...the San Francisco Treat

Day 141 - San Francisco, CA - Sunny Low 70's:

Fortunately we didn't have to get up TOO early today as our first stop was picking up Ryan and Jess (we had his truck) and making our way to Pier 33 for a boat ride to Alcatraz. This is something that I have wanted to do for years and years but this was the first chance I've ever had to actually do it. We made it to the boat with about five minutes to spare (just Ben's style). The boat ride was short and nice...thankfully for the drinkers the seas were very calm. We got off the boat and listened to a ranger quickly informed all of us about the rules. He then let us know that many of the things we came to the island thinking were not true. We all came with preconceived notions thanks to movies like Escape from Alcatraz and The Rock. Much of the information in them is inaccurate and untrue but we still like them!

Originally Alcatraz was a military base but it is most famous for the 29 years it spent as a federal prison holding some of the worst criminals that this country has ever known. We began by walking the grounds and exploring the gardens, the living quarters of the families, the morgue, the guard tower and the chapel. I was shocked to find out that families actually LIVED on Alcatraz while it was a prison. Children grew up here and on our audio tour we learned about their experiences of hearing the prisoners yelling but still doors were never locked. They had a little store, a recreation building that had everything from a bowling alley to a place where they could watch movies. CRAZY HUH!

From the grounds we made our way into the cell house for our audio tour. We entered the building into the shower room. I can't even begin to imagine. There was just a long row of shower heads with soap and everyone showered together. The cell house audio tour is so interesting however I could never possibly remember even half of what they told me which is so disappointing. One of the things I do remember was spoken by one of the inmates and that is a Regulation #5 which states, "You are entitled to food, clothing, shelter and medical attention. Anything else that you get is a privilege. " The cell house was a very freaky place to be and I cannot imagine being there for an hour let alone the average stay of eight years. Each cell was 5ft wide and 9ft long which is not very big. We were able to tour A Block which was used for storage not inmates, B Block, C Block which is where one of the most famous escape attempts took place, and D Block which was reserved for the worst of the worst. Here the criminals were kept isolated from the rest of the inmates. In this block they had slightly larger cells but were only allowed out once a week to the recreation yard one at a time for one hour. The end of D Block had even more isolated cells that were light and sound proof. It was SCARY to stand in one of these with your eyes closed and imagine spending days that way.

Once we walked through a few of the cell blocks we made our way out to the recreation yard. Here is where inmates could EARN the privilege of outdoor time. They could play shuffleboard, basketball, baseball, or just enjoy the outdoors. It's crazy to imagine being out here and seeing freedom just across the bay but knowing full well that you cannot get to it. The prison had a library which inmates could request books from and they would be placed in their cell...it is well known that many of the inmates were more versed in classic novels and philosophical books than most of the American public to this day. We learned a bit about their daily schedule which was VERY regimented as you can imagine. We got to see some of the gardens that the inmates tended and they are today beautiful which I would imagine that they were back then.

There were fourteen attempted escapes from Alcatraz none of which were successful. The most famous attempt was in June of 1962 by American criminals Clarence Anglin, John Anglin, Frank Morris, and Allen West. These men had worked for over a year at their attempt. They are believed to have used spoons and other silverware from the dining hall to dig through the crumbling Alcatraz walls around the vents in their cells. They created dummy heads using a mixture of soap, toilet paper and real hair. This allowed them to escape after lights out as guards were checking for bodies and not actually doing a count. They climbed up the ventilation shaft which was behind their cells and unguarded, "through one of the chimneys and reaching the top of the roof. The trio then climbed down the rooftop and paddled away on rubber rafts. The next morning police searched for the escapees on Alcatraz and Angel Island without success. In 1962 the three were put on the FBI's Most Wanted List. West did not make it out of his cell and no charges were pressed against him." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_1962_Alcatraz_escape, March 22, 2010) We were able to look into the cells and into the shaft where they escaped...I still don't know how they did it! Although they were never found it is almost certain that they drowned in San Francisco Bay but nonetheless are still considered fugitives.

We got to go to the visitation area. Here men at Alcatraz could sit behind bulletproof glass and visit with someone in their family, a friend, or a lawyer only once a month. Our tour concluded in the dining room also known as the most dangerous room in the prison. Just imagine being on duty as hundreds of the most dangerous criminals in the country held forks, knives, and spoons. From here we learned about the closing of the prison. It was due mainly to the high cost of keeping the prison open and to the deterioration of a building that was not originally intended to be used in this way.

After we left the cell house we walked around the grounds for a bit longer and observed the first lighthouse to exist on the Pacific Coast. We took some great photos and made our way back to the boat to get back to the mainland!

Quick Facts:
- There were no executions on Alcatraz.
- There were eight murders, five suicides, and fifteen natural deaths.
- The most inmates recorded was 302, the lowest 222, and the average 260.
- There were 1,545 different inmates on Alcatraz although some visited more than once.
- There were fourteen ATTEMPTED escapes.
- Guards on the cell house floor did not carry keys or weapons for safety.
- There was a separate area called the XXXXX which is where the keys were held and where a guard with a gun stood guard behind additional bars.

Famous Prisoners:
- George "Machine Gun" Kelly
- Al Capone
- Henry Young
- Robert Stroud "Birdman of Alcatraz"
- James "Whitey" Bulger

Once we were off the boat we headed down to Fisherman's Wharf. Ryan and Jess's school mascot is the owl and Jess wanted to get a Hooters t-shirt in honor of the school. From there we made our way to Coldstone Creamery so that the three of them could get a treat. We made our way back to the truck and headed toward Lombard Street. This time instead of driving down we parked at the bottom and walked up...a much better decision!!

From Lombard Street we made our way to Alamo Square to see the FULL HOUSE houses. These are known as the Painted Ladies and we had a blast posing for pictures. The whole time we were there and for quite a while after I couldn't' get the theme song out of my head!! After our photo shoot Ryan and Jess dropped us back at Kathy and Pierre's and headed out of the city.

Once back at the house we headed out to get groceries...we were completely bare of food and so it was nice to stock up!! Once Kathy and Pierre were home we made our way to XXXXXXX for neighborhood night. We met up with a couple of their friends once we were there and got ready to enjoy a delicious dinner. It was pizza for the second night in a row but it was so different. For a set rate you get unlimited salad an pizza. They walk around offering you different kinds and they give you small slices so you can try a bunch of different kinds. It was a great night!

Day 140 - San Francisco, CA - Sunny Mid 60's:

We slept in a bit today which was a nice change. Kathy and Pierre had offered us their bikes to explore the city and we quickly took them up on the opportunity. Well Ben took them a little quicker to take up the offer than I was since I can't honestly remember the last time I rode a bike! We got ready and hit the road.

It was a GORGEOUS day. We made our way down 16th street and over to 3rd which led us to AT&T Park (home of the San Francisco Giants). Once we passed the park we made our way to the waterfront. It was a beautiful ride. Our first stop was at the base of Telegraph Hill. I'm not sure if you are all aware but San Francisco has more hills than you can ever imagine and none of them are small. We locked the bikes and made our way up the many stairs to reach Coit Tower. From the area surrounding the tower you can see all of San Fran including the famous Golden Gate Bridge. It was SPECTACULAR. Inside the tower are beautiful murals. These murals "were carried out under the auspices of the Public Works of Art Project, the first of the New Deal federal employment programs for artists." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coit_Tower, March 22, 2010). The artwork was so neat and depicted what appeared to me to be many of the livelihoods of people at the time they were painted. Now, the main reason we actually headed up this way was because Kathy had informed us that it was an area that is full of Parrots. We were disappointed not to see any on our way up and were not sure that we would see any on our way down. As we were walking and talking though I heard people telling us to SHHHH. I look down and there are two little boys with their dad pointing to Parrots and telling us to be quiet. Turns out they had been looking for over an hour and had finally found two!! We took pictures and observed for a little bit before continuing on our way.

From Telegraph hill we made our way down to Fisherman's Wharf. There are a lot of street performers and a fair number of tourist trap stores to go with all of the restaurants. We had planned to finally visit In-N-Out today. Ben had been before but it was my first time. I was not overly impressed I won't lie...even Ben said once you've had Five Guys Burgers and Fries there's no turning back. I will also publicly confess that I did have a few french fries even though I gave them up for the year...I figure it's unlikely that I'll ever come to In-N-Out again. After lunch we continued on our way down the pier, through some of the parks, and close to the entrance to the Golden Gate Bridge. We knew that the bridge was about three and a half miles back and forth and rather than push ourselves and not be able to walk the next day we started to make our way back toward Kathy and Pierre's.

On our way back we stopped at Ghirardelli Square. Let's talk CHOCOLATE. They even give out free samples. The area is mostly shops and restaurants but it was fun to look at all the different chocolate that we could get!! We continued on our path to the house. On our way their we stopped at Levi Square...as in Levi's Jeans. At the square they have a history exhibit of Levi Strauss & Co. It was so interesting. Here they not only show and explain the history of the company but they also have a replica of the Levi Archives. Here they have thousands of articles of clothing from the beginning of the company through today. We saw jeans from the 1800's! The preserve and do not attempt to fix many of these items which have been found after years of wear. Each year however Levi's puts out a vintage item and it is an EXACT replica of one of these items. When I say exact I mean to the nth degree. They goes as far as measuring stitch length, putting the same worn crease marks, and using identical buttons. It was a really interesting process to watch (via video) as they went through the process.

We left Levi Square and made our way back to the house for showers and clean up. The timing worked out well because as we finished getting ready Ryan and his friend Jessica arrived at the house. Ryan is one of Mick's (Ben's brother) good friends and is going to school in Oregon. We are actually planning to go to his place at the end of the week. Well it turned out that he was going to be in San Fran with his friend Jessica who he goes to school with while we were here and so we had planned to meet up and hang out. We headed out from the house and made our way to the Mission District for dinner. We met up with another Skowehegan kid Ian and chose Little Star Pizza for dinner. The pizza was DELICIOUS. We sat and chatted over dinner and drinks for quite some time which was a nice change. After dinner Ben and I drove Ryan's truck back to Kathy and Pierre's and then I drove Ben back to the Mission District and dropped him off. The four of them were planning to hit up the town for the night but as you can imagine a week away from the Internet had left my work email quite full. Therefore I became the "tipsy taxi" as I returned home to work while they enjoyed their time together.

It worked out perfectly as I was able to get TONS of work done and they finished their evening out just after I finished work!!

Day 139 - Big Sur to San Francisco, CA - Sunny Mid 60's:

Today we left Big Sur headed for San Francisco! driving out of Big Sur was a beautiful way to leave. The views are spectacular. We drove over the Bixby Bridge which is a 714ft long, 280ft high bridge along US route 1. It was a fun place to stop for pictures. From there we made a couple more photo stops but it was straight driving until we reached Gilroy. Here we stopped at the outlets. Ben has been in dire need of new walking shoes and low and behold there was Reebok outlet. After a new pair of running shoes...not walking shoes...were in the bag we made our way to do some spring cleaning. We of course have no house to clean but we cleaned the car. Once we washed and vacuumed we made our way back to the highway for the rest of the trip to San Francisco.

We arrived in San Fran around 4:30 and made our way over to Lombard Street. In case you are unaware this is known as the curviest street in the US. What they don't tell you is that the way to the curvy part may be one of the steepest streets in the US. It was unbelievable. We were almost vertical. In addition to that there was SO much traffic. This caused us to sit on the hill. We sat for quite some time...so long in fact that the car in front of us overheated and smoke started billowing out of the hood. We finally reached the top and drove down the street of turns, it was hairpin turns for an entire block. We didn't really stop for pictures because we needed to make our way to Kathy and Pierre's for dinner.

It was so exciting to see more familiar faces. Kathy and Pierre live in an area of San Francisco called Portero Hill. It is a very nice, VERY hilly area. They have a two bedroom house with an apartment in the basement. They were equally excited to see us which was nice. We unpacked the car and settled into the house. We spent lots of time chatting about where we've been and about their recent trip to Little Corn Island. Pierre made a delicious dinner with Kathy's tasty dressing on the salad. They did their best to recreate some of Mark's work and as far as I'm concerned they did an EXCELLENT job. We sat on the couch, watched some TV, and caught up on emails and Internet news before heading to bed.