Saturday
dawned bright and sunny and I headed across the Bay Bridge to the town of
Danville, CA. While I waited to catch my shuttle to the Eugene O'Neill National
Historic Site I wandered through the farmers market. How amazing it must be to
have access to fresh fruits and vegetables this time of year.
Normally you need
reservations to visit Eugene’s home but on Saturdays they allow self-guided
tours. You still need to take a
shuttle to get there because the home is in a gated community. Once I arrived, there was a ranger that shadowed us
through the house who offered to answer any questions so I started firing away.
I didn’t really know anything about Eugene but I learned he was an American
playwright and Nobel laureate in Literature. I had heard of some of his plays
but to me his most touching work was a last will and testament he wrote in the voice
of his beloved dog. Having lost both of my dogs in recent years I was moved to
tears by his words.
| Special dog bed for Blemie |
My next stop
was John Muir National Historic Site where I caught the shuttle to the Port
Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial. It is on an active military base so
tours are restricted to once a day, 3 days a week and you have to reserve 2
weeks ahead of time by providing your driver’s license number. It was worth it
though to learn about the largest domestic loss of life during World War II.
| All that remains of the explostion |
In
1944, 5,000 tons of munitions detonated accidentally due to loading being done by
men with little or no training who were told the munitions they were loading
were not active. Out of the 320 men killed in the explosion, 202 were African
American. Less than a month later the survivors were told to report back to work
and they refused. 50 were ultimately convicted of mutiny, dishonorably discharged
and sentenced to prison. This disaster ended up being the impetus for the armed
forces to begin desegregating, beginning with the Navy. It was a fascinating
story that I had never heard before and our ranger was a great guide.
 |
After
getting back to John Muir’s house I toured around and learned more about his
life. Most people imagine him as a solitary figure writing in the woods but he
spent 15 years of his life on this fruit farm in California where he was a
wealthy man. Some of the reverence is lost as his front porch now overlooks a
Valero station and a freeway runs overhead but it was great to pilgrimage to
the home of America’s most famous naturalist and conservationist.
On the
grounds is the Martinez Adobe which had exhibits for the Juan
Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail. Throughout the week I passed by
several spots where the Anza Expedition stopped while exploring California.
My
final stop of the day was at the Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National
Historical Park. The visitor center is huge since its in one of the old
factories in Richmond. It has amazing exhibits and I spent over an hour walking
through and learning all about the impact this town had on World War II. I
really loved the vignettes from the ladies who talked about their experiences.
Basically they heard on the radio that women were needed for the war effort so they bought a train
ticket and headed west. Such moxie!
I
drove over to the Rosie the Riveter Memorial and the Kaiser Shipyard No. 3 and
SS Red Oak Victory to see other remnants
of that time period and it was a fascinating look at history.
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