A BIT OF HISTORY IN JACK LONDON SQUARE

This morning we headed out on a day trip to Jack London Square in Oakland. Having grown up & lived in the East Bay for the first 50 years of my life, I've been there many, many times but Lou had only been there once....on business.

Our first stop Franklin Delano Roosevelt's Presidential yacht, The Potomac, which the press dubbed "The Floating White House." It has been restored & is berthed in Jack London Square. The ship is open to the public for tours & cruises.

The Potomac was originally a Coast Guard cruiser that was commissioned by the U.S.Navy to become the Presidential yacht.

This was FDR's cabin on the ship. The quilt has Scottish terriers on it in honor of his beloved dog,a Scottie named Fala, who was his constant companion.  I asked about the single bed & wondered where Eleanor slept. The answer was she never spent the night on the ship after a harrowing experience as a child & her husband's later affair.

The open air stern area was FDR's favorite location on The Potomac. He loved the sea & spent most weekends on the ship. It also provided transportation from Washington, DC, to his home in Hyde Park, New York.

The bridge which features some of the original teak wood. Most of the ship was submerged for many years after falling into disrepair & sinking near Treasure Island. 

We walked along the Oakland-Alameda Estuary & took in the sights after a great lunch of a giant hot dog, chips & a drink for only $5...the biggest bargain in Jack London Square! What can I say? I'm a cheap date. :-)

Some of the beautiful boats in the Jack London Square marina at the foot of Broadway in Oakland. Each December the owners adorn them with lights, Christmas trees & assorted decorations for the Parade of Lights.

I have no idea why the light posts were decorated with bicycles strapped to them but pretty much every pole had bikes on it - different.  

This was the site of the largest & the first Barnes & Noble bookstore. It closed several years ago & is now a beer garden & bocce ball bowling center.

No visit to Jack London Square is complete without a stop at "Heinold's First & Last Chance Saloon". It seems out of place among the modern buildings of a big city but is an unchanged landmark that attracts tourists & locals alike.

This saloon has been in operation since 1880 & was a favorite hangout of Jack London. When he was 17 he would study here & later wrote notes for several of his famous novels.

The interior & bar of Heinold's. It's a little hard to see but the bar & floor slope down - a result of damage from the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906. The bartender pulls lots of pranks on customers, such as dropping stuffed spiders down on unsuspecting drinkers or when a man uses the bathroom, a recording tells him to smile because he is on camera.

Of course, Lou & I had to have a beer & join in the fun. When my son & I first stopped in for a libation 15+ years ago, he announced, "I want to be a local here!"

Parts of Jack London's cabin from the Alaskan Yukon were trucked to Oakland & used in this reconstruction just a few feet from Heinhold's First & Last Chance.