San Bruno, Ca (Alcatraz, Sea Lions and a crab!)

It was raining when we woke up this morning, but seeing as Fleet Week made tickets to Alcatraz Island rarer than hen's teeth and we had booked three days ago, we braved the showers and headed to Alcatraz Landing (Pier 33). A quick look at the long line, and seeing as we had arrived an hour early on the BART (and asked nicely - that always helps) we got bumped up to the earlier departure, wa-hey! This is a small model of the island is it used to be during working operations.

This sign met us as we approached on the boat - not quite sure if tis meant we could 'escape' on the boat to leave!

As we arrived at the dock, a quick look up and we could see the lighthouse and Warden's House (built in 1929, it had 3 floors and 17 rooms). This building, as well as the Officer's Club was destroyed in a massive fire in 1970. The lighthouse is still operational, but since 1963 has been automated by the US Coast Guard.

As the boat docked, we could see this observation tower. Note the shape of the building below it - almost all of the buildings on Alcatraz are in this same architectural military style.

The main cell-block thoroughfare, 'Broadway'. The guards below were not armed, and were monitored by armed guards from a protected area above them. Alcatraz was considered to be escape-proof - but there were riots and 14 escape attempts. Out of 36 who tried only 5 are believed to have succeeded (more later).

The inside of a typical cell (9ft x 5ft).

No guns were allowed inside the prison area - during the Battle of Alcatraz (a riot and escape attempt), an inmate called Bernard Coy climbed this actual set of bars and used an improvised spreader to slip through the top. Overpowering the guard in this gun gallery, he then had access to keys, guns and other firepower.

On May 2 1946, security forces drilled holes in the roof, and dropped fragmentation grenades down them. They exploded right here, forcing the occupants into a corridor where they could be cornered.

The elusive outside world - apparently, if the wind was blowing in the right direction, on New Years Eve you could hear the singing from parties on the mainland.

The famous cell 181 - where Al Capone was housed.

As in the famous movie Escape From Alcatraz, the three escapees (Frank Morris and brothers John and Clarence Anglin) used Papier-mâché heads painted to look real. Officially, over the 29 years of operation, no-one escaped - as it is extremely difficult to swim the 1.5 miles across the bay, due to freezing temperature and currents. The FBI investigation found paddles and parts of the improvised boat on nearby Angel Island...

After the 40 minute audio tour, we ran (okay, I ran) back down to the dock for the last ranger's tour (passing another tour in progress which we were very tempted to join). Instead of the advertised tour about 'Escapes from Alcatraz' however, we were treated to a tour only seen by a few handfuls each year (wa-hay, honeymooner's luck again!)... underneath A Block (usually used for segregation), which was built over the top of the original Fort's Citadel...

The infamous Alcatraz Dungeons. Until about 1942, prisoners were often kept in the dungeon for solitary confinement. Total sensory deprevation - no light, or sound. Here the ranger demonstrates how the prisoners were handcuffed, with their hands above their heads. Morag showed great interest in this part of the tour - perhaps I should be worried?

Towards the end of 1942, they used special 12inch by 12inch cage within a special cell instead - the prisoners could not sit down, and were forced to stand. The laminated page the ranger holds has the title 'Torture Cage', and this is an apt description.

During the 1969-1971 Occupation of Alcatraz by native Americans drawing attention to their plight, a lot of additional graffiti was etched into the cells walls. Although painted over, it can still be seen by shining a torch onto the wall - apparently Willie Nelson made a visit during this time...

Exit through the gift shop. Morag stands beside one of the 440 lb cannonballs that could be fired up to 3 miles by Rodman Cannons (Model 1861 U.S. 15-inch Columbiad) at Alcatraz, back in the late 1800s when it was a defensive fort. Morag does seem rather happy to be at a place of incarceration, violence and destruction... by the way, that's an umbrella in her hand - nothing too sinister.

The view across the bay to San Francisco - the drizzle seem to be lifting.

We cruised around Pier 39 for a while, but the shops were of the same old 'fleece the tourist' variety. Then, as we were walking away I suddenly remembered - Pier 39 is also famous for the indigenous sea lions! They have been there over 22 years (here's a live webcam), and you're not allowed near them or feed them, so maybe they just like it there. The two on the bottom left were play-fighting for about 20 minutes, jumping in and out of the water. At the end of one particularly taxing bout, the winner turned to us (the audience) for applause - which we all dutifully provided!

Mostly though, it was great to see such wildlife up close. Most had personality - some were fighting, a couple of old bulls got boisterous, and a mating pair down in front were hugging and stroking each other like an old married couple. We stayed for almost an hour, and Morag thought it was the highlight of San Francisco. Also, it was completely free!

This is a sunken restaurant called Forbes Island - it has portholes so you can see the fish and other animals while you eat (presumably fish). I was keen to eat here, but I think Morag's subtle hint would presume she may have preferred dry land (in fact I believe her exact words were 'no way').

Ian takes the place of Rosie the Riveter in the iconic poster by J. Howard Miller, highlighting the women who took on new jobs during World War II. Does he look like he can do it? Like Bob the Builder, yes he can!

Right next to the USS Pampanito submarine on Pier 45 is the Musée Mécanique, a real wonder of antique automated musical and arcade machines.

I promised we would only go in for a moment, but how could I pass such well-maintained mutoscopes and not spend a quarter or two? There were coin-operated puppet theatres, strength testers and a turn of the century 3D 'What-the-Butler-Saw' girlie reel. I took a quick look at that one (purely for research purposes, you understand) - it promised much, but was about as tame as most swimsuit adverts today...

The oldest machine there - a real praxinoscope (a forerunner of cinema projectors). Just delightful.

Laffing Sal - there was a wizend looking white-bearded gentleman standing in front of this machine, who vivedly remembered her above the doorway to The Fun House at "Playland At The Beach" in San Francisco in the 1950's.

Back to Fisherman's Wharf now, and the Franciscan Crab Restaurant located there is wonderfully distinctive piece of architecture.

But Morag selected the best menu at the Wharf - Alito's Waterside Cafe. I went outside (innocently enough) to photograph the neon sign, and then heard the distictive voice of the charismatic adventurer Ben Fogle explaining how much he likes the sound of the word "chowder" - he then gave me the steely eye he must give to the other paparazzi. I knew better than to interrupt his meal, and whistled quietly to myself as I took more photos of the crab tank...

The New England (of course!) version of Clam Chowder is white - I paid slightly extra to have it served in the traditional bread bowl. Yummy!

I went with the waiter's recommended 'wharf style' (white wine, garlic, fresh tomato, green onions, and butter), and required a little training with the utensils. It didn't take long before I was as happy as a clam! Or is that crab?

After our lovely meal, we experienced the atmosphere outside in Fisherman's Wharf. The smells are just amazing - all manner of seafood (crabs, lobster, shrimps, fish), cut up and steamed right in front of you. One of the workers confided in me that most of the 'live' crabs were faking death - the rest actually are dead. Then he explained crabs were actually quite bad at acting - have you ever seen one at the oscars? - implying hardly any were faking it.

Fleet Week had ended, so the crowds were a lot smaller and we finally got to ride the tram! After another long day, we made it back to the BART and our nice hotel in San Bruno, The Gateway Inn and Suites which we heartily recommend (but make sure you reserve online, as the lady owner really doesn't take too kindly to trying to get the online rate by phone, even when their website booking system is broken!).