Escape to Alcatraz

After our huge breakfast on the pier we took a boat out to The Rock.

A lot of the buildings are in ruins, some are in the process of being restored. This was not one of them.

Instead, native birds and not so native plants have taken over parts of the island. The picture of the purple flower below was taken inside the ruins shown behind the boys above. The Seagulls were very large compared to the ones that I am used to here in Utah. They build their nests along the cliffs around the island.

The main prison house is still very much intact. As you go in, you are handed an earset with a recorded guide. It moves you through the prison at your own pace. Along with the guide are sound effects of prison life. You hear slamming of prison doors and men hollering. Most of it is just background noise; but at times there were a few scary sounds. When in the kitchen there was a stabbing sound and in a few places there scuffling and shouting.

It was really eerie when the sound tour ended because all of a sudden the sound effects were gone and you realized you were shuffling through the prison with hundreds of other people in complete silence. While we were in this hallway one of the park rangers came up and started opening and closing cell doors. It was quite a system. We were told that the sound of the cell doors closing was used by Hollywood in several different movies including Star Wars. Who knew?

The cells were only 5 by 9 feet. Seemed quite small. If they hadn't earned work priveleges they spent 23 hours a day only leaving their cell for 3 twenty minute meal breaks each day. Gave a man plenty of time to think.
I imagine it was torture for the prisoners of Alcatraz to have views like this one just outside their windows.

We had a wonderful day on The Rock and recommend it to anyone taking a trip to San Francisco. Just note- get on-line and buy your tickets in advance. They sell out very quickly, in fact, when we went last summer the entire week was sold out. Also, dress in layers. The day started out nice and warm, but by early afternoon a cold wind blew in and we were glad we had brought our jackets.