The Rock - Alcatraz

Yesterday we hung around Fisherman's Wharf and the pier for most of the day before heading out on the ferry to Alcatraz.

This is us riding the cable car to the pier. They really do let you hold on and ride on the outside of the car like you see in the movies. You just have to be careful not to hang out or you'll get hit by a car!

These cable cars were parked at the end of the line. They're really cool to ride and a very iconic part of San Francisco.

We checked out the aquarium at the bay. It wasn't as spectacular as the aquarium we went to on Tuesday but it had some cool stuff.

This was their Nemo tank. Can you spot Dorie, Marlin and Nemo?

The coolest part of this aquarium was the under ground tube. It is set underneath the bay so you see the underside of all the animals in the water. It's a little bit weird being in the tube. If the great California earthquake happened that is not where I'd want to be!

We signed up to take the night tour of Alcatraz. It started with a boat ride around the island. Originally Alcatraz was built for the military to help protect the bay during the gold rush. Later is was converted to a military prison, then it's most famous job was the maximum security prison most of us know it as. January 29th is the 102nd anniversary of the island so we picked a good day to go :)

The large building behind us is the cell house where the inmates were housed.

Most of the pics of the inside didn't turn out great. This is what the cells looked like. There are three levels of cells on each side.

The cells were so small too!! This one is missing the small cot they would have slept in.

This is what a cell in Block D looks like. Block D is where prisoners were kept in solitary confinement. When the door closes on this cell it is pitch black!

Me enjoying the tour :)

This is a prisoner's view of the San Francisco sun setting behind the Golden Gate Bridge. San Francisco is about a mile and a half swim from Alcatraz. The view was torturous to inmates because the city was so close yet so far away.

This is us with San Francisco behind us. Our little camera doesn't do the view justice. The view of the city from Alcatraz was SPECTACULAR!!

After the audio tour one of the park rangers told us about some of the different escape attempts. Out of 36 escape attempts only one person is known to make it to shore - then within 2 hours he was picked up by authorities. 3 people escaped and were never confirmed dead or alive...dun dun dun. If you are ever in the San Francisco area an Alcatraz Tour is a must. It really is pretty cool to see the island and tour the prison.