ALCATRAZ
On August 11th and 12th, 2010, I had the opportunity to visit San Francisco, California. I was in the Southern part of the state visiting crazydrummerdude and decided to drive myself the ~5 hours north to San Francisco.
I knew nothing about the city except that which I hastily researched and that I desperately wanted to see Alcatraz. I ran into unforeseen issues with the tickets but my amazing fiance was able to pull a miracle and resolve them just in time as I was en route. I almost didn't even get to see Alcatraz. It turned out to be the best part of the trip and easily one of my all time favorite locations that I've explored, ever.
I was running around all over the Marin headlands the night before and all that morning up until the time I realized I was running late for my tour of The Rock. After tumbling down the side of a mountain in an attempt to make it back to the car in time, I sped over to pier 33 and got in line. While in line, I bathed with a bottled water in an attempt to wash off whatever I may have come in contact with on the mountain. I would find out later, it didn't help..
I honestly did not set out to explore Alcatraz. It started out just being a tour that I was happy to be on and I was going to enjoy it regardless... But then I came to my senses when I spotted a chance to break from the group and take my own self-guided tour. I didn't hesitate. I didn't really have a choice though; Before I knew it, I was in an off-limits area of the island and needed to either proceed further in order to get out of sight or come back the way I came and sneak back into the group which in itself was risky. I chose the former and entered a structure whose hallmark was the familiar decay of neglected architecture, an environment as comforting and familiar to me as the opposite is to less adventurous persons. Alone, I carefully navigated through every accessible portion of the building and did my best to stay out of sight. But I failed to remain inconspicuous at one point and caught the concerned glance of a tourist. Her expression signaled to me that I might just be in trouble, so I went back into the structure to continue my adventures out of sight, hoping to not hear footsteps in some corner of the building that weren't my own. At least I would see the whole building before they come looking for me. I just happened to be passing by a window that faced the alley in which I was spotted when a Park Ranger entered the scene. I was extremely concerned at this point because I hadn't even been inside the prison yet and had hardly even seen much of the island at all. I was holding my breath, palms sweating as I watched him through an old window. I wondered if it was dark enough where I was that he couldn't see me from outside. I tried moving to expose less of my silhouette to the window, but my jacket was caught on some metal sticking out of the wall. So I stood motionless awaiting whatever outcome the luck of the draw would deal me this time. He didn't stay long, however, having only stopped to briefly look around, shine his flashlight in some corners and leave. Moments like these remind me that this is an incredibly stupid thing to do. But as soon as they pass, so does my cognizance of potential risk and I'm quickly back at it without the weight of trepidation that keeps most people securely planted inside their comfort zone.
After exhausting the navigable portions of this corner of the island, I decided that I had better see the prison before I get caught somewhere else and thus ruin my once in a lifetime chance to see the infamous Alcatraz that I came here for. I soon learned that the only way to get pictures of this place without herds of mindless tourists ruining every possible shot is to be the only one there. It was not easy to do, but I managed to succeed.. just barely.
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*As I've mentioned before, I only recently finally got around to editing these shots which is why I've posted them now, 3 years after they were taken. Previously, they were hurriedly uploaded the same night with all of the crookedness and other issues that go along with putting your camera on auto and running around non-stop for 24 hours photographing everything in sight. It always bugged me and I spent the past several years going back and editing every single shot. This was the most amazing trip I've ever taken and I wish I could do it again. Maybe someday..
Oh and if you've ever played the Alcatraz map on Call of Duty Black Ops 2, yeah it's pretty much laid out correctly. Except there's no gondola. And I'm not sure about the citadel tunnel area. And there's no hounds of hell that pop out of the wall to eat zombie corpses..
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More photos of Alcatraz here.
Previous San Francisco Trip reports:
Part I.
Part II.
Part III.
