So, it is about a 20 minute boat ride across the (very windy and cold bay) to get there. See below:
Windy!
They call it "the rock" for a reason:
So, when you approach the island to dock, one of the first things you see is a large sign identifying the place, but someone has spray painted "Indians Welcome". I'm not 100% sure on the story, but Alcatraz was occupied by Native Americans for nearly two years, and the proposed to turn it into an ecology center, etc, but they were forced out, and it was during this period that many fires took place. Here is the wikipedia article should you want to read more about it!
Here is a photo:
You get off the boat and hike up a gently sloping hill that is supposedly about 13 stories when you get to the prison at the top, but didn't seem to bad to me, then you go in the main cell block area and start an audio tour. I have to say, I felt like a giant nerd walking around with that orange string around my neck with a player attached to it, but it did end up being cool. The park service went and found prisoners and guard from Alcatraz and interview them for the tour, and it was nice to hear some history first hand.
I'll walk you through a bit of it here.
First stop: in take showers. This is where the tour started. Not terribly private, hey?
Welcome to Alcatraz, here is your cell! (Very similar to my 1k per month apartment!)
Block of cells on C-D Street.
The inmates had plenty of time to knit!
Solitary Confinement was not a friendly place. This is where "The Bird Man" spent a great deal of his time.
Where inmates had visitors.
There's Jennie in front of the city skyline from Alcatraz. Could be worse for a federal penn, right? CHHHYEA!
Three inmates escaped from Alcatraz by burrowing holes from their cells air vents into the exhaust system and out. Somehow, they managed to make life like masks of themselves and place them in their beds, so the guards didn't notice that they were gone until long after they had left the island. No one knows if they made it to the city or the Angel Island (the "Ellis Island" of the west) to this day. They were never heard from again. They may have made it to safety, they also may have drown int the cold waters of the bay. It is up to your imagination as to what happened to them. I imagine that they made it to San Fran and got the hell out of dodge so fast no one could find them. The above photo is one of the dug-out air vents.
And finally, one of the things I found strangest about Alcatraz was that the menu board hung with the breakfast menu from the day they moved the prisoners. Granted, someone may have re-created it, but in my world it has remained intact, kind of like a snapshot in history. I found it fascinating that a detail like that would be left intact, even during the Native occupation and almost 50 years. Here's a photo:
There is your brief tour of Alcatraz. :-P I recommend the full one to anyone in the area!
The rest of the time, Jen and I took a tour of the city (sorry, not too many pics, too fast) and then we went back to Livermore for the 4th, watched some fireworks, drove around the valley a bit, and just laid low after several days of jamming.
The 5th came and I dropped her off at the airport, and was sad for a while, but, owing to my very generous mother, was able to go drown my sorrows in retail therapy. I needed new sneakers very badly, and I got them. Did you know you're supposed to switch out your sneakers every 300 miles? Well, I had long since bypassed that mark, but now I have a bright pair of brand new Nike's. I will be honest and say I had never been able to fit in Nike's before, but these are awesome. Thanks Mom!
Next, I was off to my coworker Debbie's place for dinner, but first she had agreed to take me to a movie. I love going to the movies, but I so rarely do it, so it was so very nice of Debbie to take me! We saw Public Enemies, which was a bit long, but still very bad ass. Then she had me over for dinner, and her oldest son Eric and his GF Sarah surprised me with a beautiful bouquet of lillies and peonies, which made my kitchen smell wonderful for a week. Sweet birthday, right? I had dinner at Debbie's, he SO, Ron, made kebabs of chicken and lamb. I had one bite of just about everything on the table...risotto, kebab, fresh tomatoes and cheese, yum yum! It was a birthday feast for sure. Debbie and her fam even got an angel food cake with lots of fresh fruit and sung to me! I didn't have much, but it was so delicious. I took a photo of my glowing cake (I know it's bright, 25 whole candles!). Here it is:
Aren't I lucky?
As if that wasn't enough, the party continued Monday! Plenty of well wishes from my coworkers. My Claude, the SLW winemaker, had myself and Monika and her family over for yet another amazing meal. We had venison...it went very good. Best I've had, probably. And bonus, I got to see Monika's adorable daughter! My supervisor, Chris, made me real buttermilk pancakes too, and he even made them tiny sized for me. Perfect. I will admit, I am spoiled. I had a FANTASTIC birthday. Thank you to everyone for making it so special!
PHEW. Lots of adventures. And the summer of fun continues: this weekend I am off to Seattle to be in Anna Sweet's wedding. Heck yes! I am psyched. Weddings are very exciting. I get to see my room mate Chris, from crush in WA, for the first time a while too. You all will hear about that soon!
PS-- Home in NY in just under a month! Can you say...excited?!!?!?
Cheers!
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