West Coast Fun - Jail

After the San Francisco Pen Show, I spent a few extra days in the city by the Bay. I had made reservations for Monday to take the ferry across the Bay to Alcatraz, something that has been on my bucket list since I was last in San Francisco when my niece was born.

The ferry is a quick 20 minute ride across. It was relatively calm on the water, and the shining sun cut the cool breeze. Arriving on the island, everyone gets a National Park Service “Welcome to The Rock” briefing of the rules, a short history, and the time schedule for ferries and tours. That said, the majority of the island is a self-guided tour, with an inexpensive map for purchase pointing out some key areas. There is an audio tour available of the Jail House, and I highly recommend it. I actually did the tour twice. The first time through, it was a little noisy due to the crowd, so after walking around a bit, I saw a gap in the crowd and asked if I was able to go through it again, and with a cheerful smile was handed the audio set again.

The history of this facility is very interesting to me, and I won’t ruin it for those who have yet to go, but I spent a solid four hours on the island, between the tours and just wandering around. There is also a large bird colony that uses Alcatraz Island for breeding, and a portion of the island was fenced off to provide some security for the hatchlings. I was surprised by the flora on the island, too. It’s not just an island of rock, steel, and concrete, as I had somewhat naively assumed.

Not to worry, I didn’t get locked up for good and was able to get back to the mainland to walk downtown a while. I finally visited China Town, along with a few stores I had on my list. I couldn’t have asked for better weather, and thoroughly enjoyed myself. After a weekend of packed crowds, it was great to walk around the city alone - although, there were still crowds in the city, too. I will rectify that tomorrow.

Remember to always Spin the Compass.