After a good night’s badly needed sleep, I had a trip planned to Alcatraz the following day. So, it was another bus trip that went over to Pier 33 where the ferry leaves for the island. Clear blue skies were with me again and a I had a really enjoyable 15-minute trip across the water. I did an audio tour around Alcatraz, and you can stay there for as long as you like – most people seem to spend around a couple of hours there before getting a return ferry. I found the whole prison experience educational and fascinating, and there were a number of great gifts on offer in the on-site shop. On arrival, you are issued with a tape recorder and headphones for the audio tour and some of the sound effects are really eerie – at one point I thought someone had whispered something in my ear! I loved this trip and would highly recommend anyone to do it if in San Fran – even if prisons are not your thing.
On my return from Alcatraz, I took a short bus ride to Pier 39, which has an array of eateries, shops, a 300-birth marina, and street entertainers - not to mention the lovely sea lions who camp out on the dock and make plenty of noise! They have apparently been at the dock since 1990. This was a lovely place to spend a few hours and filled me with some more lovely memories to complete my day.
