Two Little Men: San Francisco Day 2

Friday, August 05, 2011

San Francisco Day 2

On Tuesday morning, we had an early breakfast at a greasy spoon across the street from the hotel, and then we took a bus down to the wharf for our Alcatraz tour. I had read online that it was best to do the first tour of the day, so off we went. We took a chilly and foggy (not complaining! we loved the weather!) ferry ride across the bay to Alcatraz.

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Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

We have discovered through these wonderful 10 years of marriage that we both enjoy tours that have to do with history. As I put all these pictures up, I realize how many of our activities had to do with history. ANYWAY, we first watched a movie about the history of Alcatraz, and then we did the audio tour. We thoroughly enjoyed it, although they talked REALLY slow on the audio tour. There were lots of gorgeous plants on the island, and lots of birds! And it smelled like bird poop. The part about the prisoners and escape attempts was interesting, but I was most interested in the little tidbits they told us about the wardens, guards, and their families that lived on the island. There were interviews in the movies with the now adult children of the guards, and they discussed riding the boat across the bay to school each morning and the community atmosphere on the island. Fascinating! We also got to see the ruins of the warden's mansion, the homes of the guards, and their community building.

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When we rode back across the bay, the fog had lifted a little bit and I was able to get some shots.

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

When we arrived back at the wharf, we walked down to the maritime museum and toured a submarine. One of our favorite parts of our San Diego trip years ago was their maritime museum, so we always have to check for any boats to tour! Oooh, so exciting. ;) This submarine was really large and interesting, and there were actually two older gentlemen on there who had served on submarines....so they had lots of relevant tidbits to share.

Todd by the torpedoes...

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We were planning to climb The Filbert Steps that afternoon and see Coit tower, but I was tired and weary of navigating by that afternoon. After resting for a bit at the hotel that afternoon, we went out to eat with Betsy and her boyfriend Brett. I don't know how I didn't get his picture? But here are the rest of us. We started out with drinks at a place called Absinthe, and then had sushi somewhere else. Betsy ordered for us, and it was all delicious and so nice to just have it arrive at the table without having to even try to decide.