"Alcatraz was never no good for nobody"...(AZ 1576)

Started the day off with a decent breaky then jumped a cab down to Pier 33. The day was warm with a hint of a chill in the air so I was grateful for the Fab new $28 coat. So many people milling about the dock and further down the Wharf but we had pre paid tickets so all good. Hint: Purchase your Alcatraz tickets online prior to your trip out there.
Everyone is herded onto a large cruiser to make the journey out. It takes about 15 minutes and it is a really good ride with views to kill for...no pun intended. I may have a little trouble describing Alcatraz as it is an amazing place. You leave the boat and have a mandatory orientation with the Ranger who gives you a brief rundown on the Island and a little of its history.  Now it is not only a tourist attraction it is also a habitat preserved for a multitude of bird life. I gotta mention that it has some of the biggest bloody seagulls I have ever seen!!!

 It opened as a Penitentiary in 1934 and had 4 Wardens during its time till 1963 when it closed. You knew if you were sent to The Rock you were doing some hard time. Strict rules and regulations governed the prisoners every moment and ANY infringement of those rules meant time in Isolation. The prisoners had no names just numbers and their lives were basically eat sleep and work with not much time for anything else. They rule was they were given basic medical care, food, clothing and shelter but ANYTHING else was a privilege not a right. It  was hard time on The Rock. We walked up some windy hills with a brisk chill breeze bowing off the bay to The Cell Blocks. There as part of your admission price you can have a Audio Tour. We all took the Audio Tour and proceeded to walk where directed. There were a stack of people there but you end up in your own little world just listening to 4 of the Guards and 4 of the inmates who take you around the cellblock and tell you stories of their time there and also little stories on what happened over the 29 years it operated as a prison. It was then taken over by Indians who were protesting land rights.

I cant even begin to imagine what it must have been like. The teeny tiny cells which they were in most of the time, the continuous checks and head counts, the monotony of life. Nobody was given any special treatment even Al Capone who tried and was quickly put back in his place as just another prisoner. It also appears The Birdman was a bit of a nutter hence the reason he spent most of his time in the Isolation wing!!!!! Mr Fab walked into one of The Hole cells and could touch both sides of the walls with his arms stretched out. These cells for punishment had a hole in the floor for doing your business and no mattress until nighttime and apparently the lights were left off so you were in pitch black and freezing conditions. One prisoner related how he would pull a button from his prison jacket and toss it in the air and then try and find it in the dark to occupy his mind while down in those cells. Today was a balmy spring day with a bit of a nip in the air so I reckon it was freezing bone chilling cold in the winter with the fog and breezes coming off the Bay. It was interesting to see the view they had. It is AMAZING. Perfect views of the city and the bridge and the life just a short distance away. One chap described how on New Years they could hear the revalry from San Francisco as the noise drifted across to them.......

The Wardens mansion and all the accommodation for the Guards families was destroyed by a huge fire so you can only see the remains today. All in all the best tour we have been on and we all really enjoyed it. Make sure you wear layers of clothes and a really good pair of walking shoes ( I tested one of the new pairs of Reeboks I got and they did me well.)
At one stage during the tour I realized I had no idea where the rest of the gang were as you become so absorbed in listening to what the narrators are saying. I went outside to spend some time looking at where the Warden and his family and where the guards had lived. One of the children was also on the tape as an adult of course she related what her life was like living there. It appears the kids and families lived just as they would in a very small town. They simply caught the boat over to the mainland to go to school every day. The prisoners who had been there still cannot fathom why people would want to visit Alcatraz as all it means to them is despair , pain and anguish. Our interest stemmed from the show Alcatraz as we both really enjoy it and were fascinated to see what it was all about.

 Absolutely exhausting day walking around and Mr Fabs poor little toe became a bit worse for wear so we jumped back on the boat for the 15 minutes ride to the mainland. I got wet with seaspray coming over but we went right up top to watch the Bay as we came back.

All a tad hungry but still talking about it all so we decided to stop in at Hard Rock for some well earned calories. We wandered down to Pier 39 where it seems Sea Lions took up residence about 22 years ago. They randomly came and settled in there and have been there ever since. Except for a short time after an earthquake when they disappeared.
After lunch/dinner we said goodbye to the Leachs and came back to the room. Both of us lasted about an hour before we fell asleep!!! All in all a terrific day and we enjoyed spending it with Heather and Rob!!!! Tomorrow we are going to take Highway One down the coast road and just stop when we feel like it for the next two days. Sort ourselves out before we have to brave the traffic into LA in preparation for the trip home. Its been an amazing time for us both but we are now both ready to go home. As much as the economy is down here and the costs are good its still a very expensive place to be traveling around. San Francisco accommodation is very expensive for what you get ~ hence the reason we want to settle in somewhere a bit closer to LA. Still a couple more updates to go before Fabulous Scents gets back to the business of working and preparing for the next Great Adventure.