We will be leaving the Bay Area in a few days and will be leaving a lot of “wish list” things undone. We aren’t going to drive across the Golden Gate Bridge and we aren’t going to ride the cable cars. But we can cross off Alcatraz because we went there last Sunday.
It was a beautiful day – better than we could hope for, really – sunny, high around 66. Saturday had been very foggy and I was expecting more of that. Which explains why I didn’t take my sunglasses. So I squinted a lot.
The drive from Morgan Hill to Pier 33 on the Embarcadero takes about 70 minutes. We didn’t get off until 8:53 and our ferry left at 10:30, so we were cutting it a little close. Still, not to worry, because there is a parking lot directly across from the pier. We got there, as expected, a few minutes after 10. I queued up to buy a ticket from the self-service machine – the only machine in the lot. And it jammed. After wasting a few minutes seeing if it could be fixed, I gave up, hustled Jett back into the rental car and drove off, madly searching for another parking lot. We found one about two blocks away, parked, hustled back to the pier and queued up to get our prepaid tickets. The line was short, thankfully, because the ferry was already boarding when I got to the window. We made it, but with less than 5 minutes to spare.
Pier 33, with 5 minutes to spare
The bay was calm and the scenery was stunning. We got a nice water view of the Golden Gate Bridge, which I guess is as close as we will get.
Golden Gate Bridge
It is just a 10-minute ride to Alcatraz Island. The signs are left as they were when the prison was closed in 1963. Signs of the 1969 Indian occupation are also still intact.
Welcoming(?) sign
Our ferry, leaving to return to SF
There was a brief introductory speech from a park ranger and a 15-minute film, then a long walk up the hill to the prison.
Alcatraz dock
Climb to the prison
View from The Rock
The path to the prison
Prison wall
The tour of the prison proper is a self-guided audio tour. It was very informative. We saw the cells where the guards were shot in the 1946 prison riot, one of the cells from which the only “successful” escape was made (though it is suspected that all 3 escapees died in the bay, so the level of success is debatable) and Block D where Al Capone and the Birdman spent their days.
Broadway
Grand Central
Visitation booth
Typical cell
The Yard
Isolation
Utility shaft and escape route
Visitor’s entrance
Visitors side of visitation area
Warden’s house (what’s left, anyway)
SF from Alcatraz
The escape cell
The kitchen knife rack
Leaving Alcatraz – something many could not do