So today we got to go where we didn't make it to last time and that was Alcatraz Island because it was all fully booked. The tickets go on sale 3 months in advance but can sell out that far in advance sometimes. The only place you can get the tickets is online so we got the hotel to print them off a few days before but it wasn't very busy this time around so there was plenty of time slots for getting on the boat. At $30 each of not cheap but was well worth it. I think we got a time slot for 11am so we got the F line streetcar down there which stops almost outside the Pier 33 where you go from to the island. There’s a coffee shop just by there so we went in as we had about half an hour or so to kill before we got the boat loaded up. There were about 150 people waiting to get on the boat I think but they check your tickets as people arrive then you sit down the benches, they then let everyone on the boat at the same time so it doesn't take as long as you would think. The crossing to the island only takes about 20 minutes or so as it’s only just over a mile out.
When you first get off the boat you are at were the guards use to live and they give you a short talk on the history of the island and how originally it started off as the first lighthouse on the west coast than in the seventeen hundreds become a fort, then a military base, then a military prison before it finally became a maximum security federal prison in 1933 until it closed in 1963, it was then occupied by native American’s in 1969 who stayed for a few years until they were evicted, a few years later it became part of the National Park Service and was opened to the public.
It’s easy to see why they call it The Rock as its about 300 feet climb up a winding road to the cell block at the top of the island, luckily for Jane there is an electric tram type of thing that takes people with disabilities up to the top but I had to walk.
Once inside the cell block, you follow the routine that new prisoners would take through the search area then showers, medical center and another search area before they were taken upstairs to the 2 floors of cell blocks. What really surprised me was how small the cells actually are, there’s barely any room to move but there was only 1 person per cell. When you first enter the upper level they give a pair of headphones and what looks like a very big mp3 player for the audio tour that you get. As you walk around it tells you which way to go and explains the story of how the prison was run and how it was kept secure through to the exercise yard and round the workshops. After you come out of the cell block and give back the audio equipment you are free to roam around the island as much as you like. You get some really good views across the city. There are also some fanatic small gardens on there that have been recreated from what the prisoners who behaved were allowed to build. After spending about 4 hours on there we headed back down to the dock to catch the boat back as they only run every 45 minutes we got there just in time as one was about to leave for the short trip back. This had been a really good day so far and the weather had been a brilliant sunny day with a temperature of about 26 degrees or so.
We arrived back at Pier 33 about 3pm and as it was still early we took a short walk along the Embarcadero to pier 39 to get ourselves a couple of hot dogs as there is no food or drink sold on the island then had a look in the gift shops before taking a quick look at the sea lions. By now it was about 5pm so walked over to the streetcar stop and had to wait for ages for one to turn up and as usual it was packed to the gills, I found out later on that we could have got a bus from round in one of the side streets, you live and learn I suppose don’t you. When it did turn up it was really old so Jane had to use the special ramp they have to get on it form the raised platform but that we couldn’t get off at the stop that we had planned. The one we got off at did had a lift the lifted up from the pavement but when it went down we couldn’t get the gate open again, turns out we were trying to open the wrong part, it had been a long day though. As luck would have it there was a Walgreen’s right by here so went in to have a look at the hoodies they sell. Even though there seems to be a Walgreen’s on every corner they all stock different items when it comes to things like these but there wasn’t any that I liked so we just ended up getting the usual things like bottles of drink and snacks. Buy now it was nearly dark so strolled back to the hotel for a well-earned rest.
By the time it got to about 8pm we were both hungry again so it was time to head on up the hill to uncle Vito’s for a large pizza to share. I had forgotten how far up the hill this place was and how steep the hill was so it took me a bit longer to get there then I thought but I managed to get back to the hotel before it started to go cold, I hate cold pizza. By now it was around 10pm and we were both done in so decided to call it a day and go to bed but I just happened to take a look out of the window and seen that the police had pulled a car over across the road. One of the cops was stood next to the driver in the car while the other has his gun pointing at the person in the passenger seat. The one who was stood near the driver then backed away and got a shotgun out of the police car. I thought they were going to start shooting but after about a minute or so they put the guns away and let them drive away, must have been a case of mistaken identity I think. Time to call it a day now and listen to the sirens go passed most of the night, although they didn't really keep awake.
