10-8, SanFran Day 2 - am

A tour of Alcatraz was one of two planned activities for our week in San Francisco.  I think, unanimously, it was our favorite experience there for each of us.  (But, I do say this with a grain of salt as Emalie SAID she liked Alcatraz, but she also slept on our bedroom floor last night because she was too scared to be alone in her room.  I think my Ghosts of Alcatraz book must have made its way into her hands yesterday....)  You all know how I feel about ghost towns, so this was right up my alley in an urban sort of way.  We were booked on one of the early morning tours and spent several hours over at the island.  Have you been there?  It's pretty thought-provoking.  I'd definitely repeat this tour again in the future.

Alcatraz is a 1.25 mile boat trip from SanFran.

The weather that day was warm and clear. We had a great view of the Golden Gate Bridge enroute to Alcatraz.

Approaching the island by boat.

An Alcatraz alley.

Making our way up the hill taking in all of the sights and stories of the past.

The inmates were housed at the top of the island.  The lighthouse towers above.

The shower room where the inmates were first brought and also where they received their weekly showers.  I didn't purchased the Alcatraz ghost book until after the tour.  I wished I would have known then to listen closely for the sound of Al Capone's banjo.

Some seriously tight quarters:  5' x 9'.

The recreation yard.  I'm reading a different book about Alcatraz now (on a side note, I'm happy to admit that I'm reading again!!!!) to be mentioned later in this post.  Anyway, the author said that because the baseball field was small that a larger ball was used so it wouldn't fly over the fence.  I found that to be an interesting piece of trivia.

No, thank you!!

The remnants of the burned down warden's house.

The lighthouse and cells beyond.

The view from the cafeteria to the cell blocks.  It was stated that the kitchen and cafeteria were the most dangerous places in Alcatraz because the inmates were together and the utensils could be used as weapons.  Because of this, tear gas 'sprinklers' were mounted into the ceiling of these spaces. And on another interesting side note, the food at Alcatraz was said to be relatively good.  The first warden saw the wisdom of offering good food as a means to keep the peace among the inmates.

The old lighthouse tower.  If you're so inclined to believe, it's said that some nights TWO, not one, lighthouse lights can be seen.  

Meet William 'Bill' Baker, inmate #1259.  He's 86 years old and said to be the last living inmate who served time at Alcatraz. (I should clarify that he's no longer an inmate and now a free man.  Though I wonder:  if you've lived a life like that are you ever truly 'free'?) He made his way to Alcatraz through counterfeit checks and three prison escapes.  He seemed harmless enough, but I can't imagine what kind of man he was back in the day.  As I said, a trip to Alcatraz, I'm sure from both sides of the fence, is an experience to ponder.