The last supper (actually, the whole day)

Too cute for words, June 2012

For our last day we played tourist again. No, no more cable cars. I'm done riding them. They are cuteness personified, but I try to avoid modes of transportation that artificially inconvenience their customers. Oh wait, does that mean I can't fly home tomorrow? Damn.

Anyway, what we did do was Alcatraz - The Rock. It's a National Park, and I added the stamp to my National Park Passport, right along side of Death Valley. There's some symmetry there. We walked over to the pier, as it was a nice day and it's all downhill from the hotel up here on Nob Hill to the waterfront. Chinatown is very different during the day, when it is really a community with real people doing real things. At night it's all tourists eating in restaurants.

Real people, real life, June 2012

We had been to Alcatraz years ago, and I remembered much about it, but not that it was only a Federal prison for a very short time: about 30 years. During that time it hosted some of the most notorious criminals of the 20th century, including Al Capone.

View from the Rock, June 2012

Coincidentally, yesterday was the 59th anniversary of the "Escape from Alcatraz" which was immortalized in the 1979 Clint Eastwood movie. It's pretty amazing, although was almost certainly not successful in the end. Three inmates dug through their cells walls with spoons, left paper mâché' dummies in their cells, and used an inflatable raft made from raincoats to get off the island. The boat was found on another island in the bay, but no trace of the three was ever found again. The best assumption is that they drowned.

Dummy in the cell, real men climb pipes, June 2012

Dinner tonight is at the Ritz, courtesy of the wife. She managed to talk the hotel into comping us another meal (some very real inadequacy on the part of the housecleaning staff). I think we may not actually use all of the food & beverage credits we have here.

San Francisco is a cool city. It's not really accessible for walking, as it's pretty spread out and the hills are killers. But it's got a nice vibe, with a lot of real neighborhoods, very touristy spots, great natural and man-made scenery, and a moderate climate. We've had unusually pleasant weather, around 70 each afternoon. Marin County, with it's hilly terrain and bayside towns is a bike ride away. Napa Valley is 90 minutes. Even Yosemite is only four or so hours. I may come back some day.

City by the Bay. June 2012