San Francisco

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This was my, oh, probably sixth time to San Francisco. I really enjoy visiting Cali... would like to check out the LA area sometime... but that is another matter. I've mostly visited SF, Napa, the Sierra Nevadas, and Chico.

So, anyway, I was out in SF for training for my new job. For a change, I got to stay downwtown in the Hilton beside Chinatown and the Transamerica Pyramid. Training was a few blocks away.

The most notable part of the trip was visiting Alcatraz. I've already walked the Golden Gate bridge, gone to some museums, tooled around Union Square, the city in general, and Chinatown, etc. on previous trips.

Alcatraz was very interesting. Its inmate capacity was around 300, but I think the most it ever had was around 260. Probably the most notable inmate was Al "Scarface" Capone. But, basically, all of the prisoners sent to Alcatraz were considered beyond help and/or too problematic for other penitentiaries.

The island itself isn't that big... I sign I saw listed the area as, I think, 12 acres. It is a nesting area for a few types of birds... which was how Alcatraz got its name (Alcatraz is derived from a Spanish word meaning bird... or something of that nature).

One of the more interesting aspects of the prison is how close it is to the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco (appx. 2000 yards). From the outdoor recreation area for the prisoners, I had a good view of the bridge. From one of the cell blocks, one could easily see the skyline of San Francisco. The audio tour said that during big celebrations in SF, inmates could actually here people laughing and having fun.

Only one escape may have succeded... the three prisoners that attempted the escape have yet to be found... so they either drowned or made it. Much research has been done to figure out if, with the materials and equipment they had, whether or not they could have made it across the bay... and the researches have concluded that is was possible.

Alcatraz closed in 1963, was for two years taken over by American Indians (yeah, the 60's in Cali), and later made into the tourist attraction that it is now.

Oh, and I also (briefly) met a former inmate of Alcatraz while he was doing a book signing (and, yes, I bought his book and got it signed). I read almost half of it on the flight home.

San Francisco (and the Northern California area) are great to visit. A sidenote is that the company I'm employed at was trying to sell some of us on moving out to SF. But it is too far from family and friends and very expensive. And Missouri rocks!

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Photos

Duckie, Paddington, and Avis
I told them not to smuggle anything across the US-Mexican border...

Alcatraz
Taken from the ferry.

Alcatraz - 2
This is where the ferry docks. This building is the barracks/apartments for the staff and their families.

"Broadway"
All new inmates had to walk down "Broadway"... receiving shouts and cat-calls from the other inmates.

Cellhouse
Taken from the Recreation Yard.

Indian Takeover
Yes, Alcatraz was taken over by American Indians for two years beginning in 1969.

Warden's House and the Lighthouse
The first lighthouse in operation on the Pacific Coast (1854).