Alcatraz, California

I really doubt that I can say anything about Alcatraz that has not been said before. My wife and I agreed that this was the highlight of our trip to San Francisco. Its not that San Francisco is not amazing on its own, but Alcatraz is such a legendary landmark.

Before we caught the boat to go over to the little island, we had a very nice lunch at the restaurant near by. I am posting a picture I took of "The Rock" from the window view I had inside the restaurant.

Putting prisoners on an island a mile and a half off shore now almost seems like a mythic idea. It seems odd.

But there it is. Looking out across the Bay it looks so mysterious. You want to know more about it. You want to check it out.

You can also see the city from Alcatraz. One ranger told us that this could really get under the skin of a prisoner. They could see the lights of the city, and even hear the music. Still, they were a mile and a half away.

The island does have an abandoned feel, except for the gift shop and tourists. It is kind of in ruins, but still maintained. They have the self guided tour head sets, and they have park rangers giving history lessons.

We walked around a bit with a ranger who must have known everything about Alcatraz. I stumped him though asking if he had seen the latest America's Most Wanted segment on Morris and the Anglin brothers. He had not!

For what its worth, the Anglin brothers and Frank Morris are the only 3 guys who may or may not have escaped. This is still up for debate and it is unsolved.

They have a VERY cool gift shop there. I am a HUGE fan of postcards and nic nacs at gift shops. Books and other cool items were readily available here. You can actually buy pieces of Alcatraz from where they have been trying to restore certain areas. Author/former resident of Alcatraz Darwin Coon was there signing copies of his book, and talking about the time he spent as an inmate. See my other entry for a review of his great book.

We did take a San Francisco ghost walk tour, and our guide told us some about some of the ghosts on the island. I didn't see any myself, but I could tell the place would rank high on the creep-o-meter, especially in the evening or at night!

Movie fans will love Alcatraz just because it has been featured in so many films.

There is a lot of info on Alcatraz out there. It is worth a visit for everyone at least once in a lifetime. I hope to make it out there again sometime soon myself. Here are some pictures I took. Oh, and check out the Alcatraz entry on wikipedia for a stunning panoramic shot!