Day 5 - San Fransisco

On day 5, I still had the car, so I decided that it would be best if I got to spend some time in San Fransisco. There were a couple of things that I wanted to see there that peaked my interest.

The first thing was pretty nerdy of me. When I was a kid, I was a big fan of Full House, the television show. The opening scene shows about 5 houses in which it appears that the Tanner's actually lived in. These houses are actually a landmark now in San Fransisco just outside Alamo park. They call these houses the painted ladies, and I decided to go visit and take a picture.

The next thing was a trip along fisherman's wharf in San Fransisco. They have many boat tours and such that go around the island of Alcatraz or near the Golden Gate Bridge. The area also has a ton of shops and touristy things such as the famous street cars that San Fran is known for. I had decided that a trip to Alcatraz would be interesting and educational.

There is only one tour company that has the right to drop you off at Alcatraz. If you ever visit San Fran, please ensure that you go to Pier 33 to actually visit Alcatraz. All other cruise ships will simply cruise around the island, and you never get to experience the island in its truest form.

The first part of my tour on Alcatraz involved a ranger taking us around the island explaining some of the history of the island, from its military roots, to its correctional use, and political activism. The most interesting parts were of course the parts that had to do with the maximum security prison and some of the failed escape attempts.

The second part of the tour involved an audio tour of the prison itself. The audio tour was really neat as I never really had one before. If you're like me, an audio tour is simply a little digital box and headphones that act as your tour guide. It tells you where to go and what to look at. The audio tour lasted about an hour, and it gave a great history of the prison. After seeing Alcatraz, it is more myth than fact that gives the prison such a high esteem. It was very interesting nonetheless.