November 28, 2006
Bar Hopping
So. Now I'm sick, but it's okay because I found an un-sucked candy cane on BART this morning and also I shall never tire of telling Simon that I wouldn't have the sniffles and the coughs and the aches if his mom (who was sick during her entire stay with us) would just stop tongue kissing me every time he turns his back. Hee.
I spent all yesterday evening going through a ginormous stack of bills and papers (in which I found my passport and my necessary motion-sickness patches) while watching the season finale of The Bachelor (of which I have seen only two episodes this season and so enjoyed all of the fanfare without suffering any of the emotional frustration), and I went to bed feeling calm and refreshed if not plugged with snot, which I later found caked around my nostrils when I woke up sometime around 3 a.m. But I'm downing the Airborne (which has historically been ineffective for me), and the Dayquil I took will probably spur me into hyperproductivity today, which is just what the doctor ordered.
It's still mother-loving cold here, but I keep telling myself that at least I don't have to wake up twenty minutes early to go outside and defrost the car and scrape a thin layer of ice off the windows (thin layers are worse than thick layers; whereas the latter comes off in sheets and chunks, the former need to be removed one push of a warped scraper at a time, like removing paint from a wall using a straight pin). It is sunny and as clear as Jessica Simpson's post-Proactiv skin here, and the new owners of my office buidling have figured out how to turn the radiators on, so we should be cooking in no time.
Here are some photos from the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend, to prove to my future self that we actually did drive to the city, hop on a ferry, and walk around prison all afternoon. Pictured is San Francisco from the backseat, the open space of the Presidio, and Alcatraz.
The city from the Bay Bridge.
The Bay Bridge from the city.
The city from the water.
And the city and the bridge from the water.
Alcatraz slideshows after the jump.
Alcatraz from the outside in and the inside out.
Alcatraz bars--doing for crime what Requiem for a Dream and Trainspotting do for drug use.
Alcatraz details.
excellent photos. too bad about the cold. i'd heard it was amazingly clear over the weekend, to the point where the sierras were faintly visible on the horizon. and also? i still need to get to alcatraz.
Posted by: this charming man at November 28, 2006 01:50 PMWhat darling Leah did not mention is that we got to go into some areas that the public isn't allowed to wander. We showed up for the "famous inmates" tour, and there were only about 10 people that wanted to attend. So the guide said that since there were so few of us, he'd take us to see some stuff that "fewer than 15 of Alcatraz visitors get to see."
1. He took us into the chapel, which is part of the usual tour. We then went through the guards' breakroom into the gun gallery, which is where the guards with guns walked back and forth, keeping an eye on the prisoners. Apparently, NO ONE gets to go up there. Then we got to go to the hospital which is on the 2nd floor. There we saw the TINY cell where Al Capone lived for three years while his body was riddled with syphilis. We also got to see the cell where the Birdman of Alcatraz (apparently not the nice guy as depicted in the movie) was kept because he was so odious that no one could be near him. Even the chaplain wouldn't talk to him. Sheesh.
Some lucky kid (not me) got to lie down on the operating table where they put all the inmates when they were sick. Lucky bastard.
The guide said that he was the newest tour guide on the island, so he likes to take people into the "public not allowed" areas, because he still understands how exciting it is for the tourists.
Posted by: Simon at November 28, 2006 02:09 PMI love Alcatraz. Due to various visitors I have gone three times in the last six months and everytime there is something different to photograph. The feeling of everything slowly crumbling around you and being overrun by plant and birds just provides great contrast. It's really gorgeous in the spring when things are flowering. And I am REALLY jealous that you got to see the hospital area! Next time I go I am going to sign up for one of those tours!
Posted by: MicheleLouise at November 28, 2006 08:29 PMGreat photos. The Mister and the Missus have been to SF about eight times this year, but they haven't been to Alcatraz yet. These pics should provide plenty of incentive to visit....briefly.
Posted by: patches at November 29, 2006 06:45 AMAhhhh, I'm so, so jealous of your off-limits tour! I can't wait to go to Alcatraz...hopefully sometime in the New Year!
Also, not trying to be a whiner or anything, but it's been minus 40 degrees Celsius here for the past five days!! Frigging ridiculous!!
Posted by: Miss Pickle at November 29, 2006 08:29 AM
