This is day 21 ( really ) of this sinus and pneumonia process. Not really doing anything but taking meds and stay tense that it will return like dam busters and knock me over again. I have one foot off the floor waiting....
Through the breached shield we go....
Following along with Wednesdays mid week blog bit is the continuation of our visit to Alcatraz Island, Park, Penitentiary, loonie bin, plant habitat..... Yes well....
You have to get your tickets ahead of time or go to the will call booth or try to get a ticket someway. It works but its better to have them ahead of time. We got ours via the Big Bus Tours. So with the day super wet and a lot of things wanting to be done tabled for now it was up to us to find the best out of this glum day.
We did this by first finding the most expensive place to eat... Hard Rock... Ugh! My food was pretty tasteless. Way too costly and Id pass on the ambiance for a good meal... didn't happen. We kind of killed the eating out bit and shoud have stuck to In and Out or IHOP.
That sad decision behind us and we sure didn't look back then... and off to the pier where you get to get on the ferry. After a bit of mucking about with the tickets and verification of people.. who really wants to sneak onto the island? Really.... Okay.. If I could do it on a nice day to avoid the crowds of people... I probably would... It was not really crowded but those people who were on the island with us ( not all by far ) but it seemed like four or five people constantly walked into my shot or stood looking at me look at them to see when they would leave the area.... to be replaced by another winner who stood there looking at me.... I do not do tricks on vacation!
So what shots I got are filled with people that refused to vacate the box of my viewfinder. I know I know... share share share... but... I think I will take the tripod the next time.. spend more time getting multiple shots of the same thing then using PS to remove all the people. Next time.
So yeah.. we waited.. watched people in the cafe there throw food on the floor to bring the seagulls and pigeons into the cafe... smart that.... wow... Gotta love toxins with my food... No.. didn't eat anything.
Going outside and waiting under the awnings I read the banners with the history of the island and also other things. There was one ferry headed out and our ferry was soon to head in. We got in line and were aboard quickly and off and out soon after that. The boat had a snack bar..lots of chairs and tables to sit on or in and large windows to peer through... unless you were not wet enough yet and wanted to stand on the top open area... yes.... no!
From here I will comment on the shots as we go... as usual....
Loads of places to sit before you get on the boat. Neat signs with information everywhere.
Cafe to the left and ticket booth with huge diorama of the island behind it straight ahead.
Leaving the dock. Ferry was warm and comfy.
No fires and no we are good and wet already.
The second ferry heading back from the island.
The island.. The Rock.. Alcatraz... I have read a lot about it and have seen the television shows and movies to do with it. To me I was going to an Island where bad people were stored. I had no feelings one way or the other about it.. No dread.. no worry.... just interest.
The shore is pretty damn close...closer than I had thought when I was younger.
Love the sign.. Loved the sign, the green, the rocks, the old buildings.....
Imposing structures. Impossible to maintain this as a prison or even a facility without a lot of money.
The size of the island isn't very imposing as the verticals of it. The levels.. Old New mixed together.
Lighthouse.. Maybe I was a lighthouse keeper in the past.. or in a different reality ( smirk ) but I do love the lighthouse and guard posts.... but that's not what I liked alone.....
Barely there the coast of San Francisco is...
The Bay bridge is a bit easier to see... We were hoping the sky would clear but it didn't. The bay was novel in its choppiness and cut waves.
Removing ourselves from the ferry and going up to the main area you are met with a warden, guide, prison official, Oh yeah... park ranger!!! They tell you where to go and where not to go and where Darwin will take you if you err between the two. Loved the guard tower.
Two search lights. I wonder if they only turned them on if someone was trying to escape or did they shine through the windows all night long. I can see some reading going on here soon.
Officers club in ruins. The water and moisture and wind ... quickly its being chewed down to nothing and the plants are taking over... just as it should.
No floor and no inner walls left.
Placard.... Snippits of lives gone to dust.
Another view of my almost favorite guard tower. Upper terrace going towards the family housing. Novel thought but being a BRAT I know where family's get to go sometimes when on the governments business.
I have fascination with culverts. Underworlds... this was not locked down so it must not have been accessible from the prisoners at all.... ( Read RPReids Escape from Colditz and you will catch on how smart some people are ) ... Love the stars.
The morgue... Shot through a plexi window... and a horrible shot it was.. and also reflective and grimy. Best way to show it.. garish and deep.
Gun port glass. All of it was damaged and I took a lot of shots of it.
The cells. It was a novel way to make the cells and it worked quite well except twice.
A lot of the shots you will see are not what you would expect. Mainly I have seen too many regular shots of this place. I was looking for things that caught my eye.. as you will see... boring shot of three cells.
Better shot of cells. Three levels.. one more lower for the bad boys.. solitary confinement...
Indented bars. So the windows could be opened. Did it get hot in there in the summer? I know it got cold in the winter...
There are names for each of the sections and each corridor between... I guess you have to do something to while away the years.
Cross access midway. There was a hostage taking here. They were hand grenaded to get them out.
The floor....I look at floors a lot. How many people walked over that spot.. how many lives changed .. I wondered about the holes...
The exercise yard.. too many pictures of that to make it worth my getting more wet to shoot it. Also my camera is water resistant but not that much water.
Another gun port to solitary.
Cell 1.
Cells in Cells and then the door closes and its total darkness. If you were real bad.
Metal walls on sides and cement. Green and ivory.
I stepped into number 1 cell. I felt nothing at all. I almost would lean to the comfort part of anything I did feel. What does that make it.... other than weird.
Number 10, The hole. Meh. Cool weave is what I saw.
More looking up. Who looks up anymore. Who paints this place.. how many times? How bout renting out the cells for studios.. Id live there for a bit..LOL. Tiny house special.
The library... three levels high. They say the inmates were very well read... I expect so. Birdcage.
More warm lighting. More garish colors.. Red on Robin blue.
The floor where the hand grenades went off. Covered with cement but you can see the spray of shrapnel scoured the floor. More floors.
Right above to the port where the grenades were dropped from.
A set up cell. Maybe its because I like things in their place that this is fine with me or makes me feel fine with it.
Some teal breaks through the bars.
Lights out at 9pm. Snores and noises from all the people that were there.... smells.. Its pretty sterile right now.. I wonder what it .. wall maybe I dont want to know what it smelled like back then.
Control room. Nifty and they even remembered to put an ashtray in there.. but there would have been three or four... Silly people and their silly worries... everyone dies.
If you look closely you can see the design in this roller calendar device. I saw it in the shadows and had to adjust the light to bring it out. Nice.
One of the escapees cell.. set up like it happened yesterday.... Got lots of something to try this escape.
The maintenance alley behind the walls where the three escaped to .. then up to the roof...
An almost perfect shot.. colors are nice...
The kitchen. Tiles.. small hex .. white and grimy... now white under green walls.
The parade grounds.. because it was once a post.. and you know officers love those parades... and yes.. I really hate parade grounds and standing in formation for people to preen in front of. Lots of Meh there. I knew a few officers whos only joy was being the center of attention... sheesh. If you have a different take.. let me know... just being quick here not in depth considerations.
In the only smoking area on the island.... way off on the edge.... holding area really.... you ... are ....gonna...die...anyway.... kept running though my mind. Second hand smoke is not going to kill you. That drink your drinking or meat your eating or mushroom your ingesting or the bus you didn't see or the toy on the stair will probably do you in before... Pontificating... soap box standing.... sorry.
And we took the ferry back to the mainland about 2 and a half hours later. I loved the island... the rangers were great.. the people working there were cool...the gift shop is HUGE!!!
I will go back again.... Since I know its doable I will try for a better part of the year and talk to some people on the best times to beat the crowds. I will go back though.
It was insane to get out of San Francisco and took us three hours to do so... to go over one bridge and up one highway. Mostly it was the corner coming off the Embarcado that killed it. One idiot driver after another... one self important twit after another... but it was still fun to go and even knowing how insane that part is I have sorted out a different way so to avoid those mentally self important people. ( if your car or truck is in the middle of the intersection when the light changes .. you are the problem )
I was going to add the Jelly Belly factory here but I have blown up the blog with all the pictures so it can wait....
Last take aways from California and such....
Taking plastic bags from stores away... plastic straws away from restaurants and charging usurious taxes on goods that you know the poor need to get through the day only makes you more the tyrant... the dictator.. the blowhard... while you can afford to buy those things or expend those that dont cant and you make their lives sadder.
Think about this.. Give back the bags and the straws and such and like bottles put a couple of cents on them to be refunded.... As a kid it was fun to pick up cans and bottles and get them turned in for money.... that is how you get rid of all the plastic trash.. you incentivize it.. not take things away from people... take take take... Can sit there.. cant smoke here ..cant drink that large coke cause you might die... heh.. You Are Gonna Die Anyways! You just made what little that was joyful sad.
Last part of my take aways and soap box ranting....
Are you enjoying your life or are you making it sad and unfun just because the people on the television say you arnt healthy enough or pretty enough or whatever enough... live your life... enjoy your life... or it was a total waste....
Dont eat Tide packets! Thats just stupid!
