Elizabeth and Eriks: Larissa's Trip to California Day Two

Day Two, Phew what a day! It started off at 3:30 am when I got up to go to work. At about 4:15 am I woke up Larissa and we headed to work. Larissa slept in the car while I worked. Thankfully I only had to work until 10am. We rushed straight from my work to the train station. That is where our adventure began. None of the machines would take our money, then we finally found one that would, but then we found out that we needed $8 exactly for parking. So we literally were running around trying to find some change hoping the train wouldn’t come. Then when we finally got everything settled, we realized we forgot our stuff in the car and had to run back and get it. Then… We realized we were waiting on the wrong side of the tracks and had to run over to the other side. By the time that the train came, we had already had an eventful morning! Little did we know, that was only the start to a very eventful transportation day. When the door opened to get onto the train all we could see was a wall of people. We found out that there was a Giants game going on, so everyone was headed to the game. We managed to squeeze in and sat on the stairs going up to the second floor. Because of our prime seat, we were the first to see a guy leave the bus, so we snagged his seat. Larissa sat in the chair and squished into the space on the floor next to her. It was actually a really fun ride.

We had a packed a lunch last night so we just sat and ate our lunch.

We hit San Francisco with Google Map Directions and a plan. Unfortunately, Google Maps gave us the wrong location for a bus stop. After a while of waiting, we asked someone about it and he said that we had to go up one block and left one block. After we got there, we became very confused as to what bus we were supposed to take. The first bus closed the door in our face and wouldn’t let us on. Thinking that we missed the bus (we are used to the Boise bus system where there is only 1 an hour not one every 5 minutes) we started walking to only God knows where. After about two blocks we look back and see another bus thinking this was our bus we ran back. This exact same scenario happened about 3 times until it actually was our bus. Lets just say we had a very stressful 30 minutes or so. Once we finally got on the bus, we were very happy!

The bus took us to Pier 39 where we got on the ferry to go to Alcatraz. The ferry ride was really fun and it was very exciting as we got closer to the island..

When we got there, we were greeted by this lady...

She told us the rules and all the information that we needed to know to enjoy our trip. After the welcome speech, we were on our way to explore the island!

The first thing that we noticed was this. In the 70's (I think) Native American's wanted the land back, and lived on the island for a while. There were several spray painted messages like this all over the island.

This was the first ruins of a building that we came across

Larissa with the Guard (and family) barracks.

The entrance to the family living quarters

The guard tower. If you look closely, you can see a fake guard in the tower. Larissa and I thought it was funny.

The tour that they have set up is an automated one. They gave you headphones and a tape recorder. The voice tells you exactly where to go, and narrates the whole time. It was really cool because the men who recorded the tour were actually old inmates and guards. It was a really neat opportunity to hear history from the people who actually experienced the island and the jail the way it was when it was in use.

Al Capone's Cell

Inside a prisoner's cell

Larissa through the visitor's window

The yard

Larissa outside the yard

Larissa and I learned about these amazing gardens. They were kept up by prisoners on their free time. They don't look that spectacular now, but back in the day they were amazing.

Larissa in front of the gate to the gardens

Larissa in front of the isolation quarters

The view of the city from the island

Larissa and I with a view of the best city in the world

Larissa and I with the very last guard off of Alcatraz (who also escorted the very last prisoner off the island)

Me as the boat was leaving Alcatraz

After leaving Alcatraz, Larissa and I hit up Pier 39. We had a lot of fun watching all the tourists and window shopping in all of the shops. This shop was our favorite because the theme was crabs. Larissa found these crab hats and fell in love with them. I found it funny how much she liked them. So... of course we had to pose for some pictures!

Me with my "pinchers"

Larissa with the Sea Lions

By the time we were done with Pier 39 we were STARVING! We decided to go to Boudin's. Boudin is world famous for its sourdough. Not only was the food amazing, but we had a great view of the bay next to window.

After lunch, we walked over to Ghirardelli Square.

Larissa with the Ghirardelli sign

I thought this sign was hilarious!

Us with our hot chocolate and chocolate bars

After Ghirardelli Square, it was time to head home. However, I guess that is what everyone else thought too. The bus was so packed that I couldn't even reach down to grab my bag. We thought it was really funny how packed everyone was so we took a picture!

We had to catch a connecting bus/subway thing to get back to the train station. We had only 4 minutes and had no idea where we were going, so I decided the best thing to do is ask for help. How did I ask for help you might ask... I yelled! I just started shouting "We are lost how do I get to K?" over and over until some one showed us. Might not be conventional, but it worked and we made the K bus.

We made it!