A Full Day as a Tourist

Cells are only 5'x9'x7'

Tuesday.  Another day sans-run as we have the early bird Alacatraz tour booked. Hiking down California St. at 8am we grabbed breakfast at Noah's Bagels (complete crap) then proceeded to the Embarcadero to snap some early morning, with minimal fog, pictures.  We quickly realized we weren't going to make it from Pier 1 to Pier 39 in time by foot.  After spending almost 10 minutes trying to find a cab we finally jumped in and were there in no time.  The ride out to Alcatraz provides a great view of the cityscape particular with a log fog.  This is when my camera decided to 'eat' all the pictures I had taken to this point.  Arriving at Alcatraz you realize the island isn't that big.  It was never at capacity and only held a couple hundred inmates.  Since absolutely everything needed to be brought and from the island, included clean water and "dirty water" it was the most expensive prison in the penal system.  Walking around Alcatraz is pretty cool and provides awesome views of the bridges and city.  The cells are incredibly small, 5'x9'x7', and making a frightening sound when closed.  The mechanical system to open/close the cells is interesting as are the various escape methods.  The included audio tour is quite interesting. You can leave the island on any of the ferries departing every 30mins or so and we headed back by noon.  This is when my camera 'ate' the rest of my pictures.

We walked along the waterfront back to Fisherman's Wharf so I could take some pics of the sea lions who were mostly absent today.  Grabbing lunch at the Boudin Bistro which has an in-house bread factory was a great stop.

Boudin Sourdough, a SF classic.

Boudin has been making sourdough in SF since the mid 1800s.  Afterwards we grabbed some bikes from Bike and Roll and starting to make our trek out to the Golden Gate bridge.  Originally hoping to make it to Sausalito that plan quickly got tossed out the window with our frequent stops and sore bums.  On our way to the Golden Gate bridge we stopped at the Palace of Fine Arts.  I've mentioned this before during one of my run posts.  This is where scenes from the film the Rock were shot and I think I've read something about the Bachelor rowing a boat through the man made lake (gag). The ride up to the Golden Gate bridge is very nice with beaches and parks.  Riding across the bridge, while not the most difficult thing  I've done, will definitely be one of the most memorable.  The views are amazing both into the bay (SF, Alcatraz) and out to the ocean along the cliffs.  We decided that once we crossed the bridge we would ride back without stopping to make it before the bike rental centre closed.

Some photos from our bike ride..

SF Bay with the Golden Gate bridge to the left

Palace of Fine Arts

Riding Across the Golden Gate Bridge

Reaching our room around 6pm we took a quick break and got ready for a night at the Top of the Mark bar with my high school friend Eric who now lives in SF.  The Top of the Mark is the hotel bar/restaurant on the 19th floor.  Since we're situated atop Nob Hill the views are amazing.  It also used to be the happening bar during WW2 with lines of servicemen stretching down the street.  The historic photos are pretty cool.

Since we were supposed to pack and plan our escape from SF tonight, and didn't, it looks like we'll be in SF for another day/night tomorrow while we get our affairs in order.