Saturday – July 18, 2015
We had a bit of a late start today because I negotiated with a guy on the street (literally) who sold tickets to Alcatraz. It’s a long story! On-line tickets were sold out until August 8th, but I asked the hotel concierge anyway. She sent me around the corner to the Hop-on Hop-off bus company who bought blocks of tickets to the prison and sold them with bus rides. The young man told me he was ‘sold out’ and sent me two blocks away to “the orange awning.” “Ask for Fahit. Tell him Drew sent you.” Fahit only accepted ‘cash’ and had “a few tickets left for today.” At least we were able to visit Alcatraz!
Two blocks from the Argonaut Hotel was the Hollywood Cafe. They only serve breakfast and lunch and the long line waiting outside to get in was a testament to the quality of the food. We had the best ‘brunch’ of the entire trip!
Yummmmmy…….
I noticed on a map that the foot of Lombard Street was just three blocks away, so we climbed up the hill to the famous “crookedest street in San Francisco” to watch the cars negotiate eight switchback turns down the steep hill.
The Girls walked up Lombard Street while I waited below and watched four police officers direct traffic and pedestrians. Then we walked back down to Pier 33 to wait in line to board the ferry to Alcatraz.
It was a glorious ride across San Francisco Bay under a cloudless blue sky to the infamous island.
The audio tour was excellent because it explained the history, people, and events of the prison. Most of the narration was by former prisoners and guards. After several hours, we rode the ferry to the mainland and walked back to the hotel. After a brief rest, we went to Cioppino’s for a seafood dinner. We revisited the Musee Mechanique and had Three Twins ice-cream for dessert. It was another fun day!
