Our last day was spent buying those last souvenir's, visiting a few museum's, and our last hoorah - a trip to Alcatraz Island.
(Above - a trip to the California Academy of Sciences)
The Mulk went to SF a few years ago and was able to go on a tour of Alcatraz. He brought home a book all about Alcatraz and I was so interested in it - I am actually a lover of mysteries and true crime, even though it makes me sad at the same time. So, the first thing we did when planning our trip, was to buy tickets for a tour of Alcatraz. Soooo cool!
This quote explains a bit about why these men ended up on Alcatraz. It gave you an eerie feeling as you entered the facility.
As we walked into the prison and saw these cells, tears immediately sprang to my eyes and I couldn't help feeling incredibly sad for those who had to live in such circumstances. How sad that all they had in life was housed in a 4X6 foot cell! How sad that they had lost their freedom because of poor, poor choices! How sad that they had to live in such a depressing place! It really upset me.
Alcatraz made me want to encourage my children even more to make good choices in life so that you can always have the freedom to make life what you want it to be!
This isn't the best picture, but in the corner on the bed is an afghan made by one of the inmates. The tour guide said that as the prisoners behaved better, they were able to have more privileges. This prisoner learned how to crotchet from his grandma when he was a kid, so that is what he did to pass the time. Others became very good at drawing/painting. I wish they had discovered their talents and used them to help better the world before they made such bad choices and ended up on the island. I understand that a lot of them had very, very difficult home lives and felt they had no choice but crime. It's just all so sad!
Here is the view from Alcatraz. San Francisco is so close yet so far away. The prisoners were able to hear when SF hosted big parties (for holidays and events). They were able to hear the bands playing and even the girls laughing and singing. It was very difficult for them to hear!
This is a picture of the "dummy head" that the prisoners who were able to escape Alcatraz used as a way to fool the guards. Below is a description of their escape:
"By September 1961, Morris, West, and the Anglin brothers were planning an elaborate escape attempt. By late May 1962, they had finished making a small hole in the wall using several spoons, stolen from the dining hall, which took a year. Then on the night of June 11, 1962, they made their escape attempt and history. However, West did not make it out of his cell and was left behind. According to the acting warden, they put dummy heads, made of a mixture of soap, toilet paper and real hair in their beds to fool prison officers making night-time inspections.
Morris and the Anglins crawled out of their cells into a disused service corridor. From there they climbed up a ventilation shaft and reached the top of the roof. The trio then climbed down the rooftop, pumped up their rubber raft, jumped in and paddled away into the night.
Following an investigation, it was revealed that the inmates escaped from the island by creating a hole in the building over a long period of time by using common objects in order to reach the roof. They then climbed over the prison's fence and assembled a raft made of the prison's standard issue raincoats and contact cement, launching it from the northeastern coast of the Island.
It is unknown what occurred after the inmates launched the raft. The day after the escape attempt, remnants of the raft made of raincoats, paddles, and a bag containing the Anglins' personal effects were found on Angel Island, two miles from Alcatraz." (wikipedia)
The final thought for the day.
What a sad, sad place. I can't say that it was a lot of fun, but I am glad I was able to go and understand a bit about a part of the world I hope to never be a part of.
Goodbye San Francisco! Thanks for giving us a memory we will always hold dear!
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