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Published: March 2nd 2018
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Wow what a tour Alcatraz was! The National Park Service provides an amazing audio tour narrated by former guards, prisoners, and warden families. We picked up our headsets and audio players shortly after arriving in the prison and it walked us through the prison's history, structure, internal processes, famous occupants, and narration of escape attempts. It is so well done that Mi Hyon and I gasped or laughed simultaneously throughout the tour; it really brought life to the place! Cost of the ferry is $37.25, but it's an all encompassing cost and we considered it a bargain! I think winter is the best time to see Alcatraz and most of San Francisco since crowds are smaller and the weather isn't that much different...according to Mark Twain. In the summer, the website recommends reserving Alcatraz tickets as much as 90 days in advance, I reserved our a week or so out, but they could have been bought right there.
Because I like history, I feel I must provide some here ;-) The prison began as a military fort in 1853 and became a military prison in 1859 with the arrival of its first 11 military prisoners. It remained in Army hands
Rush Hour Ride in
Get behind a delivery truck, they know the best lanes to move ahead. until it became too expensive and was turned over to US Bureau of Prisons in 1934. It remained a federal prison until its closure in 1963 when it was abandoned and fell into disrepair. During the military prison history, occasionally prisoners would escape from their regular garrison soldier guards by commandeering boats or finding other ways off the island. In 1926, in response to a rumored mass escape plan, the Commandant gathered the prisoners to tell them about the 58 degree water, winds, and strong currents, then said "Go ahead and swim". The prisoners peacefully returned to their cells and that was the end of that plan. There were 14 attempted escapes during the federal prison history with all but two of them known to be unsuccessful. The most infamous one depicted in Clint Eastwood movie, "Escape from Alcatraz" remains a question since none of the prisoners were ever seen again. The audio tour on this escape and the bloody Battle of Alcatraz attempt were really interesting. In 1972 the National Park Service took over caretaker service of the prison as part of the Golden Gate National Park system and is working hard to tell the history of this infamous
Cupids Arrow
A large sculpture, by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, installed in 2002 along the Embarcadero. San Francisco's reputation as the home port of Eros, led the artists to use the l bow and arrow of Cupid to mark the spot. US institution. We happily checked off another bucket list item as we are already looking forward to the next one, the Hearst Castle.
In addition to the Alcatraz tour, we visited the famous Fisherman's Warf to have breakfast in one of its better known Sourdough Bakeries and see the sites. Because we visited early in the day there were no crowds and best of all the Sea Lions don't stink in winter ;-) Once housing the city's major port activity, the fisherman's wharf area has morphed into a fun commercialized area set up primarily for tourists and local tour boat operators. The gardener at Fisherman's Warf does an exceptional job maintaining the flower beds and we both greatly appreciate his work. It can't be easy to maintain such beautiful raised flower beds in this public area. Beautiful flowers have an ability to bring a moment of joy to busy city people, who look like zombies walking the streets most of the day. We feel out of place among big city folks who walk about without acknowledging the presence of others and never directly look at anything. It is weird if you have never experienced it.
On the ride
home, we once again took notice of the expansive hillside neighborhoods of flat-roofed houses. I have a theory, that the flat roofs are there to maximize living space without affecting the view of the next row of homes up the hillside. Many have a garage under the house and big windows facing out over the city...looks like everyone of them has a view. We've never been to a city of flat roofed houses, so they look a little strange packed very closely together up and down the steep slopes. In the historic portion of the city, architecture is a blend Victorian and contemporary modern. We had a wonderful couple of days moving about the city. San Francisco is a special place and well worth a visit. Due to travel distance involved, we probably won't return, but will always remember it fondly.
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