![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.ourwanderyears.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/2013-02-05-001.jpg\" "\\"2013-02-05")
<\/a>Pier 33, with 5 minutes to spare<\/p><\/div>\n
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.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Golden Gate Bridge<\/p><\/div>\n
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.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Welcoming(?) sign<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/a>Our ferry, leaving to return to SF<\/p><\/div>\n
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.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Alcatraz dock<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/a>Climb to the prison<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/a>View from The Rock<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/a>The path to the prison<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/a>Prison wall<\/p><\/div>\n
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.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Broadway<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/a>Grand Central<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/a>Visitation booth<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/a>Typical cell<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/a>The Yard<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/a>Isolation<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/a>Utility shaft and escape route<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/a>Visitor’s entrance<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/a>Visitors side of visitation area<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/a>Warden’s house (what’s left, anyway)<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/a>SF from Alcatraz<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/a>The escape cell<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/a>The kitchen knife rack<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/a>Leaving Alcatraz – something many could not do<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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 … Continue reading