Alcatraz

Sunday, August 15th. This is why I raced across the States. I had prebooked a trip to Alcatraz. So, on Sunday morning I walked a couple of miles from my hotel to the ferry docks to board my "cruise". Wouldn't you know the sun came out! Apparently they have only had three sunny days this summer, and not in a row, and for 43 days they haven't reached 70 degrees.

Anyway I spent an enjoyable afternoon exploring the prison and the history of the island. They had an excellent audio self guided walking tour and an ex guard who did a very dynamic oral presentation for an hour on Al Capone.

This shot is of the isolation ward. Reminds me of my motel in Custer!

After getting back to the mainland I walked around Fisherman's Wharf enjoying the sunny albeit cool weather.

Being back in a big city is a bit of a culture shock in that the noise, traffic and congestion is very different from where I have been lately. In addition I saw lots of the flotsam and jetsam of society as there as lots of homeless people here and people with other apparent afflictions, including a man sitting on the pavement and hiding between a trash can and a bunch of tree branches that he had brought there by himself, and periodically shouting out religious mumbo jumbo. Vive la difference, right Carol?