When we first moved to Alamo (the SF suburb we call home), I was embarrassed to tell people where I lived. After all it was known for being snooty, expensive, and exclusive, and that's not how I roll. But like the Alamo in Texas, it seemed to beli
e its reputation. Home-size is small, it lies smack dab on a major road, and building architecture is simple. This was not the quaint, quiet, and cushy reputation that the name "Alamo" seemed to exude. So where was the money and the people who had it? Well, today I found out.
Wanting to check out the close-by trails of Las Trampas Region Park, I decided to follow Las Trampas Road and see where it took me. Intuitive enough, right? But instead of encountering trails as I had expected, I came face-to-face with the fortune behind the community's fame.
Closest to my humble abode lie the small quaint houses whose residents could afford professionally manicured lawns. But as Las Trampas Road got steeper the home prices did too. Bigger lots, better views, until finally I reached the top. Private property, private roads, gates that opened by remote, winding grandiose driveways that led to multi-million dollar homes, with panoramic views of Mt. Diablo and the rolling hills of the East Bay.
While I did eventually find the trails, I found myself more mesmerized with the Maseratis and mansions than the nature surrounding them. With stucco homes and terra-cotta roofs, stones embedded strategically random on facades, and trellises of vines that seemed as much for decoration as production, Alamo lives up to the reputation that precedes it.
That sign is the result of a bitter lawsuit between the residents of that street and the rest of us. The residents decided that hikers parking on "their" street were impinging on their snootiness and put up the gate. The hikers etc. sued claiming they were cutting off access to public space. The snooters won and put up the gate and invite you to go around. This has been a battle in several communities in the Bay Area. One famous case involved Neil Young who put a gate and guards across a publicly built road in the Santa Cruz mountains. He won that suit, I've hated him since. I would suggest you get behind those rich folks place into the open space and throw rocks at their cars. But be careful, it's obvious who's side the law is on.
ReplyDeleteSeriously, you need to be the content editor for my blog! I didn't know about the lawsuits, but it doesn't surprise me a bit. The gate is a bit much and the sign a bit too little to feel like a friendly invitation to hike. I think I'll continue that route out of spite=)
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