brainwagon

I’ve lived in the Bay Area for almost sixteen years, but there are still many tourist-y things that I have never done. Often, it requires the intervention of guests to get you off your duff and go see the attractions which are right on your back door. Such was the case yesterday, when Carmen and I, along with our son and his girlfriend decided to hop aboard a ferry and take the tour of Alcatraz State Pentitentiary.

Alcatraz, or The Rock, sits on a 12 acre island in the middle of San Francisco Bay, about one mile from Pier 39, San Francisco’s legendary Fisherman’s Wharf. In the time of the Civil War, it was an important military fort which guarded the entrance to San Francisco Bay with state of the art cannons. Later, it became a military prison, and then was handed over to the federal government. It was a federal maximum security prison until 1963, when rising costs forced its closure. It briefly was the sight of a protest by Indians seeking the restoration of their tribal lands, but became a national park in 1972.

It was a beautiful day to go: the temperature was probably 60 or 65 degrees with no wind and bright sunshine. We took the 1:15 ferry across, and remained on the island until the last daytime ferry returned at 4:30. A single road winds to the top of the hill (about 14 stories) and when you reach the top, you can get some audio headsets and tour the legendary cell blocks, and listen to stories about life in Alcatraz. You can turn those back in, and wander around the grounds, which are the home to lots of beautiful sea birds (I saw mostly gulls, but there are also cormorants and the like). It was really quite nice, and suprisingly relaxing (although if you have spent too much time recently in front of a computer, you might find the climb a bit taxing. I was fine, except that my shins hurt a bit from climbing the hills, I’ll have to get back into the gym. For those who are more elderly, a little car can bring you from the dock area to the top of the hill.

It cost about $21 per person to go, which isn’t cheap, but it’s a nice boat ride, an interesting location, and a neat bit of history. If you are in the Bay Area, give it a visit.

Addendum: My wife is a much better celebrity spotter than I. As we were disembarking, she noticed someone climbing back into a limosine. It appeared to be San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsome.

Addendum²: Here’s a link to the Yahoo! map for Alcatraz.

[tags]San Franscisco,Alcatraz,Tourist[/tags]