We went on a last minute vacation to California this fall. Melissa, my sister was visiting from Logan with her two little girls when my son, Tyler came in and mentioned that dad had said we might go to California next week.
I realized that if that was so, we would be leaving the next day; Friday, after Walter got off of work, so that we could drive through the night and be there for the weekend.
We left on this trip with out a plan and it ended up being one of the best family vacations we have ever had.
We left Layton, Utah at 6:30 that evening after Walter got off of work and we drove west on I-80 through the night. We were pretty tired when we started down the west side of the Sierras. We stopped at a little rest area and rested before heading into San Francisco. We were amazed by the size of the barges as we crossed the Bay Bridge. We parked the car near Pier 39 and spent the whole day there. We ate breakfast on the pier before we went through the Aquarium. Tyler and Brandon loved the "Walk Under the Bay" We watched the barking seals next to the pier, climbed an old Navy battleship called the "Jeremiah O'Brian", went through the Wax Museum, and Ripley's Believe it or Not. Then we found a farmers market with all kinds of fruit. We ate fruit and nuts and ice cream cones as we sat on a bench and watched the sailboats roll on the waves.
That night we stayed in Berkley, but got up the next morning and went back over the Bay Bridge into San Francisco. We planned to go to Chinatown, but our Suburban is so big we could not find a place to park. Finally we gave up and we went over to the Golden Gate Bridge. We crossed over it and parked on the north side where we got out of the car and walked back half way over the bridge. It was foggy and cold and it felt wonderful. Back home it was supposed to be 100 degrees F.
That afternoon we spent driving down I-5 towards LA. That might have been the most boring drive I have ever been on. Miles upon miles of farmland for 5 hours. It was interesting to see how much food was being grown. I had never seen farms that size, but it got old after a while.
We stayed in Venice that night. The next morning we went down to the beach. We spent the whole day at Venice beach. It was perfect weather. We swam and layed out on the blanket on the beach. Around 6 we left the beach and headed into LA to meet with Walter's cousin Alyson. We met her at the famous "Roscoes" for chicken and waffles. It was good, but not all it was hyped up to be. Then we drove down into Hollywood and walked the stars and went into Virgin Records and Kodak Theatre. We were exhausted, but we drove down towards Anaheim.
The next morning we got up and drove down into San Diego. We got a hotel room and then hopped onto a train that took us to the Mexican Border. We then grabbed a taxi. He took us straight through town to a flea market. On the way we passed the city prison. We could see the rifled guards posted on top. Once at the market, we had a lot of fun shopping for clothing and movies, and souveniors. That night as we were going through customs, Walter and the boys got through just fine, but when it came to me, we realized my birth certificate got left behind at home. We weren't sure if I was going to be able to come back over the border. I was told to make sure I bring it next time...It gave me quite a scare to think I might have to stay in Mexico by myself, even for a little bit. We rode the train back into San Diego laughing about the possibility of me having to stay behind.
The next day we went to Sea World. What a fun place. We watched Shamu in fascination, along with the seals and the dolphins. We rode the rides and enjoyed a day together.... Then the next day we went to Knottsberry Farm. We went on big, wild, scary rides and by the end of the day we were all on headache medicine...but we had a wonderful time.
We stayed that night with Alyson. We stayed up visiting with her until way too late...but we enjoyed catching up with her. The next morning, we got up fed the kids breakfast and left for home. We stopped in Las Vegas for dinner at Circus Circus. It was crowded, but the food was good. We couldn't believe how incredibly hot it was once you stepped out of the casino. Then we drove the rest of the way home and we got back about one o'clock in the morning.
For not having planned the trip ahead of time...we had a wonderful time.
A lot of the buildings are in ruins, some are in the process of being restored. This was not one of them. 
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. 
