The San Francisco Treat: Day 2

On Saturday morning we woke up early to catch the ferry to do the biggest tourist adventure ever...Alcatraz!  I normally don't like the tourist tours, aka tourist traps, but I have always wanted to see Alcatraz and this was the only way to do it.  Surprisingly it was a great tour and wasn't awful like most tourist traps are.  We took the 9am ferry over and it ended up being a gorgeous day.  I heard how the ferry can be quite cold and Alcatraz is pretty cold; however, we had a very warm Saturday for our tour.

Golden Gate Bridge from the ferry.

San Francisco from the ferry.

Alcatraz from the ferry.

Once we arrived on Alcatraz we were guided to an area where we could start the tour.  It was not a normal tour where you stay in a large group and listen to some boring tour guide as they walk you through the location.  This was different.  You got a headset and controller where you could take the tour yourself.  You can start and stop the controller as you please and listen as you walk through the prison.  It was actually AWESOME!  I learned a lot about Alcatraz, aka the Rock, and I am so glad we did the tour.

We have arrived on Alcatraz Island.

I thought this sign was interesting.  It was posted where the inmates get checked into the prison.

Jail cell.

Hallway of jail cells.

This was the yard where the inmates got one - two hours a week to be outside.

Andy in the hole.  The hole was so small that I would get claustrophobic.

Andy and I on the island.

this sign was outside before you entered.  The Indians were welcome to come and work.

Following Alcatraz we walked down to the Ferry Building for lunch.  This place had a lot of unique food and was more like an indoor Farmer's Market.  Very neat place, but definitely a cluster of people.  Once we ate Andy and I wanted to leave ASAP as we could not stand the overly crowded building.  I bet this place would be better on a non-holiday and not a weekend as there was a ton of cute local shops that would have been neat to check out.

Following the ferry building it was time for a much needed drink.  We found a wine bar that had tables outside on the sidewalk, so we parked it and enjoyed a few hours of the beautiful weather with plenty of wine to drink.

Us outside enjoying the beautiful weather.

After the wine bar we headed back to our hotel for a quick change for dinner.  Prior to dinner we headed to Top of the Mark for drinks before dinner.  This bar was at the top of a hotel overlooking San Fran.  It was quite the sight to see.  It was awesome!  I would recommend getting drinks here if you ever visit.

View from Top of the Mark.

Another view.

This view is neat with the old church.

Following Top of the Mark we went to a steak house for dinner.  This wasn't far from Top of the Mark so we walked.  Ok, walking anywhere in San Fran is quite the workout as the streets are so hilly.  By hilly, I mean straight up and down.  I definitely got a workout during the long weekend walking the streets of San Fran.

The walk to dinner.

Following dinner we went out to a couple Irish Pubs (Irish Pubs were everywhere) with Courtney and Steven who live in San Fran so they took us to where the locals go. 

Pub #1: I am with Courtney and Steven - the engaged couple.

All of us at the second pub.

It was a good time, but we had to head back to the hotel around midnight since it was going to be an early morning.