What would a trip to San Francisco be without a photo of the Golden Gate Bridge. We are on our way to Alcatraz Island. There is the famous bridge shrouded by the even more famous San Francisco fog. On this date, we were fortunate that the fog rolled in "after" our return from the island.
Daughter A checking out a cell on Broadway. The inmates named the cell blocks. The audio tour was fantastic. I highly recommend this tour. Al Capone was housed here as well as other infamous criminals.
The grounds are quite beautiful. Community groups keep up the gardens on the island.
My teenage daughters, posing with me for a "touristy" picture before we boarded the ferry. Can you tell my youngest (the redhead) does not particularly enjoy being photographed? Alcatraz Island is behind us. The boat trip is only about 10 minutes each way.
This is a fire department boat we passed on the way out to the island.
Here is a photo of the less than famous Bay bridge. It is still a beautiful bridge. You can see the lower part of the city as viewed from Alcatraz.
A better view of the city from the Island. From here you can appreciate the hills. Fortunately, the National Park Service has protected this island from Developers. High rise condominiums would spoil the mystique of the place.
Part of Alcatraz has been designated as a bird refuge. We found a bunch of baby seagulls. These babies were absolutely adorable. (check out the little spotted fellow) Seagulls get a bad rap. I think calling them winged rats is a little harsh.
There were many other birds nesting and/or roosting on the island. We found a large flock of Snowy Egrets. My daughter would like to use this for one of her paintings. Come to think of it, I might also. Daughter A deserves all the credit for the photography. I think she has the potential to be a wildlife photographer! She prefers computer animation, however.
So there you have it! I hope you enjoyed your little preview of Alcatraz Island. These photos did not upload in the order I wanted them to so they are a little discombobulated. (Is that really a word? The spellchecker didn't seem to notice.) I am going to try to relax for the next month. Summer vacation is almost over.
11 comments:
The Birdman is alive and well!
I'm still wondering about the baby pigeons!
Good seeing you yesterday! I'll see if I can make out for a visit in the next week or so.
Winifred,
The birds were amazing!
Shazza,
Well, did you ever see a baby seagull before this? I bet baby pigeons are cute too!
Wonderful, Neetzy!
I can't wait to get there myself next Spring.
Yay for Daughter A for some excellent photos, too.
It's good to see you had such a lovely sunny day there; whenever I look at my Bay webcams they are nothing but fog.
Dive,
You probably have to look later in the day. The fog usually lifts by afternoon. San Francisco time is three hours, behind mine. You, I think, are about six hours ahead of us. So, this is a good time. About 4:00 or 5:00 pm here which is eleven or midnight your time. I heard the fall is beautiful there so you should be in luck.
How exciting it must have been to visit Alcatraz, I would love to do that. Great photos and your daughters are lovely young woman. Hope you are enjoying your summer.
Hi Barbara,
Thanks for your kind words about my daughters. It seems like I've been busy doing everything BUT painting this summer. Actually I have been painting...just nothing postworthy! Maybe I'll post a few WIPs again. I've been experimenting and just not quite sure what direction I want to go.
Yay for a clear day for your Alcatraz trip! Looks like you had lots of fun. I can't wait to get a photo of Dive behind bars like that! Great nature photography too - birds are hard to capture well and your daughter did an excellent job. Bummer your vacation is speeding by. Enjoy it while it lasts!
Ha! Now I know the REAL reason you're luring me across the pond, fickle wench!
Neetzy: you should have ewarned me about Berkeley girls. Hee hee.
My daughters and I spent yesterday in San Francisco, but one of them refused to go to Alcatraz. Next time I'm in town, I'm going no matter what.
Our view of the Golden Gate Bridge is about what you saw, it seems.
Dive,
Heehee. I could have fun with that, but I'll leave Katie to that!
Scout,
My daughters thought that Alcatraz was the highpoint of their trip! I hope you can get back their some day!
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