Alcatraz Night Tour

---

With the gun drama behind us, Andrew and I decided to make our way to Fisherman's Wharf. The cable car that ran near our hotel ended north at the wharf. Even though it's an expensive ride ($5 per person each way), we decided it was something we should do once while in San Francisco. Plus, I'd pay $10 just to not have to drive in that dense area of the city!

The cable car runs through Chinatown, and it passes Lombard Street (which the woman who sat next to me explained is the curviest street in the country). Our driver got really into the experience and rang his bell every block. It was pleasant, even going up the crazy hills of San Francisco.

The ride was quick, and we got to the Wharf ahead of schedule. We indulged in the World Famous sundaes at the original Ghiradelli store, located in Ghiradelli Square. The sundaes were definitely good, but I'm not so sure about being the best ever. In the end, it was ice cream (really expensive ice cream). That's OK, though, because it was a fun stop. I had to use the restroom, and they didn't have any available. I searched for a bathroom at a Starbucks and a bar. No luck.

Because none of the stores or restaurants had public restrooms available, I tested out one of the public restrooms in the middle of piers. It's in a free-standing green room in the middle of the sidewalk. The signs on it advertised that the toilets clean, sanitize, and dry themselves after every use. Indeed, every time a person exited the toilet room, the doors would lock and I could hear some whirring from inside. I was pumped to go in and had to pee really badly. But, then, then, it got to be my turn. It was absolutely disgusting. There was a big (Big as in massive. Massive and squishy) pile of poop on the ground, and it had been stepped in and tracked around. The sink didn't work, and the trash can had poop smeared on it. I couldn't hold my pee in any more, and so I closed my eyes, walked around the poop tracks, and squatted over the bowl and peed. Not recommended. I still feel dirty from it, actually.

After the barfy boat ride, the gun display in the middle of San Francisco, and the poopy bathroom floors, I was ready for anything. So we took on Alcatraz. I'm glad we did! The tour was worth it. The boat was large enough to prevent sea sickness, and the captain gave a mini tour while we coasted across the bay. After arriving on Alcatraz, we went on a 15 minute walking tour with our guide (bring a sweatshirt if you ever go) and learned about the origins on the island (it was originally for military purposes, and then it was a military prison before becoming a national pennitentiary). We learned a bit about the Native American occupation of the island as well as some escape attempts by prisoners.

We finally got to the best part. The 45 minute audio tour was exceptional. Old inmates and prison guards narrate the audio tour, and we listened as we were directed from one section of the prison to another. We stood in front of one cell and learned of an escape attempt in which prisoners locked the guards in the cell in which we stood. We looked at the walls and were told that the guards were executed right there by the inmates. We walked back near the library to a little gated room where the inmates were captured. There were marks left in the cement from the gernade explosions that took place there. Very eerie. Some other highlights were the vents where inmates dug escape routes using spoons, and cells reconstructed and decorated to look the way they'd been when they were occupied.

I didn't expect the audio tour to be so fascinating, but Andrew and I both loved it. When we finished the audio tour, we still had a half hour before the boat boarded again, so we got to catch a short movie on the Native American movement. Apparently, they'd occupied the island before it was a national park but after it was abandoned. They renamed it "Indian Island." As I understood it, the point was to show that they were frequently given land by the government that was almost inhabitable, just like Alcatraz. Graffiti from the movement still is on Alcatraz today, including a flag painted with the words "Free," and a sign that said, "Indians Welcome."

It was a fun and interesting evening. Unfortuately, it didn't end on as much of a high note. We tried to catch the trolly back to the hotel. The stop was only a block from the pier, and it cost $1.50 instead of the $5 cable car. At about 8:50pm, we saw the trolley coming and ran to the stop to catch it. It blew by. Thirty minutes later (not the advertised 15 minutes), another one came by. As it drove by, the conductor yelled, "We're full; the next trolley will be here in 5 minutes!" After another 30 minutes of waiting, another trolley came and went without stopping. We waited for well over an hour with a group of tourists that was just as frustrated as us.

At this point, it was 10pm, very dark, and we didn't know what to do. We started treading by foot back to the hotel. After about a mile of walking, we made it to the first southbound cable car stop. We opted to pay the $5 pricetag to go back to the hotel instead of walking the rest of the way. I'm glad we did because, on the way back, we went by quite a few shady areas of strip clubs and questionable bars. By 10:45, we were walking into our hotel. It took two hours and $10, but we had made it. I was a bit annoyed, but somehow Andrew managed to stay pretty positive.

I'm not sure how I feel about San Francisco now that we're leaving. It has its own personality, its own feel. The architecture is beautiful, and there are a lot of things to see and do. Still, I'm not sure I feel safe here. In addition to the gunman we saw and all the cursing and yelling on the streets, people aren't very friendly (outwardly, anyway). Also, the city has a lot of homeless people. Many of our walks and buses and cable cars went by shady bars and stripclubs, and it felt dingy. Still, from the comfort of the car, it seems so beautiful and special. Hell, it probably is. But I just don't think it's for me.

Good bye, San Francisco!

---

Photos

Lombard Street From the Cable Car
We decided it would be too difficult and costly to get off the cable car at Lombard Street (the curviest street in the world, apparently), so Andrew took a picture of it as best he could from the cable car.

Ghirardelli's World Famous Sundae!
Yeah, I couldn't eat the whole thing, but it was quite delicious.

Andrew on the Cable Car
They had a cable car that wasn't running on display as we stood in line for our Alcatraz tour.

Our Alcatraz Tour Boat
*Gulp*

Andrew and San Francisco
I snapped this photo of Andrew from the boat (obviously) with San Francisco in the background.

Alcatraz!
We made it! More importantly, we made it without vomitting!

One of the Many, Many Birds on Alcatraz Island.
With no predators on the island, there are hundreds and thousands of birds that nest on the island.

Andrew on the Cell Block
What a fantastic audio tour.

Isolation
I stole a kiss from Andrew in one of the isolation rooms. People would be kept in the dark, windowless isolation rooms for up to 14 days with no human contact.

Cell 403
During an escape attempt, prisoners locked the guards in cells 403 and 404. When they were unable to escape from the prison, one of the inmates (Joseph Cretzer) unloaded his gun into this cell, wounding and killing the guards inside.

Gernade Damage
The marines who came to assist were unable to gain control of the prison at first. They finally started throwing gernades into the prison. Here is some of the damage from those gernades.

Administration Entrance
Can you make out the word "Free" painted on the sign in red? Native Americans painted that when they occupied the island.

Ventilation Escape
Prisoners carved away at the cement with spoons in an effort to escape.

Taking the Cable Car to Our Hotel
After waiting an hour for trolleys that were always to full to pick us up, we finally hoofed it a mile or so south to catch the cable car back to the hotel. On the positive side of things, it was neat to ride in an almost empty cable car in San Francisco.

Comments

[Colleen]

once again, I threw up a little in my mouth...