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Boatpost_003 - Topgolf Liminal Space At The Edge Of Civilization

Boatpost_003 - Topgolf Liminal Space At The Edge Of Civilization

I bought my kayak a little over a month before I was planning to go on a solo, multi-night boat-in camping trip. I was coming into this thing with no experience, so I decided to try to go out as many times as possible in the meantime, aiming to get at least 6 paddling trips under my belt before my trip. I also wanted experience in as many different types of bodies of water as possible, hoping that the range of experiences would get my confidence and skills up to speed.

So having paddled in a small urban lake x2, and a wetland-leading-to-a-larger-bay, I decided to check out Alviso Slough. The slough starts around San Jose, and snakes through a wetland before opening into the Bay.

The very southern end of the Bay has always fascinated me: it's part bird sanctuary, part industrial zone, and part active salt production operation, hemmed in tightly on 3 sides by densely populated suburbs and office parks. I'd been wanting to check out the salt ponds in particular, and there are some directly adjacent to where I'd be paddling.

All it takes is a quick look at satellite view to understand what I'm talking about. The Psychedelic Colors And Shapes Zone is probably what catches your eye first, but if you look right around the edges (especially the southwest corner), you'll see some quaint little mom n pop businesses such as Meta headquarters, a Google satellite office, and Stanford.

me in an elevator, with the big lime green backpack, blue paddles sticking out one side, a black bandana, and sunglasses
The inside of a new BART train, with blue and lime green seats that coordinate perfectly with my boat getup
Me with all the boat stuff strapped to me, standing on the train, wearing lime green mask and blue earbuds. i'm telling you, my commitment to this color scheme is strong
my backpack with paddles sticking out and a bunch of stuff strapped to the front. it's in the seat next to me
me on the bus in sunglasses and mask
me walking down a beat up looking road

The trip was a bit of a marathon - I took a train to a bus to another bus, which took around 2.5 hours. This trip brought all the pain points of dragging this setup on a long and extensive transit journey into sharp focus, and I made a bunch of good mental notes for future improvements. Most of them related to shit escaping the bungee system on the back of my Giant Stupid Backpack.

Passing through San Jose, I grumpily texted Atomly to complain about how the South Bay is just one continuous office park (which is not NOT true). However, basically as soon as I looked up from my phone, I was here.

very dilapidated faded blue building with a painted sign "bayside canning co"
double decker train passes by a canal or inlet, with low mountains in the background and random palm trees but not much else
a very weird green color inlet type thing, some palm trees, and a worn chain link fence
train tracks separating a neighborhood from a salt pond

Aww yeah babey, it's liminal space time.

Anyway, I only had to walk a few blocks from the bus stop, and finally I was at Alviso Marina County Park, one of the least catchily named parks I can think of. It was very nice though! This park is a recent-ish development and seemed very popular. They had "real" bathrooms, and a rigging area for boats.

I don't know why I decided to take photos of my boat looking all flaccid, before I inflated the last chamber.

sign for alviso marina county park
bathroom building in a marsh type zone
a droopy inflatable kayak on an astroturf area
kayak full of stuff on a dock, in a winding creek through marshland

Alviso Slough was peaceful and felt kind of secluded, snaking through marshland with tall grasses on either side. The current and wind were no joke though, and with each turn, I was fighting them in a slightly different direction. I'd read a few times that the wind around the Bay tends to pick up from around 11-1, and what I'm learning is that that's not just a guideline but practically a hard and fast rule. And it was about that time when I launched.

I only made it about a mile and a half out, before turning around while I still had the arms to make it back. I packed up, and even though I was exhausted I decided I had to check out the salt ponds and these cool little boardwalk gates.

In my second year of architecture school we had to design a project that more or less fit this description: a boardwalk through a marsh. I designed something kind of similar in concept, and my professor hated it. Felt a little vindicated.

10-year-old pettiness aside, this was a really lovely way to get to experience the marsh. I could really only see the edges of the marsh from the boat, but through the gate, I got the chance to look out over a sea of grasses that seemed to extend forever.

a boardwalk with a metal railing over a marsh, with a little house-shaped wooden gate
view out into a marsh, with hills in the background, and a stream through the middle

Finally: the salt ponds! Absolutely 100% surreal looking. The "beach" was a crust of salt, and the water an apocalyptic bright red. Googling this whole deal on the way home, I learned that the colors of the different salt ponds are from whatever microorganisms live at that particular salinity level.

a white salt "beach" and red water
red water with lumps of salt accumulating around pieces of rebar
salt beach tinged red, and red water

Wild stuff. I am definitely going to see if I can go check out some of the different colored ponds, and spend some more time in the Weird South Bay in general. The juxtaposition of nature preserves and industrial zones is fucking FASCINATING to me, as is the stark contrast with the neverending office parks just a few blocks away.

As I was waiting for my bus home, I got barked at by a very cute dog posted up in his couch fort. He came to say hi when I walked by. What a buddy.

My bus stop was on the backside of the small neighborhood by the water, looking out over a lone taqueria, and a distant Topgolf.

dog sitting in a couch in a front yard, looking like he's posted up in a turret of a castle.
very friendly shepherd type dog smiling at me through a fence
combination taqueria and topgolf
topgolf fence and lots of tall yellow grass, through a bus window

Within a few minutes I was back in downtown San Jose, with all its traffic, office parks, and tech workers.

If you want to Feel Weird there's always a secret liminal space like 5 minutes from wherever you are in the city. Look at a map in satellite view and scan for anomalies, or just head to the forgotten fringes of your nearest large body of water.