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MeznG. In the air, on the road, river or sea again
Early start today. Excited and ready to explore Alcatraz. Our tickets are for the 9.30 departure but after breakfast at Johnny Rockets we get to Pier 33 at 8.20 so I asked if we could swap to the earlier ferry and we got on the first one for the day at 8.45am. It's cold today. The wind is like ice and it's going to be colder on the island. We have a self guided tour like most people so after watching a short film about Alcatraz we collect our audio headsets and beginning following the narration.
Alcatraz was originally a military fortification to protect the bay during the civil war and later it became a military prison and eventually the Federal Penitentiary. It did have some notorious guests and there were a number of murders and some deaths by natural causes but no one was executed on Alcatraz. There were failed escape attempts and the well known escape by the prisoners that dug their way through the wall using ' tools' fashioned out of spoons. To this day no one really knows what happened to these men.
We hear stories about the riots where prison officers and prisoners died during the gun battle and we see the cells and imagine the life these criminals had here.
The families of the prison officers and wardens lived on the island. The children would take a boat to school in the city and then return home at night. They hardly ever saw any of the prisoners and thought it was a great life.
In 1963 the prison was closed and the island and the buildings were abandoned. In 1968 a group of North American Indians took over the island to gain focus on their plight to get back their land. They spent about 19 months on the island and although they did not gain ownership of Alcatraz, their plight was heard by the government and reforms were put in place to allow the Indians to return to their reservations.
After this time the Island was made part of the National Parks and so was put in their hands to restore and maintain.
We spent more than 3 hours exploring the island and the buildings. Very enlightening morning.
Back on the pier it's coffee time.
We lined up to get on a cable car, another San Francisco iconic experience. The first one was very crowded and we were stuck inside for the ride to Union Square where we got off.
Unfortunately there was work on a new BART station taking place around the square so roads were dug up and blocked off and to top that off there was a huge marquee set up in the middle of the square for some sort of food and wine festival or conference. It took away from the attraction of the square.
After lunch we head off to walk to Coit Tower, the site of a former Telegraph station. It's a heck of a hike and I'm sure at times we were walking up hills so steep our noses were rubbing on the ground. The streets we walked up and down went through Chinatown and then a bit more residential. A lot of multistory narrow duplex homes. Finally at the tower the view from the top is spectacular and worth the walk. The sky is now blue and clear but there always seems to be a mist hanging around the Golden Gate Bridge so a good photo is hard to come by.
We take the bus down the hill and it pretty much drops us back at our hotel.
Not done yet we head back up a hill to catch another cable car with the hope we can ride it on the running board on the outside. The one that comes is crowded but as soon as someone got off I headed outside. Glenn didn't see me go so the driver clanged his bell and called out to him and said "your wife is on the outside go and join her" so he waited until Glenn was out there as well. It was so much fun and we went all the way to the end of the line. To turn the cars around at the terminus they push it around on a rotating turntable to point it in the right direction. Still very traditional and manual and that's the charm. After a quick walk through the street we get back on the cable car and head back to the pier.
We get our clam chowder in sourdough tonight at Boudins. It's delicious. After our meal we watch the bakers as they prepare the bread for baking.
We have a very early start tomorrow. It's been a great day today. Loving San Francisco.
Alcatraz was originally a military fortification to protect the bay during the civil war and later it became a military prison and eventually the Federal Penitentiary. It did have some notorious guests and there were a number of murders and some deaths by natural causes but no one was executed on Alcatraz. There were failed escape attempts and the well known escape by the prisoners that dug their way through the wall using ' tools' fashioned out of spoons. To this day no one really knows what happened to these men.
We hear stories about the riots where prison officers and prisoners died during the gun battle and we see the cells and imagine the life these criminals had here.
The families of the prison officers and wardens lived on the island. The children would take a boat to school in the city and then return home at night. They hardly ever saw any of the prisoners and thought it was a great life.
In 1963 the prison was closed and the island and the buildings were abandoned. In 1968 a group of North American Indians took over the island to gain focus on their plight to get back their land. They spent about 19 months on the island and although they did not gain ownership of Alcatraz, their plight was heard by the government and reforms were put in place to allow the Indians to return to their reservations.
After this time the Island was made part of the National Parks and so was put in their hands to restore and maintain.
We spent more than 3 hours exploring the island and the buildings. Very enlightening morning.
Back on the pier it's coffee time.
We lined up to get on a cable car, another San Francisco iconic experience. The first one was very crowded and we were stuck inside for the ride to Union Square where we got off.
Unfortunately there was work on a new BART station taking place around the square so roads were dug up and blocked off and to top that off there was a huge marquee set up in the middle of the square for some sort of food and wine festival or conference. It took away from the attraction of the square.
After lunch we head off to walk to Coit Tower, the site of a former Telegraph station. It's a heck of a hike and I'm sure at times we were walking up hills so steep our noses were rubbing on the ground. The streets we walked up and down went through Chinatown and then a bit more residential. A lot of multistory narrow duplex homes. Finally at the tower the view from the top is spectacular and worth the walk. The sky is now blue and clear but there always seems to be a mist hanging around the Golden Gate Bridge so a good photo is hard to come by.
We take the bus down the hill and it pretty much drops us back at our hotel.
Not done yet we head back up a hill to catch another cable car with the hope we can ride it on the running board on the outside. The one that comes is crowded but as soon as someone got off I headed outside. Glenn didn't see me go so the driver clanged his bell and called out to him and said "your wife is on the outside go and join her" so he waited until Glenn was out there as well. It was so much fun and we went all the way to the end of the line. To turn the cars around at the terminus they push it around on a rotating turntable to point it in the right direction. Still very traditional and manual and that's the charm. After a quick walk through the street we get back on the cable car and head back to the pier.
We get our clam chowder in sourdough tonight at Boudins. It's delicious. After our meal we watch the bakers as they prepare the bread for baking.
We have a very early start tomorrow. It's been a great day today. Loving San Francisco.
- comments
A and K San Fran is a great spot, a bit cooler thanyour cruise. Hope you get the chance to have a Chinatown meal. There are some great restuarant in them hills