Lap of California: The Mission Trail – San Francisco to Fremont

The Bal Theatre, San Leandro
The Bal Theatre, San Leandro

On 17-18 November 2014, I walked the 26 miles from the ferry terminal at Harbor Bay to Mission San Jose in Fremont, mostly along Mission Blvd. The first section of the walk is through the light industrial area around the Oakland Airport. They were testing the new BART connector to the airport on the day I walked by.

Oakland Airport BART Connector
Oakland Airport BART Connector

Walking  through San Leandro and Hayward is like traveling back to the 1950s. Emil Villa’s was one of my grandfather’s favorite BBQ places, and is still operating on Mission Blvd. From Hayward, the east side of Mission Blvd. is open space with good views of the East Bay hills.

East Bay Hills
East Bay Hills

Union City has a bit more of a muti-cultural feel.

Union City
Union City

In Fremont I detoured a block off of Mission to walk through the Niles district. Fatty Arbuckle and Charlie Chaplin made movies at a studio in Niles in the early 20th century.

Niles
Niles

Mission San Jose is in a residential are of Fremont – it is not the most scenic location.

 

Mission San Jose
Mission San Jose

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