Continuing with the water theme of the weekend, I decided to go back to Fisherman's Wharf and take a cruise around the bay and Alcatraz. My timing has been off, so the Alcatraz tours are booked up through next week. I need to be a little more proactive and a little less spontaneous if I want to get on some of these tours. I spent some more time wandering around the streets before the cruise. Walked up to Giardelli Square (not much to see there actually but there was a beautiful little park a street down near the Maritime museum. Lots of street vendors and a view of the bay with a swimming area roped off. Amazing that people will swim in that frigid water!).
I then walked all the way back down the Embarcadero (probably several miles) and went to Tcho Chocolate Factory and store. This is a local SF chocolatier. The chocolate was amazingly good! I bought several bars and some drinking chocolate mix as well. I wanted to take a tour of the factory, but I had missed the first one and the second tour was the same time as my cruise. Timing.
San Francisco Bay Cruises takes you out for a 90 minute cruise on a large boat, around the bay, under the Golden Gate Bridge, around Alcatraz and near the Bay Bridge. It was windy, but a beautiful sunny day for San Francisco - a nice warm 65! The water in the bay is a beautiful bluish green. As we headed to the Golden Gate we spotted several pods of small dolphins leaping through the waters! The views from underneath the Golden Gate Bridge were amazing!!
Alcatraz was amazing to see as well. I'm trying to decide if I need to pay for the evening cruise that goes back to the island itself and includes several guided tours. Alcatraz was originally named by the Spanish, Isla de los Alcatraces (Island of the Pelicans). In 1854 the Army established a fortress and then a military prison during the Civil War. In 1934, Alcatraz was turned into a maximum security prison, housing the likes of Al "Scarface" Capone and "Machine Gun" Kelly. There are no documented successful escapes from Alcatraz. At least four convicts disappeared from the island but were never heard from again. It is believed that they perished. There was no electricity or water on the island. Water was shipped in from the mainland and electricity was generated by a small power plant at one end of the island. Although life was very hard there for the prisoners, they were fed very well to keep them from rioting over the conditions. On the menu was Ribeye steak, southern fried chicken, fish, and all the sides; as well as luscious desserts. If a prisoner didn't clean their plate, they were not fed the next day.
In 963 the prison was officially closed. In 1969, a group of Native Americans occupied Alcatraz for 19 months, claiming the abandoned island as "Indian Land". You can still see that painted on the buildings there. Eventually an agreement was made and today Alcatraz is managed by the Parks department.
The cruise headed back toward the Bay Bridge that leads from San Francisco to Oakland, CA. It passes through a small island, Yerba Buena, and has 2 levels. The bridge was damaged in 1989 in an earthquake and was rebuilt. According to a friendly couple sitting next to me who had taken a tour of the Bay Bridge last week, parts of the bridge were actually built in Asia and shipped here to be put together. Doesn't that figure? America can't even build it's own monuments anymore. But then, look at the Statue of Liberty - that wasn't made here either! When are we going to learn?
The cruise ended back at Pier 39, past a dock of smelly, barking sea lions. I'm sensing a theme here. Fun day and a good weekend overall. I'm headed back to the hotel to get some laundry done. That's a whole 'nother post! Pictures are below. Can't wait to see what I decide to do for my last weekend here next week! Two more weeks in San Francisco! Then either I go somewhere else, or I fly back to SC for the moment.
I then walked all the way back down the Embarcadero (probably several miles) and went to Tcho Chocolate Factory and store. This is a local SF chocolatier. The chocolate was amazingly good! I bought several bars and some drinking chocolate mix as well. I wanted to take a tour of the factory, but I had missed the first one and the second tour was the same time as my cruise. Timing.
San Francisco Bay Cruises takes you out for a 90 minute cruise on a large boat, around the bay, under the Golden Gate Bridge, around Alcatraz and near the Bay Bridge. It was windy, but a beautiful sunny day for San Francisco - a nice warm 65! The water in the bay is a beautiful bluish green. As we headed to the Golden Gate we spotted several pods of small dolphins leaping through the waters! The views from underneath the Golden Gate Bridge were amazing!!
Alcatraz was amazing to see as well. I'm trying to decide if I need to pay for the evening cruise that goes back to the island itself and includes several guided tours. Alcatraz was originally named by the Spanish, Isla de los Alcatraces (Island of the Pelicans). In 1854 the Army established a fortress and then a military prison during the Civil War. In 1934, Alcatraz was turned into a maximum security prison, housing the likes of Al "Scarface" Capone and "Machine Gun" Kelly. There are no documented successful escapes from Alcatraz. At least four convicts disappeared from the island but were never heard from again. It is believed that they perished. There was no electricity or water on the island. Water was shipped in from the mainland and electricity was generated by a small power plant at one end of the island. Although life was very hard there for the prisoners, they were fed very well to keep them from rioting over the conditions. On the menu was Ribeye steak, southern fried chicken, fish, and all the sides; as well as luscious desserts. If a prisoner didn't clean their plate, they were not fed the next day.
In 963 the prison was officially closed. In 1969, a group of Native Americans occupied Alcatraz for 19 months, claiming the abandoned island as "Indian Land". You can still see that painted on the buildings there. Eventually an agreement was made and today Alcatraz is managed by the Parks department.
The cruise headed back toward the Bay Bridge that leads from San Francisco to Oakland, CA. It passes through a small island, Yerba Buena, and has 2 levels. The bridge was damaged in 1989 in an earthquake and was rebuilt. According to a friendly couple sitting next to me who had taken a tour of the Bay Bridge last week, parts of the bridge were actually built in Asia and shipped here to be put together. Doesn't that figure? America can't even build it's own monuments anymore. But then, look at the Statue of Liberty - that wasn't made here either! When are we going to learn?
The cruise ended back at Pier 39, past a dock of smelly, barking sea lions. I'm sensing a theme here. Fun day and a good weekend overall. I'm headed back to the hotel to get some laundry done. That's a whole 'nother post! Pictures are below. Can't wait to see what I decide to do for my last weekend here next week! Two more weeks in San Francisco! Then either I go somewhere else, or I fly back to SC for the moment.
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