Golden Gate Bridge and Muir Woods

After we toured Alcatraz and had lunch at Scoma's, we rented bikes and rode ALL over San Francisco and over the Golden Gate Bridge, then over to Sausalito and then took a ferry back over the Bay, then biked about 4 more miles.  If that was a run-on sentence....then it may be because it was a run-on day.  It was just the longest bike ride I hope to ever be on.  It was the perfect weather and the views were absolutely top notch, but man, I WAS TIRED!

Oh, and these were the first pics taken with our new camera and selfie stick. (I will elaborate more on that later..and how savvy we are at working it).

We started on the SF side of the bridge.   We biked along the water.

We then biked UPHILL to the bridge.  It was super easy.  Finally, we made it and the real fun began.  I loved the actual biking over the bridge.  The wind was awesome and felt great blowing with us and sometimes against us.  It was just amazing. 

These were taken on the other side of the bridge.  

 

We then continued on to a very quick and downhill ride to Sausalito.  

We took the Ferry and then biked back to the bike shop.  

It was easy and there were no lines for the ferry.  The bike shop was also super close to the port.  

So, that was Sunday afternoon.

Fast forward to Monday. 

Bryan attended his radiology conference and I shopped in the morning.  At lunch, we drove back over the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito.  

We had lunch at The Trident.    The views of the bay are the best and the weather on the bay is perfect.  There is a nice breeze blowing and we were loving it. 

 Sausalito is beautiful, by the way.  

After lunch, we rode up to Muir Woods National Monument to check out the Redwoods.  

The trees are over 250 feet tall, yet the roots are only 6 feet deep or less.  For that reason, they have boardwalk pathways to walk on and they have created a nice trail.  

There is a great story on how the Redwoods were preserved, thanks to President Teddy Roosevelt.  You can read about it HERE.

Bryan was excited to see some black tail deer. 

(he says this is a monster black tail buck)

After we left Muir Woods, we had some time before dinner, and so naturally, we drove by the Painted Ladies.  We got super lucky and scored a parking spot right on the park.  We loved walking around and taking pictures like tourists.   

For those of you (like myself) who loved watching Full House, it was nice.  

 

Now, the time has come for the to go into small detail on how retarded we are.  The selfie stick proved to be smarter than us and here is a small bit of forensic evidence to back it up.  

I'm pretty sure that the "stick" isn't supposed to be visible from the photo, but who knows.

 

 

Lord help us, but thankfully, we found a nice cute gay couple who knew their way around the Rebel.  

Funny, that when we asked them if they wanted us to take their photo, they declined.  As they walked off, I saw they were holding a selfie stick!   

The 2015 Selfie Stick Convention was held in San Francisco over the weekend, I am sure of it.  Those things were everywhere.  And is it just me, or do people look ridiculous using them?  As Holland said, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. 

Alcatraz

Sunday morning, we got up early and headed over to catch the boat to Alcatraz for the tour.  

It was just SO interesting and surreal to be there inside such an infamous prison--described throughout the tour as "so close yet so far away" 

The tour was a self guided audio tour, which I really enjoyed because it included so many live accounts and interviews with former inmates.  

This is a typical cell and we were told that the conditions now are pretty much what they looked liked then. 

If inmates were good, they could earn up to an hour a day in the recreation yard, which included a baseball field.  

The tour repeated many many times,  "At Alcatraz, there were no rewards for good behavior, only punishment for bad behavior"

Al Capone, Robert Stroud (The Birdman), and  "Machine Gun" Kelly were among the most well known inmates.

The Shower Room

This was very disturbing.  It was an open room with 40 showers.  No privacy, only bars of soap.  The showers were warm because they did not want to accustomed the inmates to cold water, in the event they tried to escape and battle the frigid temps of the bay.  The inmates were allowed 2 showers per week.  

"The HOLE"  or solitary confinement cells.  D Block- Once the cell was locked and the door was closed, it was completely dark and the inmates sent here were in the cell 24 hours a day--some up to almost 2 years.   Assault to a guard or another inmate or trying to escape would land you here.   These cells did not have a bed, blanket, or even a toilet.  just a hole in the floor.

Alcatraz boasts that no person ever escaped successfully.  A total of 36 prisoners made 14 escape attempts, two men trying twice; 23 were caught, six were shot and killed during their escape, two drowned, and five are listed as "missing and presumed drowned.    The Battle of Alcatraz is a main point on the tour.  It is a very long yet interesting story, and you can click and read if you wish. 

BUT, over time, some inmates could earn books from the library and other special perks such as games, musical instruments, or paint and pens for drawing or creating art.  

The main row of cells is known as "Broadway" 

Inmates were allowed one visitor a month for 30 minutes. 

One inmate said that it was torture.  You could see San Fransisco so close --yet so far away.  you could hear the bustling of people and transportation but could not get there.  They didn't even know about news or current events.    He said that every New Year's Eve there was a party across the bay and you could hear the party and the band and cheers and it was just so depressing.  

He said "it made an honest man out of me" 

Above is what is left of the Wardens house.  Funny, one of the wardens (below) was named Johnston.  Bryan got a kick out of that. 

Surprisingly, the inmates were fed fairly decent food, balanced in fruit and veggies.  The last menu from the day Alcatraz closed is still posted.  

After the tour, we walked down the street to Fisherman's Wharf and had lunch at one of my Dad's favorite spots (and thankfully off the beaten tourist path) Scoma's.

Then, our camera broke.  FOR NO REASON.  The shutter broke.  We were stressed.   We did some trouble shooting with our photography friends, Holland and Mary Catherine.....then this happened.

Yes, that would be Bryan digging deep into the wallet to purchase the new Canon Rebel T6i.

Anyways, we love it and it made the rest of the trip's pics way better than if we had just had the iPhone. 

More posts to come!


Last but not least, two random photos taken in the evening.

The Ferry Building
and
The Oakland Bridge