The Wharf, the Bay and the Rock

Today was a different change of pace.  I had decided to spend two nights in San Francisco so I could be a tourist today.  I logged 456km yesterday and 2853km since I left Calgary.  I felt a little guilty because I was supposed to be sightseeing, but I must say I enjoyed a little lay-in and a slow start to my day.


I had breakfast across the street at the IHOP, the International House of Pancakes.  I had never been to one of these before.  If you've never been to one either, the breakfast was fine, but I can assure you there is nothing "International" about this place.  Full-on, American breakfast food.


My original plan for a day in San Francisco was to do a tour of Alcatraz.  However, I learned from someone I met several days ago that the Alcatraz tours usually sell out in advance.  I tried to book a ticket online a couple days ago, and was disappointed to find out that Alcatraz tickets for today were indeed sold out.


Nonetheless I decided to go down to the Fisherman's Wharf tourist area, and perhaps I could get onto a bay cruise or something.  I was told Fisherman's Wharf was about two miles from the hotel, so I decided to walk.  What better way to be a tourist.  The walk offered me several classic San Francisco photo-ops (the place looks just like what you see on TV!)

All we're missing is the 1967 green
Mustang from the movie "Bullitt"

"Kiss my Grits!"

Once I got to Fisherman's Wharf, there is an abundance of tourist traps, souvenir shops, street performers and restaurants.

This is an 8-pointer in my family's punch-buggy game.  I win!

Amongst the tacky souvenir shops there were a number of booths selling tours/excursions.  What the hell, I thought.  Maybe these guys somehow had Alcatraz tickets - never hurts to ask (Don't ask, don't get as I'm fond of saying).  Lo and behold, the first guy had one.  Effectively these guys scalp the tickets but to do it legally, they bundle the tickets into a package.  So if I bought a Bay Harbour tour along with the Alcatraz ticket, I could go.  In actual fact, they didn't burn me too bad on the tickets and I was glad to pay it.

So my first excursion was the bay tour.  It was very breezy and I hadn't packed anything other than t-shirts and my leather jackets.  Fortunately there was a San Francisco Harley store nearby to buy something warmer and consistent with the clothing theme for the trip (phew).

The tour ran for an hour, and took you out and under the Golden Gate bridge and looped around Alcatraz island.

Check out the sea-lions at the pier!  Apparently they showed
up just after the big earthquake in 1989 and never left!

My awesome new San Francisco
Harley shirt keeping me warm

Super windy day - I thought this sailboat was
going to turtle more than once!

Shortly after returning from the bay cruise I boarded another ship to take me out to Alcatraz.  Alcatraz Island is now a National Park.  The boat takes you there and you are given a headset to walk you through the prison on a self guided tour.  Very well done.

The Rock

The building in the foreground is where the guards
and their families lived.  The kids would take the
shuttle to school in San Francisco every day!

Gun Tower

General Population

D-Block (Isolation & Solitary Confinement)

This would suck.

Mommy!

This is one of "the holes".  Prisoners who seriously "misbehaved" were
placed in here.  The bar doors were closed followed by the door
you see on the right.  Lights were supposed to be kept on, but never were.
There's nothing in there except a floor, walls and a ceiling.
They could spend up to two weeks in there.

Guards "Gun Gallery" at the end of General Population

If a prisoner was well behaved enough to be allowed a visitor, this
is as close as he could get to them (glass in between).  These booths
were located at the other end of general population, basically out in the open.

This is one of the cells where the guys escaped though
the vent, as chronicled in the Clint Eastwood movie, Escape from Alcatraz

The control room where guards were freaking out
when they couldn't find the missing prisoners

The dining hall.  It was considered by the guards to be the
most dangerous place in the prison.  Several hundred prisoners,
with forks, knives and spoons in their hands. 

The yard.

The trip out to Alcatraz was definitely worthwhile and I'd recommend it to anyone who travels to San Francisco.

Back on the bike tomorrow morning, heading down the PCH!