Thursday 15th – San Francisco
Another early wake up! We had three major destinations today: Muir woods, Sausalito and “the Rock: itself – Alcatraz. Early on, we decided to tour early leaving the remaining days open for whatever we felt like exploring.
We had a measly breakfast at the hotel while waiting for the shuttle bus which eventually came around 8 AM. After a few extra pickups, we hit the office where our tour was confirmed. We met up with other Aussies and departed for the woods.
After crossing the Golden Gate Bridge, we headed through Marin County (home to the rich) and up into the mountains. Winding roads took us deep into Oak, Eucalypt and Redwood country.
Muir Woods and Sausalito
The Muir Woods Monument extended for a distance into what appeared to be a subtropical rainforest. We had, by all accounts, a very limited amount of time to spend.
This time was half spent trying to white balance my camera! Eventually I used my tripod which helped stabilize the pictures.
Rob and Toni at Muir Woods
The woods were interesting insomuch as they were pretty, picturesque and relaxing. I brought my tripod so I could capture some good artistic photos. It was peaceful and interesting but really just a side trip, our real destination was to come shortly.
To be perfectly honest, Muir Woods reminded me of many of the sub tropical rainforests which can be found along the south coast of New South Wales. Obviously with a slightly different flora and fauna, but containing roughly the same tranquillity, coolness and peacefulness.
Once our time was up, we headed back to re-join the tour bus. The tour bus left two stragglers behind (we were reminded of the virtues of punctuality) as we headed for Sausalito and lunch.
Food has become a bit of an adventure over here this trip. We decided on a tour guide recommended Salmon Sandwich. The service was… slow.
Picturesque Muir Woods
We walked around the dock in Sausalito for a while where I was able to take a few nice shots of boats before we returned to the tour bus for our return journey across the Golden Gate bridge and to the quay side for our transfer to Alcatraz.
Dockside in Sausalito
“The Rock”: Alcatraz
We waited about half an hour for the ferry ride to Alcatraz. The day gave us beautiful conditions – blue skies and sunshine – we really couldn’t have asked for better conditions.
The trip to the island was uneventful, though the island itself became more and more interesting the closer we got. We docked and set foot onto ‘The Rock’ and began our tour. Much of our time on the island was self guided.
The main penitentiary is now essentially a museum. There is a path to follow and we were given audio tours (headsets). Toni and I went our separate ways for a time, exploring the main prison, kitchen, mess room and other locations. The main thoroughfares between the prison blocks all had names, and we were not allowed to leave the ground floor.
The view as we approached Alcatraz
Getting closer | the view from The Rock to the city
We were able to experience the life of a prison inmate by exploring their cells (tiny as you could imagine), their mess hall and places like solitary confinement.
There were some interesting aspects – photos and other periodical presentations such as log books, prison cutlery and even the exposed escape route created by four innovative inmates (covered in the Clint Eastwood film, “Escape from Alcatraz”).
Of course “The Rock” has been the muse of several acclaimed motion pictures and documentaries over the years, including “Birdman of Alcatraz”and the more recent Michael Bay blockbuster simply called “The Rock”.
The officer’s quarters were off-limits as were many of the surrounding structures, many of which were visibly falling apart. The lookout towers were still in decent condition, as were many of the original (early) fortifications. In fact, many of the early cannons are still on the island.
We purchased some replica prison cutlery as well as a reproduction of the Alcatraz prisoner’s induction material as souvenirs of our visit from the gift shop.
Outside, It was a great day – we could clearly see the city and the Golden Gate bridge. We roamed the island beyond the prison to find a number of geese who were laying eggs & nesting.
The remains of the officer’s/guards quarters | Exercise Yard
Unfortunately, Alcatraz is basically falling apart. It is fairly old by US standards, originally built by the Spanish a few hundred years ago, and built upon by subsequent governments. As a prison, Alcatraz was home to the worst of the worst – a maximum security prison which held the likes of Al Capone.
Alcatraz was briefly occupied for a while by a group of native Americans back after the penitentiary was closed, there were still some indications of habitation from when the island was occupied.
The welcome to Alcatraz. Graffiti reads “Indians Welcome”
The island is close enough to San Francisco that on new years it is possible to hear the celebrations from the prison. This was evidentially used as a de-motivational tool by the prison officers and probably had some impact on the low escape record enjoyed (it’s still debatable to this day whether anyone ever successfully escaped).
Ironically, it still seems possible to swim to shore. Logic dictates that the bay would be very dangerous even for the most confident of swimmers.
Golden Gate from Alcatraz | “Broadway”
A typical cell block | Yet more cells..
In our travels across the island we discovered many hidden locations including the disused power station on the western shore. We finally departed ‘The Rock’ and headed for the shore. I took some more pictures on the tripod from the back of the departing ferry.
Departing Alcatraz
A view from the dock | Merry-go-round at Fisherman’s Wharf
“Zoltar” from the movie “Big”
We returned to the hotel early (cab ride), before hitting the union square shops (Virgin mega store on Market) and then enjoyed dinner at Sears Fine Food on Powell street. Again, we went to bed at a reasonable hour although I recall Toni caught an in house movie!