Musing…

As a child of the 80s, I freely admit that Top Gun left a distinct impression upon me, enough so that simply standing by the beach in Alameda suddenly churns up memories of that overglorified Navy recruitment film exceedingly awesome (!) movie about super cool (!) fighter pilots!

So, I’m sitting there on a bench by the beach with rows of single-story, cookie-cutter homes lining up behind me. The sun above is somewhere between bright noon and lazy dusk. A breeze rolls, wafting the salty scent of the ocean, and giving me some goosebumps. Occassionally, the background noise of gentle waves crashing upon the sands is pierced by a seagull.

I see Tom Cruise’s Maverick arriving late for his lunch date with his instructor, Kelly McGillis. I see Maverick visiting Tom Skerritt’s house seeking advice while squinting from the sun. I see a lone Maverick rolling up to Charlie’s vacated home on his Kawasaki Ninja, everything awash with the golden orange of sunset.

Oh sure, Alameda is nowhere near Miramar or San Diego where Top Gun was set, but both have history as supporting communities attached to military bases. You just don’t quite expect a quiet afternoon on a beach bench to result in your reminiscing about a movie from your childhood.

So what else does Alameda have going for it…besides the faint possibility of reminding you of one of the coolest movie ever? That’s hard to say because it really depends on what you’re after. For one thing, I can’t say the scenery leading up to the tunnel or bridge into Alameda is very enticing. I mean, damn, its Oakland (need I say more?).

But once you’re in Alameda, it does feel like a little enclove of quaint, regimented “white” society secured away on its own island from the uneasy drudgery of ghetto Oakland. No, Alameda is not quite high society, but it does smell faintly of nostalgia. There are streets that are too narrow for traffic, and businesses that are still small especially compared to the massive strip malls and dealerships we see so much these days. It’s a certain low-density low-rise charm.

Soak that up. Walk around town and keep your eye open for what could be historical and therefore cool for simply still existing. Unlike downtown Oakland, you might not find anything really majestic but you won’t have to dodge any bullets either. As with any of the older locales in the Bay Area, avoid the Applebees and find a small establishment to dine at. Need some inspiration? Check here for some good Alameda restaurants or other amusing things you could do.

Many say there’s this great sushi place in Alameda called (unsurprisingly) Sushi House, with plenty of the Asian kids from Berkeley making the trek to dine. What do I think? It’s good, but I’ve had better.

Since Christmas is rearing its ugly head soon, you might want to swing by Thomson Avenue in Alameda for the lights and decoration. It’d be great if you have kids or if you’re looking for a cheap but fairly romantic date activity.

But all of that is pretty much nonsense because it’s really all about that spiritual allusion to Top Gun. Forget the bases in San Francisco proper, they have the wrong geography. Short of going down to Miramar (which no longer hosts Top Gun anyway), pick a sunny day, head over to Alameda, and see if you find a sand pit for beach volleyball.

Oh, and who the hell knew Tim Robbins (of Shawshank Redemption fame) was Merlin in Top Gun?

Merlin: What are you doing? You’re slowing down, you’re slowing down!
Maverick: I’m bringing him in closer, Merlin.
Merlin: You’re gonna do WHAT?

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This entry was posted on Sunday, November 25th, 2007 at 5:48 am and is filed under Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.