The day prior Lexie picked it the Exploratorium as our activity for the day. It was a fantastic choice. Before going we had to drive 20 minutes in the opposite direction to pick up a book I had bought when we were still in Australia. The author was doing a signing which I was going to miss, but they got him to sign a copy for me, which is fantastic. On the way I saw the first of many driverless cars. I'm hoping to catch a ride in one at the end of our trip.
The Exploratorium was the perfect place to take children. They could touch everything, play, make noise, experiment, and the adults got into it too. We really had a blast, I'm very glad Lexie chose it. A lot of the trip has been difficult for Nathan, as it has been necessarily restrictive a lot of the time. At the Exploratorium he could go nuts. And they did!
I left Kieran and the kids early to walk down to pier 33 for my Alcatraz guided tour. I'd picked a behind the scenes tour, which included a night time visit and the audio tour. We took the ferry across; I wolfed down a pb&j and a coke (I miss water).
The views were fun, as the Rock towered ahead of us. I did pop up to the top section of the ferry, but mostly stayed below.
The first thing that stands out as you disembark into the island is the graffiti.
At first I thought "Indians welcome" might be alluding to unfair incarceration of minority groups, but it was actually a reconstruction of the graffiti that appeared during the 1969-71 Indian occupation. While the original paint was removed, in 2019 the national parks honoured the 50 year anniversary of the event by inviting the original occupiers and their descendants to re paint the graffiti that was the during the original occupation.
The Ranger-led tour started at the admin building (below) and took us to the original Sally port, which was established as part of the Alcatraz fort. The original purpose of the island was security, to protect SF during the gold rush.
We learnt about a small room that held 11 Indian men in the early days of Alcatraz. Despite the fort and history as a federal-run facility, the record keeping at Alcatraz has not been good, leading to a lot of assumptions and best-guesses about the history.
The next stop was the old officer club. Originally this area was frequented as a social place for the families of workers, who called the island little Hawaii. This room held a bowling alley originally, however during the occupation it was burnt and now is a shell.
From here we walked up to the puppy steps. The story is that a previous warden owned a Corgi and didn't want the dog to have to walk the long way to get to the next level and so commissioned the stairs, now called the puppy stairs. There is no concrete evidence for this anecdote, however the name has stuck.
This was our first "behind the scenes" part of the tour, as we were allowed to use the stairs to enter the usually closed off garden area above. This site was tended to by highly trusted prisoners who greatly valued the opportunity to work outside in nature. The Ranger told a story of how the Alcatraz gardens were home to a variety of plants, including a rare French rose species called the Bardou Job. This plant was thought to be extinct until a group of rose enthusiasts visited Alcatraz in the 90s in search of rare species that the plant was rediscovered growing among blackberries near the warden's house.
From here we went into the cell block, down to our next behind the scenes area, the east-facing cell row.
Despite the sun and the cells being spacious these were undesirable due to being cold and windy.
Leading down a short set of stairs from here we were taken to an area known as the dungeon.
These were a set of about 3 or 4 arched storage areas, first established during the Alcatraz fort days. At some stage, I believe when it was a federal penitentiary they put bars up and turned them into solitary confinement cells, nicknamed the dungeons. By all accounts they were horrific abuses here. They would punish people for not obeying, such as conscientious objectors to the draft. This included refusing to wear a uniform or participate in the work roster, as it supported the war. These people were sent to the dungeon and hung from the ceiling of the cell from their hands for the 8 hour duratioqn they refused to work. This was done in total darkness and the stints were 14 days. Often a person would break after 1 or 2 stints. Some would come out of the dungeon, their arms too swollen to fit the clothes given to them, only to refuse work immediately and go back for another two weeks.
One group of men refused due to religious reasons and were subjected to this torture until they finally succumb to the appalling treatment.
As part of our experience we stood in the former cells. It is still possible to see writing on the walls, which sport the original lead paint. The Ranger turned the lights off for 14 seconds, leaving us in pitch blackness, unable to see your hand in front of your eyes.
From here we were back into the main cell block and the timing was such that the day tours had finished and all visitors cleared, and the night tours had not yet started. This gave us an extremely special and uncommon opportunity to see the cell rows empty.
We didn't linger in the cells, as they are covered in the night audio tour, so we excited through the back into the usually restricted exercise yard. The Ranger had timed it so we were exciting this western area right as the sun set over the golden gate bridge.
Unfortunately, my phone timed it so it died right after we hit the exercise yard, meaning I missed the amazing sunset and the gorgeous view of the city. It was crystal clear, apparently a rarity for the usually foggy City on the Bay. Alas. I vowed never to be caught with a dead battery again though.
The tour ended after the west walk and we filed in to collect our audio guide for the night portion. The audio guide is narrated by former guards and prisoners and is very good. It is only short, but gives you a good feel for the place. They talk about one of the escape attempts and have some cells dressed. The cells are tiny.
While going through the tour I passed just as they opened the hospital wing, which I think is a night tour exclusive. It was much bigger than I expected, though looked very creepy and industrial. A good setting for a horror movie.
The night tour was great, the best part was the cool temperature for walking around. I really enjoyed the behind the scenes and audio tour. I sat up the top on the ferry back, to enjoy the crystal clear views.
After docking I wandered down to fisherman's Wharf, pier 39, and had dinner at hard Rock cafe before catching a taxi back to the hotel.
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