Letters to Briggz: San Fran

Dear Briggz,

“Are you going to San Francisco?” The Golden Gate Bridge, Fisherman’s Warf, Alcatraz, Pier 39, and to top it off, The America’s Cup, all within the same weekend. We were happy to see sunshine and were anxious to greeted by the Golden Gate Bridge. It lives up to its name. A grand structure that when illuminated by the setting sun, has a beautiful golden glow. I was surprised by the amount of traffic only because we have been traveling smaller roads over the past couple months.

Our first stop in San Fran brought us straight to the bay. Walking along the Piers was fun. We love the water and seeing all of the sailboats taking sail. We could spend all day walking along side of the water. Off in the distance we herd barking. Not of dogs, but of the sea lions. They have their own pier dedicated to them. Allowing them to come and go as they please, giving tourists like us the opportunity to watch, sometimes for hours, their battles for supremacy over a number of floating docks. I must say we were entertained. We decided that we needed to return on another day to take in “The Rock”.

The best spot on the docks

The island is something that gives you a feeling that you are approaching a place with so much history, a place where the worst of the worst criminals stayed. As we approached Alcatraz from its eastern coast you cannot help but notice that there was evidence that it was a fort. There was a time when it was used to protect the waterway. But once on the island you could not help but think of Al Capone, The Birdman of Alcatraz and others that called this place their home while they served time. We took the tour, which brought us through the cellblocks, to the yard, through the wardens and guards offices, even the wardens residence, and all along giving us a thorough history of the different sections of the prison. We also learned that there was a time after the prison was shut down, that a group of Native Americans took it over as Indian land. This was evidenced by numerous writings on walls, the water tower. It will certainly a memorable experience.

Bad boys

The rock

At one point we had to take a pause from the tour because there were these two boats racing in the bay. I must say the view of the race between the USA and New Zealand is best seen from Alcatraz. At one of the turns the boats sail within what seemed to be at most 100 yards from the island giving us another cool experience.

The race right off Alcatraz

America's cup pier

After the oracle made the turn still in the lead ( they won this race)

San Francisco was a treat. As we were leaving we took the time to park the car and take a stroll on the Golden Gate Bridge, something that we will not soon forget.