Alcatraz and Cable Cars

 


A busy day for me and a relaxing one for Ian. Because of his wonky knee he decided that the steep walkways of Alcatraz would be too much. There was fog earlier, but by about 7:30 it had lifted. A glorious sunny day with a very light breeze. I had pre-booked a ticket on the first ferry (10am). Cost is about $50.00 for the ferry and tour. A 10 minute ride over to the island where a park ranger gives an orientation talk, then you can wander the island for as long as you like. Some of the walkways are fairly steep, similar to walking in North Vancouver! Beautiful views over to San Francisco. The audio tour of Cell-house was excellent, giving you a good insight into prison life. There are other exhibits covering the Native occuptation of Alcatraz, U.S. prison system etc. Very interesting. I would suggest about a 2 to 2 1/2 hour visit to see the highlights and walk around the island. At this time of year there is only 1 ferry an hour.

Back to the ship for a quick lunch, then off for a Cable Car ride. I had bought an online 1 day pass for $13.00 for unlimited transit rides. Otherwise a single Cable car ride is $8.00. My plan was to take a trolley up to Ghiradelli square and take the Powell Hyde line to Union Square. However after waiting about 15 minutes a trolley finally came and went right by without stopping! There was another couple waiting as will, and as there was a trolley approching from the other direction we all decided to head to the Ferry Building instead and take the California line Cable Car. This worked out great, no lineup so we hopped on, road to the end of the line, then back again to the intersection to catch the Powell Hyde back to Ghiradelli. Great fun, lots of hills, beautiful buildings and diverse neighbourhoods. This seems to be a good time to ride the cable cars, minimal waits even on the popular lines. I walked back to the ship (about a 30 minute walk) with a stop at Fishermans Wharf to watch the Sealions.

A beautiful sunset, Canaletto dinner and the piano bar round off a fantastic day!











Comments

  1. CarlaNovember 13, 2021 at 10:48 AM

    On one visit to Gogo's home, we took a short trip around the area. Her handicaps restricted some of the usual sightseeing, but we had a great time. Then my daughter Suzanne and I took a cruise
    from Seattle down the coast, with a stop in San Francisco, so we did some sightseeing there. It
    was a great trip. She now has rather advanced Alzheimer's Disease, so any travel is out--I'm too
    old now, anyway! Your trip sounds wonderful. I loved cruises, until the trip to Alaska when the
    ship caught fire--we were taken off by the Coast Guard, and flown back to Seattle--We got our money back, though, so that helped. Your Mom and Dad, Gogo and I met in Reno many years
    ago for a great weekend--and another trip together, with Marj and Lou at a great
    resort in B.C., but being old, I can't remember where that was. But we had great times together and now it's just your Mom and me left, with good memories. Have a great trip! --Carla

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