First day in San Francisco

Saturday, October15,

Last night was a very rough night. I was fine, the Gravol made is a night to sleep. When the ship would bang or make a different strange sound I would wake but then I would go back to sleep. We decided to go to the dining room for breakfast. We were concerned that we might be late but we got there by 8:45 and the place was full and others were in line. We were at a table for 6 . One couple was from Scotland and one couple was from North Van. We had a very nice breakfast. The papaya was delicious and I gave in and had a carrot muffin. We visited and laughed and had a great time.

The sea had calmed down and people were no longer staggering like a bunch of drunks.

I went to the Future Cruise consultant to find out about a special cruise that includes time on The Rocky Mountaineer but the line up was too slow so I came back here to post the blog that was not posted last evening.

Soon it was time to pass under the Golden Gate Bridge . The captain made an announcement so people could be prepared to take pictures. With the fog it really wasn’t a great photo op!! 

We did get pictures of the bridge and then we went down to the International café and had a quick light lunch.

We enjoyed the view until it was time to head out. The tour to Alcatraz leaves from pier 33 so we had a very short walk. We had to get into a line and show tickets but much to our surprise they did not ask for our passports.

They had people taking pictures before you boarded which is quite common. We did not buy the photos when we exited the ship.

The trip to the island was about ten minutes.

 We went to the orientation guided tour. Here we were given the history of the island. It was originally a fort, and then a military barracks and then a military prison before it became a federal penitentiary.

Next we were going to pick up ear phone for an audio tour. When we saw how long the line was just to pick up the equipment we decided to go on our own.

It probably would have been better with the audio tour but the uneven surfaces, the cement and the hills were already beginning to take their toll. We decided that waiting in another line was not a wise use of our time.

The prison was massive and as dank and as dreary as we imagined. This was not a desired destination by any means.

They had quite an extensive gift shop where you could buy prison uniforms or tees and all of the usual souvenirs like pins and patched and magnets. There was a good selection of book also.

While there I was able to get a stamp for my national parks pass port so that pleased me.

We got very good pictures of the lighthouse on the crossing but we did not climb closer.

When we returned to get the ferry back we missed the one loading and we had to wait for the next one. It was about a 15 minute wait. The weather got cooler and darker as we waited.

By the time we disembarked the rain had begun. That was the main reason we did not stop to look at the pictures. The rain was not terribly cold but it was very wet and very heavy. The one little umbrella that we had did not serve the purpose very well.

We were glad that the ship was at the next dock so it was a fairly short walk.

We managed to get dried off and remove the wet jackets and then we headed for dinner. Because the ship is here over night they had open seating in the dining room. We sat at a different table near a window and with different people. It was a nice change.

When we came up the stairs to deck seven we heard music in the Vista. We decided to peek in. The entertainer was very good…Funch was the name. We found seats at the back and we were able to sit and relax and enjoy his presentation.

We returned to the room and enjoyed a glass of our wine as we enjoyed the light show on the Golden Gate Bridge. We are assuming that this was the normal thing but we had not heard of it before. The bridge is covered with white lights and the lights do a wonderful light show. There are patterns made as the lights turn off and on. It is really quite special to see.

 I woke during the night and looked our and the show was continuing, so it must go during all of the darkness hours. It was still going at six but soon after the light went out.

It was a busy day but it was memorable.

Tomorrow we meet Paula and Min