right back where I started from!
I had this song playing in my head the whole time I was in San Francisco! My mom and aunt walk the Nike Women’s Marathon each year. I’ve been very upset that I never get invited….so after pleading and begging and promising to be no trouble, I get invited. It might not have (or might have…I’m not telling) been that hard to get an invite. I was so excited for this girls trip!
Because of how flights worked out I had a whole day to spend in San Francisco by myself. I mapped out how to get from the hotel to downtown and how to get all around. Then those nasty BART people decide to throw a fit and go on strike! Thankfully the people in San Fran are super nice and I was able to come up with a plan B. I finally made it to the city! I met my friend E on the trolley and hung out with him. It was his 45 the time to the city so he was a wealth of information. When it was time to get in line for my Alcatraz tour we had to part ways. He was so fun….
Once in line for my boat ride over to the island I met my two other friends…L and D.
They were from Ireland and we had a great time chatting for the hour we were in line. After I found a replacement for the map I stole from them…we got along fine. (It wasn’t on purpose) Best line from the day? L (the taller one) explaining to me he travels with D because he is a pocket size human Google. I found it to be pretty true. And thanks to hanging with them I actually have pictures with me in them on Alcatraz! So now you know the background…onto the tour!
While on the boat ride over there I finally get a glimpse of the golden gate bridge! Here it is in the fog…
I can’t tell you how many documentaries I’ve watched about “the Rock”. I was so excited to finally get to see it in person!
It was crazy to see all the history of the rock. It didn’t start out as a prison. It was first a military base then something else, then a prison, then the Indian’s over took it then it was a sightseeing place.
This was Cell Block D….solitary confinement. It was where the most dangerous prisoners were. The pink doors were the actual solitary rooms when the got in trouble. It was pitch black in there and the longest a person stayed in there was 14 straight days. So spooky!
Me inside the solitary room. I was a little freaked out!
Once the prisoners took over the prison and the military had to come and restore order. These marks on the floor are from the bombs they dropped in from holes they cut out of the ceiling.
The view from the stairs at the top of the prisoner courtyard.
This head completely freaked me out. It was a replica of the dummy one of the prisoners made to aid in their escape. They put this head in their bed then crawled out that hole in the wall that they made over 2 years with a spoon and other makeshift tools.
The opening of each cell had a red paint strip down the side so the guards could tell which cell was opened.
they only used cell blocks B, C, and D. A was never used. Each cell block had a street name and was three levels. They opened and closed the cell doors for us and it was crazy how the sound carried throughout the whole prison.
Did you know Alcatraz closed on my birthday….a few years before I was born?
The morgue. Talk about creepy!
Another view from the prison. The area below used to be three apartment buildings for the families of the officers. I didn’t know they had children, wives, and families living on the island. The kids would take a boat everyday to go to school in the city then a boat home at the end of the day. They had interviews with the kids who lived there and they said it was actually a great childhood. they didn’t have much interaction with the prisoners, but there were a few who would work on the gardens or in the yards and homes of these kids. I’m not sure how I feel about that. The wardens house actually burned down in the 70’s, but what was left was still standing. It was pretty big!
The outside of the jail.
They had an old inmate come and do a book signing for the book he wrote about his time on the rock. 1259 was his prison number.
After my amazing tour I said goodbye to my new friends and headed towards fisherman wharf and pier 39. They had a two story carousal!
This candy store was crazy!
I didn’t have much time before I had to get on the trolley car and head down to meet my mom and Joy for dinner. After being passed by 3 stuffed full cars I was finally able to get on one and headed back towards Union Square.
