100619 Alcatraz & Pier 39

The 12-minute boat ride over to the island was delightful. I’ve done it before, years ago, but this time the sun was shining, and I enjoyed it even more than last time. The views of San Francisco Bay, all the sailboats in it, the Golden Gate Bridge, the city, and the water sparkling like diamonds - made it a special ride. We are both noticing and marveling at the abundance of foliage and types of flora here - one of the things I love about California. So many interesting and beautiful flowers, bushes, and trees. Maybe in part because of the constant wind, many of the trees have interesting shapes and beautiful lines. The Western gulls were nesting on the island, and, amongst all the beautiful, abundant foliage, we saw quite a few mothers with one to three beautiful little chicks (my first time to see Western gull chicks).
The self-guided tour of the prison is interesting and very well done. The story is told (via cassette) by the prisoners, guards, and the families of the guards who lived on the island. The beauty of the island and all you can see in the bay is juxtaposed against the starkness and ugliness of the prison itself. Several prisoners mention the difficulty of seeing, and hearing, the city across the bay, tantalizing them - so close, and yet impossibly far away. We got to see where Al Capone, Machine Gun Kelly, and others spent so many years. We even got to spend a minute in "the Hole", where there is nothing for your comfort - just total darkness.

We ate at a good Italian seafood restaurant at Pier 39 and saw the famous sea lions there.

This town is wonderful to visit, but I wouldn't want to live here. I'm tired of the wind and clouds, and I've only been here a couple days. The pattern seems to be cloudy in the early morning and in the evening, and the wind picks up in mid-afternoon. If it weren't for the wind, we would have had some lovely weather, but the wind has made it cold enough that we've had to bundle up. The winds were really fierce on Friday - left us wishing for our winter coats!