Derrolyn Anderson's Blog - Posts Tagged "bay-bridge"
The End of an Era
They closed the old Bay Bridge today, in preparation for the post Labor Day switch to a new, safer bridge. They've been working on this ever since the span sustained severe damage in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.
Oh! All the times I crossed that bridge!
I was a kid from the south bay suburbs, itching to get into the city where all the action was, but unable to afford the sky-high rents. I took an apartment in a crime infested neighborhood in Oakland, and that bridge was my quickest route to the nightlife of San Francisco.
My roommate and I would get dolled up for a night of dancing and head out for the bright lights of the city, nothing but possibilities ahead of us. One of my favorite things to do was pay for two tolls, covering the stranger in the car behind me. More often than not they'd pull up alongside us, trying to figure out why we'd done it. We'd just laugh and wave, secure in our newly purchased good karma.
When I started to get modeling jobs I'd cross over in the daylight, heading out for the abandoned industrial areas where the artists and photographers had their enormous lofts and studio spaces - sketchy neighborhoods I was fearless in exploring solo. There were some surprising nooks and crannies in that compact city, galleries and performance spaces long-ago lost to hipster gentrification.
On an interesting side note, I later moved to the bucolic seaside town of Aptos, and when the big quake that fatally weakened the span hit, I was in lotus position in a yoga class not more than two miles from the geological epicenter. So much for tranquility! I set my first YA book series, "Marina's Tales", in Aptos, and I made certain to include plenty of action in beautiful, crazy, San Francisco.
It's the end of an era as the last car crosses over the old bridge, but I'll never forget the breathtaking view of the city from the top deck, and the feeling I'd get, not sure of what might be waiting for me on the other side...
Oh! All the times I crossed that bridge!
I was a kid from the south bay suburbs, itching to get into the city where all the action was, but unable to afford the sky-high rents. I took an apartment in a crime infested neighborhood in Oakland, and that bridge was my quickest route to the nightlife of San Francisco.
My roommate and I would get dolled up for a night of dancing and head out for the bright lights of the city, nothing but possibilities ahead of us. One of my favorite things to do was pay for two tolls, covering the stranger in the car behind me. More often than not they'd pull up alongside us, trying to figure out why we'd done it. We'd just laugh and wave, secure in our newly purchased good karma.
When I started to get modeling jobs I'd cross over in the daylight, heading out for the abandoned industrial areas where the artists and photographers had their enormous lofts and studio spaces - sketchy neighborhoods I was fearless in exploring solo. There were some surprising nooks and crannies in that compact city, galleries and performance spaces long-ago lost to hipster gentrification.
On an interesting side note, I later moved to the bucolic seaside town of Aptos, and when the big quake that fatally weakened the span hit, I was in lotus position in a yoga class not more than two miles from the geological epicenter. So much for tranquility! I set my first YA book series, "Marina's Tales", in Aptos, and I made certain to include plenty of action in beautiful, crazy, San Francisco.
It's the end of an era as the last car crosses over the old bridge, but I'll never forget the breathtaking view of the city from the top deck, and the feeling I'd get, not sure of what might be waiting for me on the other side...
