16 June

We get up at 8am, have our free breakfast of bagels and fruit then head off to the Golden Gate Bridge. It is cold and foggy. I am wearing shorts but I have my cardy so I feel prepared to shiver through the chill. We catch the bus to the south end and head off on our walk. It's really quite pleasant despite the moist air and constant murmer of the traffic. It's not smelly and windy as the guide books warned us, thankfully. It takes us about 1/2 an hour to reach the other side and when we get there, we have a look around and decide there is nothing to do so head back. Our legs are feeling the effects of walking up the hill of Lombard St and the rest but at the same time it feels good.

We take as many photos that will come up decent in the fog as it hasn't lifted at all. Back to the start we make our first boo boo and get on the wrong bus. Well, it was the right bus going the wrong way! That would have been okay but we don't have time to waste as we are boarding the Alcatraz ferry at 2.30pm and we need to have lunch.

Back on track we go to the Hard Rock Cafe as Chris wants to buy a souvenir. Not somewhere I would choose for lunch it seemed obvious to take this option. A burger and margarita later we waddle to the ferry. We are both looking forward to this attraction very much and the ferry only takes 10mins. Soon after arrival we are watching a video introducing us to the former wardens and some former inmates. It's then time to move on to the cellhouse and pick up our audio equipment for the tour.

The jail itself is what anyone would expect but it's the commentary that makes this one special and the details we are being given make it fascinating. Listening to actual prisoners who were there gives it a more authentic feel, which it absolutely is. We take the obligatory cell photos even though I didn't really want to. The tour comes to an end and we finish up in the souvenir shop where I meet a former child resident of the island. Her father was a warden when she was 7 years old and she has written 3 books about the times and inmates. I buy her 1st book and have her sign it. I am really looking forward to reading it. Time to go so we board the ferry back to the mainland.

I'm not ready to go home so we wander along Fisherman's Wharf and end up at Ghirardelli Square to buy some good quality chocolate. We are so tired now we have to go home and freshen up before dinner. The hostel is in North Beach which is like Little Italy so we pick a restaurant and go in. At the end of the evening I have my first intense moment with the American tipping system. As you know I do NOT tip so this is a very real moment of anguish for me. Oh sure, it's easy to follow what the guide books tell you but it does seem extreme when you get those dollars out. The system shits me and I petulantly leave a tip, less than I should. I will do the right thing next time around so I will not be bringing this subject up again unless something interesting happens. I need to understand the amounts in MY head first before people tell me what to do. \

Off to bed and sleep is interrupted by the music from the clubs down on the street but eventually I nod off. Chris tells me in the morning that I had an argument with someone in my sleep and that I snore!