Alcatraz

From August 1934 until March 1963, Alcatraz, located a mere 1.5 miles ferry ride away from San Francisco, was America's toughest maximum-security prison, final stop for the nation's most incorrigible inmates. Al Capone, George 'Machine Gun' Kelly, Robert Stroud (The Birdman of Alcatraz) and that legendary all round naughty trouble maker Sean Connery have called 'The Rock' home.

Now, it is a National Park, which receives more than visitors every year, and last week, those visitors included us.








The visit was an insight. The audio guide featured the voices of four former inmates and four former prisoners, and they gave us a real feeling of what it may have been like to be in the prison, it was pretty intense.

There were many rules on Alcatraz. This was regulation number 5. I bought the postcard, and one for my brother Adam, (they didn't have 'My sister went to Alcatraz and all she bought me was a blimmin' postcard') - 50 cents each, thought that was a bargain until I got to the till and it was $1.09 - that blimmin' tax gets me every time! Ads, you better be grateful, I would saved a whole 54.5 (?) cents if I hadn't thought about you;)










Pretty small accomodation. No ensuite. Not even a WIW!




This is the skyline from Alcatraz Island.




And here is the tantalizing glimpse of real life that was available to the inmates. Apparently once a year they used to hear the sound of New Years Eve revellers celebrating on the mainland, but only when the wind was blowing in the right direction - that was the highlight of their year.










Love
Est xxx

P.S. Don't worry, we managed to escape;)