listened to our holiday walk episodes, Christmas Tree Lane, and if you were trying to find that on a map, I guess our starting and ending place for this walk would be right around the…or, no, the High Street Bridge, 'cause I think what we're gonna try to do — if I can — is cross over the Fruitvale Bridge into Oakland, walk around along the water there, and then cross back over to the High Street Bridge to get back to Alameda. But what you're gonna want to do is basically…and, yeah…the walking tour…not anti-walking tour…but so, you could basically take any route heading…I guess we're heading west towards Park Street, and Park Street is one of the main thoroughfares of Alameda.

 

I don't know if thoroughfare is the right thing, and I do…I’ll just put it out there now; if I was…I do envision and dream of a day…and I know it would take some adjustment for a lot of the businesses, but if Park Street was shut to traffic or at least shut to traffic on the weekends, I think it would benefit not just the community but in the end, the businesses up and down the street. It’s a street lined with shops and restaurants and stuff like that. I’m not…this isn't a car thing; it’s just one of those streets, and they do occasionally have street fairs. They shut down the entire street. I don't know, I think if there’s anywhere it could get done, it’s here. But you're thinking, okay, this also involves eating and shopping, right, Scoots? It does.

 

So, I would say…well, depending on the weather, but in this portion of the tour, if you started the tour a little bit before lunch, about thirty minutes before lunch…I do have a slight caveat for this whole thing 'cause it changed ownership and I haven't been there since it changed ownership, but I would highly recommend you work your way…and that way you could actually meander even through the neighborhoods a little bit more…is you want to work your way towards Park Street, but before you get to Park Street, you're gonna go on a street called…what is that street called? You're gonna want to work your way towards Speisekammer, which is a German restaurant, particularly if it’s sunny and not breezy, and eat outside there.

 

Or if there’s any major soccer matches, football matches, particularly international, but even most major matches, you could go there and watch a match while you have lunch if the timing’s right. They do serve traditional German food. They usually have the kinda weekend menu with some smaller dishes, and they have outdoor seating, and then they’ll have big parties for the World Cup and for Oktoberfest, though I haven't been to their…I like those kinda oompah bands, but I just haven't been there 'cause Oktoberfest is one of those things you kinda opt…not for the rest of my life I’ve opted out of since getting sober, but I don't know. I think that one’s a paid one. But one day I’d like to hit up Oktoberfest with a oompah band. So, I would highly recommend checking that place out for lunch.

 

Or, again, I don't like…I’m gonna try to eat there. I won't be able to give an addendum to this episode. So, check it out and make sure that the transfer of ownership has been successful, 'cause the last time I ate there was after it had been sold. It had been sold. It was a family-run business. It had been sold, and the staff was still there. Everybody was still working and following the same management and cooking style as the previous owners…the menu and stuff, but it hadn't been taken over. It had been sold and it was like interim management. I could see it here; there’s a tent out. So, we’ll get a sense…and by the way, if you don’t eat lunch there, it is one of the best places to eat in the winter, a rainy winter night. Can't recommend it strongly enough.

 

Again, maybe a recommendation to myself because it is…it’s got a bunch of fireplaces and it’s kinda that…kind of a homey-style place. Huh, so they do have a tent out. Looks like there’s shirts, even. Okay, so, this is interesting. Oh, so, hopefully this will come out…I won't…maybe I won't put these out ‘til after I move. My dentist is right on…right by here. Just funny. Obviously my dentist doesn't know anything about the podcast, so no need to go stop at my dentist for a walking tour. But a nice, small, independent dentist. Okay, so, I’m seeing Speisekammer. I’m pretty sure that’s how it’s pronounced, because I used to pronounce it a lot of different ways. I have a really wonderful memory of it that I can probably indulge in personal-essay style. Okay, so, the tents are for sun.

 

So, for people sitting outside so they have a break from the sun, it looks like. Today’s a overcast, kinda foggy day, and it’s between lunch and dinner, and there’s still a reasonable amount of people eating. So, I guess thinking out loud now, it’s like, I think I need to come twice because I would say that…once for dinner on a rainy night and once for lunch. But the waiter who is serving people outside had a huge smile on his face, and that’s always a good sign. Smiling staff — unless he was dismayed by something, but it looked like a genuine smile — is a good sign. Now, this is another important aspect of this particular part as we get closer to Park Street, is this is also where I used to do the live shows, and the thing about the live…where we did a lot of live shows.

 

I have no idea how many I did; a couple years’ worth of live shows leading up to when everything kinda quieted down. Okay, so, across the street from that is Alameda Library, which is…was built while I was living in Alameda. One of the…it’s a really nice library, and it got built and restored around the time they added seats…or added a multiplex and restored the theatre downtown here, which, I don't know, those two things kinda did work out in a sense of like, they really added something to…yeah, just positives, and there’s other kind of civic buildings down here.

 

There’s also the former library, which was never open when I lived here but was…it’s still in need of a retrofit and that, I guess for a while, it was gonna get the retrofit; it would get what would become this pinball museum, which we’ll talk about in another episode 'cause it’s on the other side of the island. They would move in there. Also another thing down here that I’m passing right now across the street from City Hall is one of the places where I would come when I first got sober on a real regular basis and while kinda things are…it’s not as busy there, or it doesn't have much stuff going on there as when I first started going there. It’s still operating, so that’s cool.

 

Alright, so, what we're gonna do is…yeah, I’m passing the library which has…it’s a…I think it’s a Carnegie library, but it needs some retro…like retro…and then City Hall, then there’s the Alameda Elks building after that, which I don't know anything about other than it was built in 1909, 'cause it says it on the front. It’s just one of those buildings that is evocative of towns. I mean, I don't know if these different fraternal societies all have different buildings, but if you drive around towns or small cities, it makes me think of Oswego, New York, for some reason, but I couldn't tell you where any of those buildings are or even times I’ve been in Oregon just driving around. Huh, it’s a really big building. I don't…I don't know anything about it, so…there’s also passing…there’s a lot of…a new area that has a little bit more apartments and stuff.

 

So, I’ve seen apartments where I looked when I was trying to find places to live, apartments I’ve delivered mattresses to, apartments I’ve bought and sold stuff on Craigslist. Then across the street from me now is the Parks and Recs building, offices, I think. Again, it’s a very distinct style. It’s got a Spanish tile roof. A little bit more Southern California style, but Alameda’s got a mix of that stuff. It’s got palm trees. But my memory of that is that…another benefit of some towns — it’s kinda changing now — is they had a strong Parks and Recs department, and you could go there. You did pay for it, but they set everything up, and you could pay in the holiday season to have Santa stop by your house, not on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, but leading up to it, and you would…Santa and an elf would come for about five minutes.

 

You could hide a present outside. They would come, put it in the bag…oh, by the way, kids, this is just a…not real Santa, right? This is one of Santa’s helpers that keeps you…works on behalf of Santa to spread the joy of the holiday season, obviously. It’s not the real Santa, but Santa is real, of course. Sorry, I just wanted to point that out 'cause I thought maybe your parents, adults, they sometimes forget some of this stuff. So, just wanted to make sure you knew that I knew that Santa’s real and not silly. But so, you would go there, and this was at the time when my daughter was living in two different places and we would do it at her mom’s, and, I don't know, I have a really positive association with it.

 

So, I’m also walking…if you're a really long-term listener, the street I’m on right now is…I’m on the 51A route, where, if you're from the East Bay, 51A is still going. It used to be the 51, then it…become the 51A and B, and I logged a lot of miles on this bus during the history of the podcast…and a real important part of my life. Now it runs…wow, its schedule’s not great anymore. So, a really important part of my life was the 51A, and a really big part of the podcast because I didn’t have a car when I started the podcast. I didn’t have really much, and me and my daughter would take the bus.

 

I would come home on BART, which is our rapid transit, from work, I would walk from the BART normally to a supermarket parking lot where I would meet my daughter’s mom and we would…in the nights I had her, then my daughter and I would take the 51A across Alameda to where we lived, or if…in the days of the podcast when my life was a little bit more consistent, yeah, I would take the 51A home usually all the way from the BART station. So, I couldn’t write on the bus. It’s different than the train, right? The motion’s different and you're less likely…may not be sitting. So…but I maybe listened to a podcast from Sleep With Me or somebody else, like proofing a Sleep With Me podcast. So, yeah, another…I didn’t know this would be quite the memory road, but this is cool.

 

Alright, moving on…I was gonna tell the story about Speisekammer, but just trying to think of other…I’m gonna try to loop around. Don’t think I’m gonna make it all the way to Grand Street or Grand Ave, but that’s the next large thoroughfare street in Alameda. It’s a residential thoroughfare or a big street. It has a lot of really amazing houses on it, grand-type houses. Not mansions — you're gonna see some Victorians — but some other larger houses. I’m just…I’m in one of these walking episode pacing things where there’s a family with two small kids in front of me and I can't walk fast enough to get by them. So, I’m taking my time. Kind of perfect for a sleep podcast.

 

A couple other things that you'll find in this area if you're looking is there’s the Alameda Adult School which is housed in I think…like a school that’s…as long as I’ve been here I think it’s always been the Alameda Adult School, and I think there’s a senior center there. I was just looking through the Parks and Rec thing, because hilariously, you could start taking classes there at age fifty for older adults. So, I could be taking classes there if I wanted to. There’s a lot of cool classes, and again, a resource that I hope we remember is important, right, 'cause it’s community resources like that that are really important, and…whether it’s the Parks and Rec for the kids or the library or these resources for older adults, I think they're really hallmarks. So…okay, so now I’m going to loop back around.

 

We didn’t quite make it all the way…there was only one more thing…oh, there’s two more things. So, I’m on another street. So, another two…three things in this area; one is there was a guy selling bikes outside of his wife’s office, which was a house that was…their house and their office were together, and I bought a bike from him. I still have it, though its chain broke and I haven't repaired it. Then also there’s a restaurant here that I’m right in front of right now, Acapulco, that I think I ate at once, but it’s on my list of places I want to eat. So, that’s another thing. Then a third thing is another resource of living in a small town but large enough…there’s another…like if you're ever struggling with alcohol or substances, another place that you could go to.

 

I got lucky enough to live in Alameda, and I think it kind of shrunk down, but there was three places that had regular things, and there kind of still is. There’s just not quite as many things. Meetings, we call them. Okay, so, those…one…oh, the restaurant, the bike guy, that. Okay, so now I’m headed…where are we headed? North, which doesn't feel like north to me, but we're headed in the direction of Oakland, and we're crossing over one of the streets I lived on, though it’s about a few miles away where I lived on the other side of the island. It’s the most western part of the island, which we’ll walk another time. So, always interesting to see that street sign of that street that I lived on. But it doesn't matter for you; you could just imagine any street.

 

So, what we're gonna end up doing here is walking to the…as close to the water as we can. So, Alameda’s separated by…from Oakland by this canal or the Oakland Estuary, I think it’s called. Now, a unfortunate thing is that there isn't a lot of…and it’s getting better and better, but there’s not…at least on the Oakland side and the Alameda side where they're facing one another…the way the developments worked, probably over the past seventy to eighty years, is that there’s not a lot of public access to the waterfront. Then, now they're trying to find ways to give you access, but it’s like…and the stuff that’s built on the waterfront to me, again, seems very counterintuitive.

 

Even the developments over the last thirty years that were here when I moved here are storage places, retail without restaurants facing a parking lot…so like, a grocery-store type things. What I’m seeing now is they're trying to build some housing, and I get that some people…I’ve always lived in apartments, so I guess I’m wired differently, but having housing, whether it’s condos or apartments with ground-level retail and waterfront paths and cafes and restaurants that face the water…I guess that’s the kind of place I want to live or visit, is a positive way to put it. It’s kinda baffled me when I lived here…moved here at first, 'cause I was like, holy moly, this is so cool. Then it was like, but how is there not…?

 

Especially when I would imbibe, like…if you want to sit by the waterfront and enjoy a drink, now it’s a little bit more doable, but yeah, you could go to Jack London Square in Oakland, but I can't even think of a place…there’s…you had to work for it. Actually, when I first moved to the Bay Area a long, long time ago, the Tex Mex place was the only place…one of the only places you could go to have a large group dinner and see the water and have drinks, and I don't even think they had waterfront seating, or maybe they had a little bit of outdoor seating. What was that place even called? Not Chilis. It’s a popular Tex Mex place. But they…so, they do…they have been working over the past ten years…and I would highly recommend if you have a bike, is they do have…they're trying to make this cross-Bay bike path, and they've been working at it.

 

There’s part of…there’s this Jean Sweeney Open Space, which we’ll go to, which is kinda the masterpiece of it. It’s just this long park. I don't know, I see pictures of places where old, unused rail has been made into bike paths and walking paths and…through the forest or through urban areas. It’s really amazing. But yeah, even the side of the street between me and the water right now…right now is some government buildings, then there’s a power yard, then a storage facility. It’s actually the storage facility that I keep all the…what do you call it? The hygiene kit supplies from Lue Sue’s hygiene kits when we did live shows. So, all those are still…I gotta bring some to LA soon. Then on the other side are…on the Oakland side are storage places, factories, and stuff like that, too. So, it’s always like, man, it’s too bad.

 

We could attempt a full adventure. I don't think there…I’ve never tried to cross here when we get to Park Street and walk along the water, but I do believe there is waterfront. So, maybe we’ll do that for a sense of adventure. Right now I’m…so, yeah, on my left side is a parking lot for a government building that’s on the waterfront, which kinda makes sense 'cause I think a lot of this is bay fill, right? So, they would have been filling it in at the time when there was a lot going on in the world, and they said, yeah, we need this land to send chips out and stuff. But that’s where I’m always like, man, the planning-type stuff…or I just try to stay on the positive side.

 

On my right side are the Alameda High School…not the high school itself but their football and soccer and lacrosse fields, and it looks like once upon a time there might have been a track. Yeah, maybe. Then there’s some parks, including a park I didn’t go to too often with my daughter just 'cause this isn't central to where we lived, but still…I think this is interesting, though. So, what I’m…think we're gonna do is cross over the Park Street Bridge, and the wild thing is I don't know that I’ve ever crossed over that bridge before. So, that is interesting. I don't know that I’ve ever done it. Also where Koa goes to get her…where they keep a eye on Koa, they check her eyes and ears and all that stuff, is right by here. So, this is another section of where I live. So, we’ll cross over this bridge.

 

I’m hoping that…I know that they kinda…that people have tried…and again, a lot of people that are trying to make a profit or whatever…but at the same time, I know there was one set of condos or apartments that got built on the water, so I think there is a path. So, what I’m hoping is we can catch a path that goes from Park Street Bridge to the Fruitvale Bridge, and then from the Fruitvale Bridge to the High Street Bridge. But this is…again, we're moving into unprecedented territory here, so, it’s exciting. We still have a ways to go to the bridge. I got a little…I was like, wait a second, this is the bridge coming up.

 

But a nice swale on my right as a part of the bike…looks like they still have to redo the sidewalk that I’m on, but between the sidewalk and the bike path is a swale, like a lower area for the water runoff from the sidewalk, the bike path, and the road, filled with plants. I believe that’s called a swale. It has plants in it and mulch. It looks cool. Then on my left is a giant lot which I think at some point is scheduled to get something built here, and on the other side…I don't know if it’s a cereal factory or a cement factory, that one. There’s a few different factories. One is actually…was a recycling plant. I don't know what Oakland…it’s in Oakland that’s getting taken down. I don't know what’s gonna go up in that…it’s…the place of that. I think we’ll walk right by that.

 

I’m seeming like this will be an extended episode, 'cause I don't feel like breaking this episode up into two parts would work unless something with my battery or something else changes. So, now we're in…we're working our way back towards Park Street. Oh, I gotta have another food recommendation, but also a couple other things, things to do. Now, yeah, if you're making this a two-meal trek, you could do some shopping on Park Street, you could go…I guess you could go to the library, you could go to a cafe or…I mean, Park Street has tons of spots. There’s also a dollar store where my daughter and I regularly go, and it’s only been open the past six or seven years. The reason I point that out is it’s another thing there wasn’t a lot of in Alameda, and especially when you don’t have a car, it’s harder to go to a dollar store.

 

But it’s just another thing…positive…I mean, not everybody would view a dollar store as positive, but it is positive. But it’s part of a shopping center, again, that’s built right on the water. I think behind it is kind of a path along the water, but it’s like, I don't know, not the kind of…it’s kind of like a path that’s doing its best in spite of itself. ‘Cause, yeah, there’s the dollar store…it’s just a strange amalgamation. Now, there’s also a place that I can recommend eating. It wouldn't be my number-one rec, but this…so, this is all the parts of Park Street close to the bridge, and we're gonna run through your options. So, Dragon Rouge is a popular restaurant, and I don't eat there quite as often just 'cause I try to steer clear of places that have a crustacean-heavy menu.

 

I don't even know if they’re crustacean-heavy, but a place where their shrimp dishes are so good or prawn dishes are so good or crab dishes are so good that someone with you is gonna order it, 'cause then it always makes the risk for me of cross-contamination. But it is really popular and it is really good. There’s also a cool coffee shop, Coffee Cultures, that has also a soft-serve ice cream. I think it closes at about 2:00 or 3:00. We got some crows. There’s also the Alameda Marketplace, which is definitely a strong check-out. There’s Crispian Bakery, there’s Monkey House, which is another place me and my daughter like to order food from, both Crispian Bakery and Monkey House. Then there’s the Alameda Marketplace. There’s also a place, McGee's, which is a bar.

 

Even…so, for a long time, that was another thing Alameda was kind of short on, was…I think it shows my priorities back in the day, but was sports grills. They had bars that showed sports, but not sports grills where you could go and eat and eat with your kid and your…I’m not even saying it in a way…but that was only maintenance, kind of, for me. Oh, look; Dragon Rouge does have outdoor seating now, and they have outdoor/indoor seating, like a tent. So, I’ve never walked over this bridge. I’ve ridden my bike over it. So, we're gonna cross over the Park Street Bridge; another thing to check out. It’s a beautiful bridge. These are drawbridges. But yeah, so McGee's…I haven't been there in a long time, but…and the last time I was there, the food was good. They lease out the kitchen to another business.

 

I think I was there twice during…when I was sober, but during the days of when Golden State and Cleveland would be going back and forth against each other in the finals. So, it’s been a while. Okay, so you get a great view of…wow. So, this is a loud bridge, but this is cool. We’ll have a warning about it. This is kinda like a warm voice. Good thing is this is…let’s leave it in and then we’ll see if it’s usable. But it’s cool. I gotta let these people come by on a bike. But yeah, it’s…you got a unbelievable view. I can see Mount Tam. You really have a unbeatable view. I can see Mount Tam. I can't see San Francisco. There’s a lot of fog. What a view, man. Again…and yeah, you can kinda see the waterfront and the lack of waterfront access, which is too bad. But that’ll probably change slowly.

 

So, yeah, I’m over the Park Street Bridge now, and yeah, you're hearing the grating, that sweet, sweet humming. I’m gonna have to figure out crossing the street here, but it does look like…so, this is cool because this is what I love about recording these on-location episodes. There is waterfront access that I have not been on. So, this is very, very exciting stuff because…and it is…yeah, there is an apartment building or condo building. I’m pretty sure I knew a couple that lived there, but they also moved out of the Bay Area. You know, tried to figure out affordability. This says No Crossing, but I’m crossing because I gotta get across this street. Yeah, so, I’m gonna try to get across this street here, and then…it could take me a few hours. Okay, so, I did get across.

 

It’s actually labeled as the Bay Trail, but if you were walking the Bay Trail, I just don’t know where you would go from here. But…yeah. So, this is public shoreline. This is a really nice public shoreline, too, and actually very efficient because it doesn't look like it’s very far of the Fruitvale Bridge. Then we’ll see if…I guess then I can…we’ll be able to see the next shoreline path or not and make a decision. Yeah, so, it looks like there’s one, two, three different residential-style buildings on this thing. I don't see anybody…I saw some people in the common room of the first building enjoying it, but three distinct styles. So, probably three different companies. But I mean, this would be a cool place to live. The only thing is, yeah, directly across from you is mostly industrial or non-waterfront retail.

 

I didn’t know this would be the Scoots Talking Development Cast. There’s some houseboats. There’s a house on a barge. I don't know what that is, if that’s some sort of…there’s literally a house on a barge, like a huge barge. Like, a house, a double-wide the size of four double-wides. So, a double-wide…like, a double-wide but extended into four on a barge. I don't know if somebody lives there or if that’s just…it’s docked. It has everything. Oh, it must be offices, 'cause it goes down to that boat. Now, normally this would also be really busy with rowing and stuff. Wow, this last building’s really long. There’s actually some other people out, a couple people with dogs. A lot of rowing would be going on. I think we're gonna cross in front of the Cal Rowing Building, maybe.

 

Let me see what we have coming up here, and…'cause you can kinda see all…but, wow, this is cool. I’ve honestly never been here. So, I’m glad we did this together. Yeah, a really unbelievably…a lot of people walking their dogs. If this is the Cal…just the Cal Boathouse, it’s probably the most…coolest thing I’ve ever seen. I’ve seen it from the water, but it’s pretty amazing. Yeah, University of California. Wow, it is nice. Man, they should rent that out for weddings. There’s also a really cool mural here on a warehouse with some California birds, and it’s by Griffin One, Vogue, TDK, and Doty CBS, 2014. Beautiful mural. Wow, there’s stairs down to the water of the estuary. Huh, some port-o-potties. I don't know if maybe there’s a running event down here or something. Yeah, this is the Oakland Waterfront Bay Trail.

 

There’s a big two-mast ship across me that’s been there for quite some time, and I could see both Fruitvale Bridge and the old Fruitvale Rail Bridge, which is up…another thing I’ve always wondered why they…I think it still occasionally gets used, but it’s up. I think it could be painted a different, more flashy color, or even have some art installations on it. Oh, a great blue heron just heard me. Flew across the estuary. Yeah, it’s…I don't know. I think it’s a still-functional bridge, and it has places up top for some kind of observation. So, it’s like…for me it’s like, man, I’d love to be able to go up to the top and see the view, too. I almost applied for a job as a bridge tender.

 

I think I talked about this in one of the holiday walk videos, my whole…but that was before I made a lot of changes and before I had to make changes in my life. So, who knows what would have happened if I got that job. Yeah, so, I’m walking towards the High Street Bridge or the Fruitvale Bridge. We're gonna see if on…just weird; even this is this mish-mash of warehouses. I have…when I…there is occasions I would ride my bike from Alameda to Oakland and go across some of the waterfront in Oakland just to see what it was like. That would probably have to be done by bike. So, it’s another thing to think about for me if I want to do that or get a bike in that kind of shape to do that.

 

But yeah, again, there’s areas you can get to the waterfront; it’s just, it’s like…it’s a little bit like…a bit like a maze, like you're trying to find your way through it. Now, this is about as far…this Fruitvale Bridge is about as far as I’ll come on my paddleboard, too, depending on how strong the current is. I haven't paddleboarded in quite a while 'cause it’s been raining on and off. Here’s the recycling building that they're tearing down. We're back on Fruitvale, which is the BART station, which is about another half-mile away. Okay, so I gotta cross that…or, not across the bridge, but across the street. Now we're walking on the waterfront in front of this factory that’s being taken down. They're working on the smoke stacks. So, it’s pretty interesting.

 

I haven't been…I don't live close enough…oh, we can hear the water coming out. So, this is the water from the Oakland water…this is the watershed. So, this water’s coming down from the Oakland Hills, San Andro, Hayward here, out into the bay and out into the…it’s a big aqueduct. Or, not aqueduct, but whatever you want to call it. It’s flowing. That’s cool. Another…first seeing this. I’ve seen it from the water. It sounds nice, huh? Yeah, we got a factory with three smoke stacks that I assume will be taken down piece by piece, maybe. They're building scaffolding around them. I don't know what will go up here, but I’m gonna continue on the water and we’ll keep walking along this waterfront. So, this waterfront does not have anything on this side. It’s…doesn't have anything open.

 

So, it’s just…this recycling building takes up a huge plot of land. So, it could become something pretty gigantic, again, which would give…it’d be really nice if it was somewhat dense, 'cause again, you could get a lot of people walking, maybe get some more retail. It’s also really…it’s walkable to the BART. So, on the Alameda side are mostly housing, though it is houses, single-family houses, but a lot of them over the years at least have two or three…they’ll have houses in the back, too. But the laws changing go back and forth on as far as renting them out. So…but yeah, there’s still waterfront access, so this is good and nice to know. So, that’s cool. This is a less, I guess, fancy waterfront access, but still waterfront access nonetheless. Then I’m gonna get to the…my…whatever you call it.

 

The High Street Bridge we’ll cross back over, then I’ll end the episode. Oh, I was gonna tell a story about Speisekammer, so…oh, the tidal canal; there was just a sign describing…oh, I should check the sign out? Sure, okay. What does it say here? This is…used to be known as San Antonio Creek. It ended, but they extended it as it was developed into a working harbor. Oh, the…1873; this was a 1.5-mile tidal canal that connects San Andro Bay to the estuaries…1889 to 1892, and 1901 to 1903, and transformed Alameda into an island, and it was very celebrated with a three-day Alameda water carnival in 1902. There was drawbridges…Park Street, 1891, 1900 on High Street, Fruitvale…1901, they replaced in 1935 and 1939. Park Street and High Street were…the Railroad Bridge was 1951.

 

1921 grain elevators of the Western Milling Company; that’s the Park Street factory, yeah. Then the glass factory, that’s the one they're tearing down. Then there’s another cement factory over here. Okay, so, we’ll get back to walking. So, to finish this out here…so, I got…I had had a patch where I was running this business when I was in my twenties, and it was not going well. Eventually I had to accept defeat and…whatever, I won't talk about the specifics at the end of a sleep podcast. But after I closed down the…in the business I had to work every weekend for a long time. The podcast is kinda like that, but it was heavy weekend work, like heavily weekend-dependent. So, I had to work every weekend for most of my young adult life, or at least the past six years I think I ran this business, maybe eight years.

 

I can't even remember anymore. But so, after I closed the business down or it went out of business and I closed it down, we had just happened to have a family trip planned, like my family, my whole…my siblings and my parents and stuff. I was really looking forward to it 'cause I was kinda going through this period of growth and the ups and downs of growth. I had taken this one…it was my first Saturday and I was gonna be by myself, and I went to the library and checked out some travel books to where we were going to in Florida and brought them to that…to Speisekammer and sat outside and just read through the travel books and ate some schnitzel.

 

I remember it was just this warm day and I had such a sense of release…‘release’ I guess is the right word from closing down this business that wasn’t working, and just this huge thing when you go through tough times and then you hit…that was a different kind of bottom, but it was a work bottom, business bottom. You think it’s…after that there’s…the storm kinda clears for a little bit and you say, holy cow, I didn’t realize how much this was…that this was an anchor. So, I just remember that. So, I’ll leave you with that thought of Scoots paging through things. So, on the intros when I’ll go over the Park Street Bridge…so, I appreciate you listening to the show and supporting it if you support it or being kind or sleeping to it. Thanks so much.

 

[END OF RECORDING]

(Transcription performed by LeahTranscribes)

Walk With Me / On Location

 

Tour Guide History

https://doinghistoryinpublic.org/2020/01/14/tour-de-force-a-selected-history-of-guided-tours/

https://corfuguidedtours.com/tourist-guide-everything-you-need-to-know-about-this-ancient-profession/

https://spotterup.com/eugene-fodor-travel-writer-and-spy/

 

36 hours in San Francisco

https://spotterup.com/eugene-fodor-travel-writer-and-spy/

https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/01/travel/what-to-do-in-36-hours-in-san-francisco.html?unlocked_article_code=1.1U4.J4wl.3cz49-e4R82M&smid=url-share

https://coveteur.com/san-francisco-travel-guide

 

The Neighborhoods of the Bay Area

https://www.movebayarea.com/neighborhoods

https://move-central.com/blog/guide-bay-area-neighborhoods/

https://sanfran.com/san-francisco-neighborhood-guide

 

Swales

https://www.masterclass.com/articles/swale-definition

https://premierpond.com/what-is-a-swale-drain/

https://greenwaynashville.com/all-posts/f/everything-to-know-about-swales

 

DOWN TO BUSINESS

Walking through the city streets of Alameda

Somewhat sleepy

Recorded in Binaural Audio

A variety of episodes

Oh my gosh, a soaring Great Blue Heron

A puppy dog is cheering on the show

 

PLUGS

Sleep With Me Plus; SleepPhones; Story Only Feed; Rusty Biscuit Links; Emily Tat Artwork; Crisis Textline

 

SPONSORS

Helix Sleep; Zocdoc; Progressive; Quince; Odoo

 

INTRO

I’ve completely lost my intro

Imperfect Podcaster for an imperfect podcast for an imperfect world

Meeting you where you are

Right now, we’re crossing over the Alameda Estuary

I think the car rumbles are nice, personally

I am glad you’re here right now

The walking tour that never got started

Sometimes what listeners need from me also changes

Sometimes I’m just a mumbling noise

An out of focus picture

Keeping you company while you fall asleep

My job is just to be here

Your Bore Friend

I hope this can be a new series

Turning 2 paragraphs into a full hour of audio

 

STORY

This might become a … 5 part series?

One is edited at this point

We’ve started to get a good editing flow

Explaining the editing process of this series

Into an Editing Pipeline

Let’s review the 5 W’s

Explaining binaural audio

The first time I used this mic was to do a long walk in Orlando

Walking around with a handheld mic is just too hard

But these fit in my ears

Plus, a lot of people love to interrupt a person with a handheld mic

Omnidirectional mics just don’t work for what we need

Whoops, I missed the bridge I was gonna cross

Gonna stay flexible

I’ll do these up into July

I’d like to record at least 12

A first row seat to a producer discussion between Drew and Scooter

I’ve lived in Alameda for a very long time

More than likely, I will not be living here by the end of the year

I’m deadline motivated but sometimes I forget to set deadlines for myself

It’s a little windy, so it’s good I’m not recording downtown today

I gotta cross the street right now

I have no historical or architectural knowledge to bring to this walking tour

But I do like walking!

It’ll be kind of like a New York Times 36 hours tour

I can post a map of this walk later

Alameda is kind of its own thing

The Town

A Really Like Letter to Alameda

Starting around the High Street Bridge

Crossing over the Fruitvale Bridge into Oakland

Not quite an anti-walking tour

I’d like for Park Street to be shut to traffic, personally

Shoutout to the German restaurant

Sprietzenkammer

This is a good place for big soccer matches

Traditional German food

They have big World Cup parties

I haven’t been to the Oktoberfest

But I do love an oompah band

I’d go there after lunch, personally

But I haven’t been since they transferred owners

The best place for a rainy winter night meal

A Homey Style Place

They have a tent out

I think I’m pronouncing Speisekammer correctly

Oh the tents are for the sun

I guess I’ll have to come back a couple times

A smiling staff is always a good sign

We’re getting close to where I used to do live shows

Alameda Library is across the street from that venue

I’ve lived here since it was put in here

It really added a positive vibe

The former library still needs a retrofit

It became a pinball museum which is pretty cool

This is one of the places I came when I first got sober

I think that was a former Carnegie Library

The Alameda Elks Building, dated 1909

One of those buildings that is evocative of towns

It makes me think of Oswego, NY

I’ve been around, looking at apartments occasionally

The Parks & Rec Offices

A very distinct style

You could pay to have Santa stop by your house

Santa’s helper, of course

The 51A Route

I logged a lot of miles on this bus

I didn’t have a car when I started the podcast

I’d pick up my daughter, and we’d take the bus across town to our home

I don’t think I’ll make it all the way to Grand Ave

Grand Type Houses

I can’t quite walk past this family in front of me

The Alameda Adult School

You can start taking classes at age 50

It’s community resources like that that are so important

I bought a bike from a guy who used to sell bikes in front of his house

I think I ate at this place, Acapulco, once

Another great place for people struggling with substances and alcohol

I got lucky that there were so many meeting places near me

Heading roughly towards Oakland

An old familiar street sign

Heading towards the Estuary

There’s not a lot of public access to the waterfront right now

What they develop on the water seems counterintuitive to me

I’ve always lived in apartments so I might be wired differently

I would’ve loved to be by the water

But they’ve been working on this Cross-Bay Bike Path

The Gene Sweeney Open Space

I hope they can turn some of this into more parks

I have a storage unit

Attempting a Full Adventure

This might’ve been a high school track once upon a time

I used to go to this park with my daughter

I don’t know if I’ve ever crossed over the park street bridge

Where Koa goes for care is near here

Crossing over the bridge

A Nice Swale on my right

I think something will be built on this lot soon

That’s either a cereal or cement factory

I go to that dollar store a lot

I think we’ll find a waterfront path soon

That path is doing its best in spite of its location

Dragon Rouge is very popular

I avoid crustacean-heavy menus

Some cool coffee shops

Alameda Marketplace

McGee’s, a bar

Alameda was really short on sports grills for a long time

Oh wow, Dragon Rouge has outdoor seating now

Crossing over the Park Street bridge now

This is a drawbridge

Wow, this is a loud bridge

Okay there is waterfront access I see now

I knew a couple that used to live in that condo building

Took me a while to get across 

On the public shoreline

I guess this is technically the Bay Trail

3 Distinct Styles of Apartment Buildings

The Scoots Talking Development-Cast

Houses on Barges!

A double wide the size of 4 double wides

Oh we might cross by the Cal Rowing building

Wow, this is cool

Okay, that’s cool, it is the Cal Rowing building

A really cool warehouse mural

Nice stairs down to the estuary

I see the old and new Fruitvale bridges

Oh, another Great Blue Heron!

I almost applied for a job as a Bridge Tender

Every once in a while I’d ride my bike to Oakland

The waterfront is a bit of a maze

I’ll paddleboard out here occasionally

They’re tearing down this recycling building

Hear that water flowing

It’s also walkable to the BART from here, so I hope it becomes a public space

The laws on renting out ADUs keep changing

Waterfront Access, Nonetheless

Oh cool, a tidal canal

Reading an informational sign

My Speisenkammer Story

I used to run a business

It was exhausting and eventually I had to close the business down

Going through an up and down growth period

My first Saturday off

I checked out books for a Florida family trip

Reading travel books in the sun at Speisenkammer

And there was such a sense of relief

Hitting Business Bottom

I’ll leave you with that memory of relief

 

SUMMARY:

Episode: 1374

Title: Alameda Walk 1 | On  Location

Plugs: Sleep With Me Plus; SleepPhones; Story Only Feed; Rusty Biscuit Links; Emily Tat Artwork; Crisis Textline

Sponsors: Helix Sleep; Zocdoc; Progressive; Quince; Odoo

Notable Language:

• Imperfect Podcaster
• Your Bore Friend
• Into an Editing Pipeline
• Binaural
• Omnidirectional
• Apartment-Like Structures
• The Town
• A Really Like Letter to Alameda
• Anti-Walking Tour
• A Homey Style Place
• Evocative of Towns
• Grand Type Houses
• Attempting a Full Adventure
• Swale
• Crustacean-Heavy Menus
• Waterfront Access, Nonetheless
• Hitting Business Bottom

 

Notable Culture:

• New York Times
• World Cup
• Speisekammer Alameda
• Elks Club
• The Alameda Adult School
• Dollar Store
• Dragon Rouge restaurant
• Alameda Marketplace
• The Scoots Talking Development-Cast
• Cal

 

Notable Talking Points:

• I’ve completely lost my intro
• Imperfect Podcaster for an imperfect podcast for an imperfect world
• Meeting you where you are
• Right now, we’re crossing over the Alameda Estuary
• I think the car rumbles are nice, personally
• I am glad you’re here right now
• The walking tour that never got started
• Sometimes what listeners need from me also changes
• Sometimes I’m just a mumbling noise
• An out of focus picture
• Keeping you company while you fall asleep
• My job is just to be here
• Your Bore Friend
• I hope this can be a new series
• Turning 2 paragraphs into a full hour of audio
• This might become a … 5 part series?
• One is edited at this point
• We’ve started to get a good editing flow
• Explaining the editing process of this series
• Into an Editing Pipeline
• Let’s review the 5 W’s
• Explaining binaural audio
• The first time I used this mic was to do a long walk in Orlando
• Walking around with a handheld mic is just too hard
• But these fit in my ears
• Plus, a lot of people love to interrupt a person with a handheld mic
• Omnidirectional mics just don’t work for what we need
• Whoops, I missed the bridge I was gonna cross
• Gonna stay flexible
• I’ll do these up into July
• I’d like to record at least 12
• A first row seat to a producer discussion between Drew and Scooter
• I’ve lived in Alameda for a very long time
• More than likely, I will not be living here by the end of the year
• I’m deadline motivated but sometimes I forget to set deadlines for myself
• It’s a little windy, so it’s good I’m not recording downtown today
• I gotta cross the street right now
• I have no historical or architectural knowledge to bring to this walking tour
• But I do like walking!
• It’ll be kind of like a New York Times 36 hours tour
• I can post a map of this walk later
• Alameda is kind of its own thing
• The Town
• A Really Like Letter to Alameda
• Starting around the High Street Bridge
• Crossing over the Fruitvale Bridge into Oakland
• Not quite an anti-walking tour
• I’d like for Park Street to be shut to traffic, personally
• Shoutout to the German restaurant
• Sprietzenkammer
• This is a good place for big soccer matches
• Traditional German food
• They have big World Cup parties
• I haven’t been to the Oktoberfest
• But I do love an oompah band
• I’d go there after lunch, personally
• But I haven’t been since they transferred owners
• The best place for a rainy winter night meal
• A Homey Style Place
• They have a tent out
• I think I’m pronouncing Speisekammer correctly
• Oh the tents are for the sun
• I guess I’ll have to come back a couple times
• A smiling staff is always a good sign
• We’re getting close to where I used to do live shows
• Alameda Library is across the street from that venue
• I’ve lived here since it was put in here
• It really added a positive vibe
• The former library still needs a retrofit
• It became a pinball museum which is pretty cool
• This is one of the places I came when I first got sober
• I think that was a former Carnegie Library
• The Alameda Elks Building, dated 1909
• One of those buildings that is evocative of towns
• It makes me think of Oswego, NY
• I’ve been around, looking at apartments occasionally
• The Parks & Rec Offices
• A very distinct style
• You could pay to have Santa stop by your house
• Santa’s helper, of course
• The 51A Route
• I logged a lot of miles on this bus
• I didn’t have a car when I started the podcast
• I’d pick up my daughter, and we’d take the bus across town to our home
• I don’t think I’ll make it all the way to Grand Ave
• Grand Type Houses
• I can’t quite walk past this family in front of me
• The Alameda Adult School
• You can start taking classes at age 50
• It’s community resources like that that are so important
• I bought a bike from a guy who used to sell bikes in front of his house
• I think I ate at this place, Acapulco, once
• Another great place for people struggling with substances and alcohol
• I got lucky that there were so many meeting places near me
• Heading roughly towards Oakland
• An old familiar street sign
• Heading towards the Estuary
• There’s not a lot of public access to the waterfront right now
• What they develop on the water seems counterintuitive to me
• I’ve always lived in apartments so I might be wired differently
• I would’ve loved to be by the water
• But they’ve been working on this Cross-Bay Bike Path
• The Gene Sweeney Open Space
• I hope they can turn some of this into more parks
• I have a storage unit
• Attempting a Full Adventure
• This might’ve been a high school track once upon a time
• I used to go to this park with my daughter
• I don’t know if I’ve ever crossed over the park street bridge
• Where Koa goes for care is near here
• Crossing over the bridge
• A Nice Swale on my right
• I think something will be built on this lot soon
• That’s either a cereal or cement factory
• I go to that dollar store a lot
• I think we’ll find a waterfront path soon
• That path is doing its best in spite of its location
• Dragon Rouge is very popular
• I avoid crustacean-heavy menus
• Some cool coffee shops
• Alameda Marketplace
• McGee’s, a bar
• Alameda was really short on sports grills for a long time
• Oh wow, Dragon Rouge has outdoor seating now
• Crossing over the Park Street bridge now
• This is a drawbridge
• Wow, this is a loud bridge
• Okay there is waterfront access I see now
• I knew a couple that used to live in that condo building
• Took me a while to get across 
• On the public shoreline
• I guess this is technically the Bay Trail
• 3 Distinct Styles of Apartment Buildings
• The Scoots Talking Development-Cast
• Houses on Barges!
• A double wide the size of 4 double wides
• Oh we might cross by the Cal Rowing building
• Wow, this is cool
• Okay, that’s cool, it is the Cal Rowing building
• A really cool warehouse mural
• Nice stairs down to the estuary
• I see the old and new Fruitvale bridges
• Oh, another Great Blue Heron!
• I almost applied for a job as a Bridge Tender
• Every once in a while I’d ride my bike to Oakland
• The waterfront is a bit of a maze
• I’ll paddleboard out here occasionally
• They’re tearing down this recycling building
• Hear that water flowing
• It’s also walkable to the BART from here, so I hope it becomes a public space
• The laws on renting out ADUs keep changing
• Waterfront Access, Nonetheless
• Oh cool, a tidal canal
• Reading an informational sign
• My Speisenkammer Story
• I used to run a business
• It was exhausting and eventually I had to close the business down
• Going through an up and down growth period
• My first Saturday off
• I checked out books for a Florida family trip
• Reading travel books in the sun at Speisenkammer
• And there was such a sense of relief
• Hitting Business Bottom
• I’ll leave you with that memory of relief