Finale of San Fran "The End"

Once my pockets were sufficiently full of sea glass I went on to see "the crookedest road". I walked along the marina until I found a cross street that would intersect with Lombard Street.   From there I went up...and up...AND UP!  (Needless to say, I was finally able to start shedding some of my layers of clothing!) I got there, snapped a pic, and  started down hill to our hotel. 

All told, I walked over 9 miles. And that is WITHOUT the four passes along each section of beach. AND that was before 10:00 am! 

The planned adventure of the day was to visit Alcatraz. We took the ferry over. 

(While we were in San Francisco, the trials for the America's Cup were taking place.)

We had to listen to a park ranger tell about the rules since this is actually designated as a National Park. 

I tried to get the sun's rays at the very corner of the roof, but I guess I didn't quite line it up and/or moved my phone as I snapped the picture. Oh, well...it's still a cool looking shot. 

Photo taken while waiting for the family to catch up or  (more likely) while the family was waiting for me to catch up. 

Burnt out remains of the Officier's Club that currently is a nesting ground for sea gulls. (The chicks are SO cute and fuzzy!)

Spooky figure inside a newly opened building. 

Bashed in toilets. 

Broken windows with rusty wire. 

I took this picture of this fan/vent and then I saw a display of what the place used to look like.  (See below.)

OMG!  The very same vent!  This building was the laundry facility. So, I took a picture of the photo they had on display and then I tried to recreate the exact shot (below).

This is the famous sign on the building that you see as you first come into the island. 

The Officer's Club from another angle. 

The residences for the families of the people who worked and lived on Alcatraz. 

The lighthouse and gunner's lookout. 

Inmate Wolf

D-Block

They said that when the breeze was just right, the prisoners could hear the San Francisco parties on Christmas, New Year's, and the like. How horrible!

A typical cell. 

We took the final ferry off the island and then had dinner at a restaurant in the marina district. And that was the end of the trip.

21 days away from home...

50 years of marriage...

1 big THANK YOU to my folks for being so generous with how they chose to celebrate their anniversary!