I arrived at 8:45 AM and found early bird parking by Pier 35 for only $12 all day. I had tickets to the 9:30 AM Alcatraz ferry, and it's a good thing I booked in advance, because they were all sold out through Memorial Day!
The ferry ride was only 10 minutes. I had a great view of the Bay Bridge, the Golden Gate Bridge (no fog!), downtown San Francisco, and the island of Alcatraz.
Here is the Bay Bridge.
This was a cruise ship that people were starting to board.
For those of you who don't recognize it without all the usual fog...this is the Golden Gate Bridge.
Alcatraz Island:
Since it is Memorial Day weekend, I thought this was appropriate. This is the flag from the back of our boat with the city of San Francisco in the background.
This is the same boat that I was on, on the way back to Pier 33.
Once we got there, it took everyone 15 minutes to unload (I was the first one off) and then we had to wait and listen to a 10 minute speech. Because I didn't want to be behind 300 slow people, I moved to the front and took off in a fast walk as soon as the speech was done. :-)
Here is the lookout tower.
These are all the people behind me (you can see why I wanted to get out in front).
The cell house was on top of a hill, so it was a short, but steep climb. Al Capone and Robert Stroud (Birdman) were the 2 most famous prisoners there. Others you may have heard of include "Mickey" Cohen, Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson, "Creepy Karpis" Karpavicz, and "Doc" Barker.
The prisoners were given 3 full meals a day, and the food was not bad! This is the kitchen part of the cafeteria.
Did anyone escape from Alcatraz? Yes, but not many! Six prisoners had a plan. Bernie Coy fashioned a bar spreader to spread apart the bars of the gun gallery.
They were going to grab keys and guns, hold the officers hostage, get to the top of the hill, and go down into the water. Unfortunately for them, it didn't work out. The key to the exit door was hidden by one of the hostages and someone sounded the escape alarm. Some of the hostages were shot, and then the Marines dropped grenades and started shooting the prisoners.
June 11, 1962 there was a successful escape. Three prisoners made dummy heads out of soap, concrete, and paint, and put them under their blankets one night. They crawled out of their cells through the small vents, scaled the utility corridor to the roof, slid down a stove pipe, and crept to the shoreline. They made a raft out of a raincoat and went into the icy water. The current pulled them out toward sea and they were never seen or heard from again. No idea if they made it to land or not, but it's unlikely they survived the water, despite escaping Alcatraz.
Alcatraz, like many federal prisons, had a library and recreation area outside (with a gorgeous view of the water and Angel Island).
Alcatraz is made up of 4 cell blocks: A, B, C, and D. D Block was the isolation block, and was reserved for the worst prisoners. They were given decent food and health care, but were confined to their cells 24 hrs/day. For the worst of the worst, there were 6 concrete closed cells with no light and limited food (see below). Prisoners could be in "the hole" for a few days or up to 19.
Visitors were allowed on the island. There was an admin section where visitors checked in, and then a visitation room.
When I looked out over the water, there were dolphins occasionally popping up over the water's surface to take a breath (no, I didn't capture a picture of them). After looking at my watch, I noticed the next ferry would be arriving soon, so I finished walking through the cellhouse and quickly checked out the other buildings on the island, like the warden's house, the power plant, guard house, and the quartermaster warehouse. You cannot walk in them, so there is no need to waste time there.
The warden's car. :-)
The next ferry was finishing up unloading passengers, so I jogged over and made it in time to get back to Pier 39 before 11, which is when I was going to be meeting my friend, Clinton, for lunch. These are pictures from the return ferry.
Alcatraz from the boat:
Lighthouse on top of the hill:
Clinton called to say he was running a little behind, so instead of waiting, I walked down Fisherman's Wharf. I started at Pier 39.
This was a pretty cool loaf of bread! If you look closely, you will see a baby and adult alligator and 2 turtles made of bread. :-)
At Pier 45, I saw the USS Pampanito (WWII fleet submarine) and the SS Jeremiah O'Brien (WW11 Liberty ship).
Here's the submarine.
This is the SS Jeremiah O'Brien. There were over 2700 made, and broke records as one could be completed in less than 60 days start to finish!! These Liberty ships brought food, ammunition, and other supplies to our US troops around the world.
This is the only remaining Liberty ship that stormed the beaches of Normandy in 1944.
Just past Pier 45 was a popular place - looked like the center of Fisherman's Wharf - with lots of restaurants and other tourist attractions.
The last pier is the Hyde St Pier, which had lots of historic boats. You can pay to do a self-guided tour on some of the larger boats, but I was more interested in walking around and looking at them.
Just past Hyde St Pier was a small beach. Behind that was Ghirardelli's Chocolates, and just behind that was Fort Mason. This is where I turned around.
Crowds were beginning to thicken, making it difficult to walk quickly back to Pier 39. There was an old gold Studebaker parked against the curb and restaurants spilled onto the sidewalks with the overflow of people.
When I returned to Pier 39 I received a phone call from Clinton. He was here. Perfect timing!
We met up and went to look at the seals. They were sunning lazily, swimming, kissing, sleeping, and stretching...
After being entertained by a bunch of noisy, smelly seals, Clinton and I ate lunch together with a view of the ocean.
My meal was very nicely presented (salmon and mashed potatoes), and the service was great!
Out the window was a catamaran - the same one that I would be going out on at sunset. :-)
After I said good-bye to Clinton, I bought the ticket for the sunset sail and returned to my car to follow the 49 mile scenic route throughout the city (an appropriate # of miles given the gold rush in 1849 - think of the San Francisco 49ers). :-) Anyways... I had printed a copy of the route/map prior to my trip and thought this would be a great way to explore the city!!
This is the old Ferry Building.
Of course, I went through downtown.
There were a few signs for the scenic drive, but not enough to know where you are going without a map.
Here is the Civic Center, which looks more like a capital building with the gold and dome.
I loved the architecture of the churches.
The other side of downtown...
I thought this was interesting. A palm tree in the middle of downtown. :-)
This is the gateway to Chinatown, which was very decorative and very...Chinese!
From here I went up California Street, which had 3 sets of VERY steep roads - roads so steep, I wasn't sure my car would even have enough juice to make it up them. You couldn't see over the top, and it felt like I was on the initial climb up a roller coaster before it hangs there and you then get over the top and can see.
The first hill was okay. The second was more difficult, and the third was terrible! I drive a stick shift. Sticks are not made for these hills. To give you an example, the street to the left of this one is the most steep hill in San Francisco at about 31.5% grade. Mine (being the next street over) was about the same.
On the most challenging road, the car in front of me was going about 2 miles an hour. My car conked out as it was too slow even in first. I had to stay in between gears, which was awful and I could tell I was burning my clutch. When we finally made it to the top, the light was red and I was suspended between 2 cars not sure how I would take my foot off of the brake and catch first gear before my car rolled backward into the one behind me. (I didn't realize at the time that I could put the hand brake up until I had it in gear and then release it.)
Anyways... The first time I tried, it conked out, but at least I only went backwards about a foot. The guy behind me started to honk. I was sweating and nervous, but couldn't give up. So I tried again. This time (thank God) it caught and I made it up the hill before the light turned red again.
One of the cable cars just past the top of the hill was stopped to let people on/off. I didn't even notice and started to drive past it, so happy that the hill was done. However, the driver was waving to me, so I slowed down and he explained the law - you have to stop when cable car stops.
I didn't get any pictures of that hill as I was focused on my driving, but here are 2 steep hills (in the downhill picture, see if you can find all 3 streets. ;-)
This is the Transamerica Pyramid.
And the famous Lombard Street! You have to go up some steep hills to get to the top. I took pictures both from the top and then from the bottom. It's a very crooked street filled with switchbacks zigzagging back and forth. (You can see the cars and people in the photo below to see where the switchbacks are.) They call it the most crooked street in the world, but it's actually not.
After that, the smell of burnt clutch was still in my car, so I parked it to cool it off and went for a walk and grabbed a bite to eat, making calls to my car buddies to see if I permanently damaged my poor car on these steep hills. :-( Doesn't look like it as there was no smoke, but I vowed never to go up a hill that steep again in a stick!!!!
Once my car had cooled down a bit, I got back in it, crossed my fingers, and took off. It still smelled, but seemed to be working fine. I then ditched the rest of that painful 49 mile scenic drive map and drove to the Golden Gate Bridge. White tents were being put up in preparation for the Memorial Day weekend, as the Golden Gate Bridge would be celebrating its 75th year!!
The Golden Gate Bridge is actually orange-red - not gold. It is named for the Golden Gate Strait, which is where the San Francisco Bay meets the Pacific Ocean. It was built in 1939 and took 4 years to complete. This is now considered a historical monument of civil engineering and construction.
Getting back to the trip... Just before getting on the bridge, there was a view of the bridge. In pictures, you normally see this completely engulfed in fog. It is odd to see it with absolutely zero fog!! Not even a cloud in the sky! I wanted to see the Fort Point National Historic Site, but wasn't able to find it. It looked like it was just at the end of the south entrance to the Golden Gate Bridge. I had exited and taken Lincoln St, but didn't have specific directions from there, and surprisingly, didn't have a sign, so I just crossed the bridge.
This is a view from the bridge while driving across it. You can see there were a lot of people walking across it, which I would have done if I wasn't on my way to Muir Woods.
On the other side of the bridge was another observation point of the bridge and city.
Annie and I had driven to Muir Woods many moons ago, so I decided to go back there. (Plus, it gave me the excuse to cross the Golden Gate Bridge.) Glad I went back to Muir Woods, because it didn't look at all familiar. LOL For those of you who have never heard of it, this is where there are incredibly tall red wood trees (some > 300 ft!).
Unlike the desert, there is a lot of green here. Moss grows on (non-redwood) trees and ferns fill in the spaces and carpet the forest floor.
There is one looped trail with bridges crossing at 3 sections, so you can either take the 0.5 mile loop, the 1.0 mile loop, or the 1.5 mile loop. All trails have interpretive exhibits along the way, and the path is paved and easy to walk. It took less than an hour to walk through 2 groves, including breaks to stop and take pictures.
The trees tend to grow in packs, sometimes looking like there are several trees growing out of the same trunk. Because they are so tall (similar to the giant sequoias from Kings Canyon/Sequoia Nat'l Park) that one photograph cannot capture an entire tree.
John Muir is a name that would sound very familiar to you in CA, especially if you enjoy nature. There is the long and beautiful John Muir trail in several of the National Parks I have been to (including Yosemite). This park is called "Muir Woods". And his name shows up in different ways in other CA parks as well.
"In every walk with nature, one receives far more than one seeks." -John Muir
I don't know if you can see it, but this one is burnt from a fire on the inside.
These odd beehive looking things growing on some of the trees are called burls. They are usually found at the bottom of the tree but can be anywhere. If you look closely you will see fresh green sprouts coming out. Redwoods are unique in that they can reproduce from both these burls and seeds. (I wish I was that unique and could reproduce without a "seed".)
"I only went out for a walk, and finally concluded to stay out til sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in." -John Muir
It's a surprise that these tall trees don't tip over more often! Also, like the sequoias, the redwood trunks tend to stay free from disease and can protect themselves from fire. This helps explain why they don't grow moss (like the tree below) or get disease often, and why they can survive so long. Still not anywhere near as long as the giant sequoias, but long enough to grow to be 300+ feet tall!!!
I didn't spend a lot of time in Muir Woods and left the opposite direction to take the longer, but less steep, road back to the Golden Gate Bridge. I am now nervous on steep grades and despite being completely cool now, could still smell the clutch. As could be expected, as soon as I approached the final steep winding road leading back to the bridge, someone was crawling up it about 5 mph... I can't win! LOL
You have to pay on the bridges (Bay Bridge, Golden Gate, etc) only on the way into the city - not out. It was only $6.00, which is much better than NY!
I only had an hour to get back to Pier 39, park, and walk over to the boat to go sailing. I used my all day parking pass (even though I wasn't supposed to since I left), and walked around for a few minutes while I waited to enter. I had a little scare as I couldn't find my ticket, but it eventually showed up - different pocket of my purse.
The boat was going out to the ocean, by the Angel and Alcatraz Islands, and then under the Golden Gate Bridge before turning around. While on the sailboat, I made some friends. There was a couple from North Carolina that I spent some time talking with at the beginning. Then there were the guys from France on vacation here. Finally, I met a nice family from Peru and sat and ate with them.
The sea started off nice and calm with just a few waves. My favorite part of the boat is the front as I can feel the breeze and watch the boat rise and then crash back down with the waves.
That is Alcatraz. You can't really tell from this picture, but the waves are starting to get high out here. :-)
This was the "net" that looked like a trampoline at the front of the boat. When the waves were big, they came up through here, and sometimes even splashed the window just past it. I was already pretty wet from standing up in front of the sailboat, so I talked one of the French guys into laying down next to me. I wanted to see who would wimp out first. It was COLD!!! LOL
This was both of our reactions just before a giant wave splashed us. :-)
The Golden Gate Bridge at sunset.
This was the family from Peru that I met and ate with. I will get in touch with them if I go to Peru. (Hmmm... Road trip in the future???)
I was soaked through to my shoes by the time we docked, and I had to walk about 4 blocks to get to my car in the cold breezy air. I couldn't have been more proud of my car for quickly heating it up before I got the chills. (I don't want to get sick again!) A great end to a beautiful day.
