Haven't posted for a few days, have just been really exhausted after all the walking we've been doing.
On Thursday (it's now Monday) we went to Alcatraz. We chose to do a night tour because we heard it was the best one. You get additional talks and presentations from guides. We left San Francisco at 6.10 p.m. It was freezing, WAY colder than it was in the city. It wasn't so bad out of the wind, but I had to get out my winter clothes which were all the way in the bottom of the suitcase. I didn't think I'd be needing boots and long sleeves in summer!
When we arrived on Alcatraz we were split into 3 groups and each given a guide who gave us the history of Alcatraz as we walked up the hill. Seriously considered using the tram...but I didn't think they'd believe I was disabled. The climb up was about 13 stories all up, but it was a pretty gentle climb, which was good since I didn't take my inhaler with me.
Once we got to the top we were given headsets with a guided audio tour. The tour has stories from old guards and inmates in Alcatraz talking about their time at Alcatraz, and telling you about the different parts of Alcatraz as you walk around. It was really creepy at night time, which I think made it a way better experience than if we had gone during the day.
After the audio tour had finished there were various presentations from the guides about famous events from Alcatraz's history. We went to one about Escapees. They told amazing stories of the prisoners who had attempted (or succeeded in one case?) to escape the island. I'll link to Wikipedia so you can read about them, they're too interesting for me to try to explain: 1962 Escape and John Giles.
There was also an awesome gift shop which had heaps of amazing stuff. Including the same book I brought about Alcatraz from San Francisco 12 years ago, which got me a bit excited.
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