Day 6 – San Francisco Part 2
The 6th day of our trip, 2nd full day in San Francisco was again a 9am start. We thought it would be a good idea to get our pick of car park spaces so we decide to use the same car park as the day before arriving roughly the same time. We park our car in the exact same spot and begin our walk to Pier 33.
We purchased tickets online 3 months in advance for the Alcatraz tour, one of the worlds most famous prisons. As we walk down the Embarcadero, we pick up some snacks along the way and see some iconic names such as Pier 39. We also see a sign for Bubba Gump, a possible eating option for later in the day. I’ve eaten at the Bubba Gump chain in Bali, Hong Kong and Manila, I figured it would be nice to add a US city to this list too.
I also remembered to bring my Go Pro with me. Forgot to bring it out with me the other days. So off we go, boarding begins for our departure and the winds begin to hit us full flow in the face.
This is what we are leaving behind.
This is where we are heading too.
After 15 minutes, we approach the island.
Coming close to docking point, I get a moment of excitedness where I am actually about to step foot onto this iconic location. It’s also the place where Nicholas Cage and Sean Connery filmed the movie The Rock. This in my opinion no doubt made Alcatraz even more iconic, especially to international visitors.
I notice there’s some kind of graffiti on the side of the first building we see. Indians Welcome.
We spot some more graffiti linked to the first one.
We disembark and I take a quick snapshot of the boat.
Welcome to Alcatraz Island! 🙂
Amazing. With the prison closing in 1963, none of our group had any idea that Alcatraz Island was part of an occupational protest by native Indians in 1969 lasting for 19 months. Luckily the tour guides are all great and full of information explaining to us the past. I won’t go into it too much but for those interested information can be found here.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupation_of_Alcatraz
A quick look at the map before we head indoors. We definitely don’t want to get lost here.
Will let the pictures do the talking.
We enter the cell areas listening to the audio tour as we go along.
The escape from Alcatraz. These inmates were never seen again.
This is where one of the chemical missiles were hidden in the Rock movie. 😀
It was a stunning view of San Fran from the island.
View of the Golden Gate Bridge.
As we complete the tour, we are told that this was the menu of the last meal to be served in the prison.
We hop onto the next available boat back to shore and grab a quick 10 minute nap. We spent about 3 hours in total on the island. It was very educational and truly a great experience. If you are a tourist and only get a day to spend in San Fran, do try visit the prison!
Back on shore and a walk from Pier 33 to Pier 39. It’s time for lunch so we head to Bubba Gump.
Here was a surprise.
The view from inside the restaurant was lovely. No wind too which was a bonus!!!
Anyone for a smoothie or a fancy drink?
Shrimp and salad.
After lunch, Pier 39 wouldn’t be the same without a visit to the local residents.
It was really windy so I didn’t stay there long. After this we decide to head back to the car and do some driving around San Francisco. Bonus, our parking for some reason cost $10 only, the day before it was $45. As we initially decided to drive and and park due to the BART cost, this incident added extra value to our decision.
After driving around for 30 mins admiring the views, we reach Lombard Street. Driving up and down these hills is truly a great encounter! 🙂
Our last day in San Francisco comes to a close. We have ticked off everywhere we wanted to see and as it’s now 4 hours since our Bubba Gump meal, we unanimously agree to eat at In and Out Burger again. This place certainly lived up to the hype. So back to Daly City we go and then back to the hotel where we prepare to pack for the next day drive to Las Vegas.
Mlee888uk 