Alcatraz

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Alcatraz

I was so excited to head over to the island this morning! We took the ferry out there - the ride was quite smooth - not like the ferry ride I took to Ellis Island in NY. The fog was really rolling in over the Golden Gate bridge so we could only see the very top of the bridge (during clear moments).
The island was fascinating, I had no idea that there was an Indian occupation during the late 1960s for over 19 months. You could still see the graffiti (now historic graffiti) that said "Indians welcome". The wind was strong (the flag over the fort was standing straight out) & the sun was very bright out near the water. Most of the buildings were not open to the public so we just read the descriptions and walked around (morgue, power generators, etc.). The jail cell is the primary attraction and they have a large audio tour where you get to walk to all the key areas.

Alcatraz Prison

The audio tour was narrated by former guards and prisoners and was pretty cool. In fact, one of the previous prisoners was in the book store signing copies of his book! There were a lot of tourists in the jail and I hate when they are not paying attention to their surroundings (or when they don't understand the concept of deodorant). Several cells were decorated with previous inmate's belongings so we could see what life was like in the prison and how prisoners tried to occupy their time. You don't get to sit in the cell and be locked in (like you see in movies like "The Rock") but you could walk into a cell as well as into an isolation cell (the 'hole'). Each cell was 5x9... I couldn't believe that they could fit a bed in there! If you were bad you got sent to D block (isolation) which actually had significantly larger cells. If you really screwed up then you got put into the hole. There were a lot of stories and interesting things about the prison... too much to put here!
The island is also a bird sanctuary which means that everything is covered in bird crap. The poop smell can be quite potent in certain areas. We also had the pleasure of visiting during "fly season" which is when the ferry and the island are just covered in flys. Greg did not enjoy the flys at all!
On our way back from the pier we saw a guided Segway tour of San Francisco. Strange!

Road Craziness

On our drive north we encountered a little bit of traffic but it wasn't too bad. However, the drivers on the road were complete idiots. Motorcyclists were heading between cars at 30+ MPH faster than surrounding traffic. We also saw a motorcade of 3 P.O.S. cars without plates who quickly slowed and dove off an exit when they saw a cop car in the far right lane. Drugs?
Greg drove up to Redding (near Mt. Shasta) and we spent the night in a motel.

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Photos

Alcatraz from near our hotel
It started out clear but then the fog started to roll in.

Indian occupation
There were numerous signs that the Indians painted while occupying the island in the late 1960s. The prison closed in the early 1960s.

Prisoner's view
The prisoners could see San Francisco and could even hear parties if the wind was blowing in the right direction.

Lockup!
Laura was misbehaving. Fortunately I was able to bribe the parks service to release her into my custody.

Broadway
This is the main row of cells in the prison.

Prison PX
This is where the guards and their families went to have fun (bowling, bar, etc.). The building burned down years ago. Most buildings are burned out like this one... only the prison is in good repair.