Welcome To Alcatraz
Trip Start
Mar 21, 2010
1
29
33
Trip End
Mar 21, 2011
San Francisco, California
Saturday, June 12, 2010
I mean the views are spectacular, all the rooms are en-suite, there's a lovely big shower room and you get three square meals a day.
And not only that, you have so much in common with most of your fellow guests.
Yep, you guessed it, we’ve left Seattle and Washington state behind and headed south for the sunshine of California.
One of the many highlights of our two day stopover in San Fran was a visit to the island prison of Alcatraz, which held some of America’s most notorious criminals (including Al Scarface Capone) right up until March 21, 1963.
It was then the authorities decided to close it down, mainly because it didn’t have a sewage system.
Thankfully, they have rectified that as every day, thousands of people now visit what has become one of THE tourist attractions in the city. And those people need to pee you know.
My only previous knowledge of Alcatraz was gleaned from the Clint Eastwood film Escape from Alcatraz (can you guess what it’s about?) which is largely based on real events.
In the 29 years that Alcatraz was a prison (it was a military fort before that), 36 prisoners tried to escape over its walls and swim to freedom across San Francisco Bay. It looked a pretty nice swim to be honest, but I bet it’s a bit cold in the winter.
All but five were recaptured and three who were never found took part in the same break out in 1962 which was immortalised in celluloid by Clint.
For those who have seen the film, the dummy head bit really happened!
We had arrived in San Fran after another night drive which followed a thoroughly entertaining evening out in the small town of Arkata in Humboldt County where we celebrated Rob’s 40th birthday.
And boy was he suffering when Matty parked up in the shadow of the Golden Gate Bridge, which, unfortunately, was shrouded in cloud.
This was the end of the line for Matty and our first Green Tortoise bus. We now have two new drivers, Charles and Lucas, and a new bus.
Apparently, Arkata is the dope capital of California and judging by some of the smiles on the faces of the locals in the dive bar we dived into, you can understand why.
It was a fun-filled night in which Rob drank too much tequila and I got beaten at darts by a young lady called Misty Mouse. No surprise, as for some reason, she was throwing four darts to my three.
Oh, on our way to Arkata we stopped off the walk in a forest of the legendary Redwood trees and a thoroughly enjoyable trek it was, too.
Imagine a cross between Ferngully and the Forest Moon of Endor from Star Wars and you’ve pretty much got the idea of the lush forest we were trekking through for a couple of hours.
Apparently, they filmed some of the Ewok scenes from Return of the Jedi there.
Didn’t see any Ewoks, though.
But back to San Fran.
We were staying in a cool HI hostel in Mason Avenue, just a few blocks from Union Square.
San Fran is a very American city if you see what I mean but it has its very own individuality, too.
You will all have seen its steep streets (something we found out about when we walked to Pier 39 all the way from out hostel) and its quaint old tram systems which run up and down the steep streets, saving unfit buggers like me from getting out of breath.
The downtown shopping area is everything you expect with Macys taking up a huge stretch and a fabulous Borders bookstore taking up four storeys.
Pier 39 itself is tourist heaven with the famous sea lions burping, screeching and farting all day long in the sunshine.
The story goes that if the sea lions ever leave San Fran harbour, there is an earthquake on the way.
Thankfully, they stayed put while we were there. Although, there were some rumblings as we left the city, more of which later on.
The pier is full of tacky shops selling souvenirs to gullible tourists but my favourite was a candy (sorry, sweet) shop in which I literally acted like a kid in a sweet shop.
I bought chocolate cigarettes, candy watches, nerds (great American sweets which are basically e numbers and sugar) and lollipops for everyone in our group heading over to Alcatraz on the ferry.
The ferry ride across the bay may be short but it gave us truly stunning views of the city skyline. There’s no wonder a few of the prisoners wanted to make a break for the mainland.
Once on the island, you can stay as long as you like, but unlike the prisoners, you have to leave at the end of the day.
After a brief history of the place given to us by Ranger Al, we were all hooked up to a fantastic audio tour and left to explore the cells and shower blocks, the offices and kitchens of Alcatraz.
As well as its famous prison, San Fran is also well known for its gay scene so Barry and I decided to see what it was all about and headed down to the Castro area for a few beers.
To be honest, I thought it would be a bit more gay.
Maybe it was because it was a Sunday night but the bars were pretty dead and when the Chief and Phebes joined us for a pint in Henrys, they doubled the numbers.
Duncan, however, had a much more fun time in the Castro when he dropped in to a gay gymnasium for a coffee.
He was invited to a private nude dancing party for the over 40s.
You had to bring your dad and your own beer. For some reason, Duncan declined the invitation.
And so to the rumblings...As we were night driving from San Fran towards Yosemite National Park, we felt a little light refreshment may be in order before getting on the bus at 9pm.
So where better than the Nan Curry restaurant just around the corner from the hostel for an all you can eat buffet for $13.
And we could bring your own beer. Which we did. Quite a lot of it.
Not sure the rest of the Oz-Bussers appreciated our choice though as we rumbled (and I mean rumbled) through the night to Yosemite.
Next episode: White water drama on Snake River
Comments
Sorry I missed you on your whizz through town, but it sounds like you got a tiny glimpse of the city (and of course the fog!). It does sound like you found the quietest night the Castro has ever seen. We lived there when we first moved over and it was an eye opening experience to say the least.
If you do manage to swing back this way after the bus ride is over, I'm sure we can give you a better impression of the greatest city in the US and it's many bars and eateries. By the way, you should probably get a copy of 'The Electric Kool Aid Acid' test for the bus trip across the US.