one nomad

I had 8 hours to kill at the airport since we missed our flight. At least Alaka airline didn’t charge us for another flight. Well, Goop slept all the way through and I walked around and talked to staff and travellers. I got creative with my camera and tried doing some long exposure shots on the escalator. Check em out!!!

Vancouver….I’m coming home. 

The port for the Alcatraz ferry is located next to the Fisherman’s Wharf. As we ported, we immediately walked over to Fisherman’s Wharf to grab a quick bite since we had not ate anything today. We walked all over, experienced some awesome live jazz street performances and talked to some locals. At the end of the pier, you can see Alcatraz island from the dock. We checked out some great local art and such. It was really time to eat so I decided we sit down at Wipeout Bar and Grill and enjoy some appeez and brewskeez. What I thought was going to be a minor pit stop turned into the rest of our evening. It was getting colder but the patio heaters kept me toasty. Goop and I ordered a 23 oz tall pint of Blue Moon Belgian beer each. 1 turned to 2, 2 to 3, and 3 to 4…..hahaha….the Wharf is spinnning…Whooooo!!!!! We enjoyed some great burgers and decided to continue drinking at some bars downtown so we cabbed back to the hotel for some pre-drinks.

After realizing we’ve been spending too much time shopping, we decided to go check out Alcatraz!!!! Unfortunately this is something you have to book well ahead of time but fortunately, we were able to take advantage of the cancellation of two poor chaps. The tickets were $26/each which included the ferry ride there and back as well as the audio tour guide on the island. Arriving on the island reminded me of the movie ‘Shutter Island’. Once we were on the island, we were given a formal safety orientation and let loose to check out every nook and cranny of the islands and buildings. We immediately walked the perimeter of the island to check out all the landscapes surrounding the island. The view of the bay bridge from one side, the golden gate on the other and the San Francisco landscape in between. We moved along to see what the audio tour was all about. The audio tour tells you where to begin, where to stop and tells amazing stories at different parts of the buildings, cells and utilities. The narrations begin with an introduction from the last warden of the prison before being shut down. He explains the whole security system and the routines of the guards. Then, prison mates narrate their stories of what life was like inside the cells. One of the cell mates who took part in the ‘Battle of Alcatraz’ even narrated his version of the story. The inmates were able to get a hold of ammunition and fight the US military for 2 days. There was no such thing as a successful escape from the island but in 1964, 4 inmates attempted to escape. 3 of them made it out alive while the fourth remained stuck in his cell. The official report claimed those escaped convicts drowned but the families of those convicts continued to receive postcards from the convicts for many years after the escape. Since the failed convict remained behind, he disclosed how the other convicts escaped the prison. It was time for us to catch our ferry but one of the staff members offered to let us into the isolation cell which is simply a steel block and pitch black inside. After 30 seconds inside, I got a strong sense of claustrophobia. Like much of the trip, we had to make a run to catch our ferry back and we got on with only 2 minutes left. ‘Barely on time’ was the theme of this trip.

Its pretty exciting to see AT&T Park. Home of the San Francisco Giants. Home of Barry Bonds greatest achievements ***.

*** w/substance abuse