The Rock

As we left the hotel for the tour office, it was raining. This wasn’t going to be a good day at this rate. We arrived in good time and I picked up our tickets, then we hung around waiting for the shuttle bus to take us to the dock/pier where we would catch the ferry to The Rock! We saw Cheryl and Geoff, who were going on the open top hop on/off bus tour. Fair play to them, despite the rain they sat up top.
Eventually we were shuttled to the dockside. We got talking to a couple from Missouri who were here to celebrate 1 year of marriage. 3^rd time round for both of them! He owns two Harleys, so that’s how we got talking, us with our bike jackets on.

At the ticket office, we had a small issue, mainly because the guy at the tour place hadn’t told me the drill. So I gave them the page I’d printed off the internet, when what they actually wanted was the two paper tickets, that I thought were for the bus tour later. Confused the hell out of the woman at the window but her colleague ask if they gave me anything and hey presto we were rocking (see what I did there?). As you go to board, a guy takes a photo of you, that you can purchase for $22 when you get back.

Alcatraz looms through the gloom

Trip out to The Rock takes 10-15 minutes, it’s only 1.5 miles away. Once on dry land, we made our way up the hill to the cell block, where we picked up our audio guides. I think we confused them when we asked for an English English audio. Will American English do? they asked J

The audio is pretty good and takes you all the way through the cell block, explaining what things were for, events that happened, etc. Part of the narration is by officers who worked there and inmates who served there, so the whole thing is brought to life, with background sounds to help you picture the scene. It’s very well done. It was a fascinating tour and one not to be missed but make sure you book up early like I did (smug look on face). Having taken the ferry back, I suppose we were ‘banged up’ for about 2 hours, we waited for the tour bus to collect us, for the second part of our tour, that of the city itself. By now the rain had long since gone and the temperature was beginning to rise.

The city tour takes you up and out to The Golden Gate Bridge. There you just have enough time to take a shot of the bay and walk out to the first tower. Then it’s back across the bridge to Lands End on the Pacific side of the peninsula, through the Golden gate Park area, up to the highest spot in the city, at about 900ft, Twin Peaks and down through the china town area, finishing back at the tour office.

The Golden Gate Bridge

Along the way the driver points out loads of interesting places, such as where they filmed the Bullitt car chase downhill sequences, where the rich and famous live and the building which was used in Towering Inferno. The driver was very good, I have to say and the tour was way better than the Los Angeles one we took. We left the hotel about 9:15 and got back about 17:30. The tour cost us £50 each, well worth the money I’d say.

Back in the hotel, Dud went for 40 winks, me for a 2 mile run in the health centre. Gotta shed some of those calories somehow. One thing’s for sure about the US, they don’t scrimp on the portions.

Will be heading out soon for some more seafood I think. Not think, I know, as that’s pretty much all you can get nearby on Fisherman’s Wharf. Carol has suggested that clam chowder served in a sour dough roll is very nice. The roll, obviously, is the size of a big soup bowl and they pour the chowder into the middle. You eat the chowder, then finish off the soggy sour dough roll. Interesting! I’ll let you know if we try it.