Alcatraz and Fisherman’s Wharf

We woke up early this morning as we had a reservation to explore Alcatraz Prison. As daylight savings started at midnight last night, we set our clocks forward before we went to sleep.

We set off at about 9.15am for our 10.35am reservation. As we didn’t really know where we were going we allowed ourselves heaps of time in case we got lost. Today we have found out that San Francisco is super easy city to find your way around so we were at Pier 33 super early but we were allowed on the earlier boat over.

Alcatraz has always been on both mine and Dave’s bucket list and today we got to tick it off; it didn’t disappoint. The history of the prison was super interesting and we spent hours wondering around the island.

Some people today should feel extremely lucky that they live in this day and age and not back then as some of the prisoners were incarcerated for a lot less than what people get away with now. Some were incarcerated in this high security prison for tax evasion.

There was one prisoner there ‘The Birdman’ who spent his whole sentence of 17 years is solitary confinement. He only had 1 hour out of his cell a day and bathed once a week. He did commit murder though.

Solitary confinement was different to The Hole which was solitary confinement in a cell that was pitch black and some prisoners spent days on end there.

So much history within the prison which I could write about for pages and pages and pages.

Many of the prisoners became prolific readers while incarcerated to fill in time and some artists. Some of the paintings the prisoners had painted are still on display in the cells.

The famous escape from Alcatraz of 3 prisoners on June 11 1962 being brothers John and Clarence Anglin and Frank Morris, who used spoons they had pilfered from the mess hall to remove their vents and dig their way through the cement walls. They then went through an unused utility corridor, and entered the San Francisco Bay aboard an improvised inflatable raft to an uncertain fate.

After a few hours on the island, we caught the boat back to Pier 33, making our way to our hotel for lunch and to do our laundry.

In the afternoon, we explored the many shops at Fisherman’s Wharf and by the time we had finished it was 7.30pm, so made our way back to our room for dinner.

Tomorrow we are hoping it isn’t raining as much and we will explore Lombard Street as well as other famous streets in San Fran before getting the tram to Chase Center for the NBA game at 7.00pm.Read more