4/9/09 - San Francisco, CA (Scott)

Before I forget -- I wore my pedometer today. We walked 8.85 miles, and we even used the cable cars over the longer distances!

We woke up a little before 7am this morning. We had to make it down to the Wharf by 8:30 to board the ferry to Alcatraz Island. We grabbed a quick breakfast in the hotel. Ashlee left me alone at the buffet line and I went a little carb-wild -- croissants, danishes, and muffins. Delicious!

We grabbed our first cable car right outside our hotel and rode it all the way down to Fisherman's Wharf. I know the cable cars are extremely touristy, but they're pretty awesome. I'm getting a bit ahead of myself, but later in the day we stopped by the cable car museum, so we got a good idea of how they work. Basically the city has 3 cable car lines and the cars themselves operate sort of like a ski lift. Other than small batteries to operate lights, the cars are not self-powered. Instead there is 57,300 feet of cable running under the city. To move forward, the cable car operator (technically termed "gripman") pulls a lever to latch onto the cable. When the gripman wants the car to stop, he pulls another lever to let the cable go. Another little random fact -- the cables running underneath the ground are coated in pine oil. That's why when you're riding the cable car, you can smell a tree scent.

So yeah, we made it down to Fisherman's Wharf by 8:30. Suprisingly there was a lot of people waiting to board the boat. Some of the people are worth describing. First we noticed a guy who looked like he just rolled out of bed -- he was wearing pajama pants, an oversized hooded sweatshirt and one of those Elmer Fudd-style hunting caps. To complete the ensemble, he was wearing socks with flip-flops. At first I thought he might have been a streetperson, but I realized that he was just a typical teenager (well, maybe not typical) on a family vacation with his parents. Next, was the large group of Welsh students whose accents again made Ashlee and I nostalgic for our time in Edinburgh. Along with the accents, the Welshies were also sporting track suits, mullets, and "shelltoe" Adidas. Ah, the good ol' days. Lastly, there was a family who seemed to be made of sterner stuff than pretty much everyone else waiting in line. The morning was a little chilly and there was a fine mist in the air. As a result, pretty much everyone was bundled up -- Ashlee and I were happy in our fleeces, caps, and North Face raincoats. Everyone else was similarly dressed. This particular family, on the other hand, were simply wearing t-shirts -- Alaskans, perhaps?

The boat ride to Alcatraz took 20 minutes. Like I said, the weather was a bit dreary -- which I think is fitting for a trip to the Rock. As Ashlee pointed out, it's a pretty depressing place. Visiting Alcatraz was a powerful experience. We got to tour large parts of the island with the help of an interesting audio guide narrated by former prisoners and guards. I'll relate what I can remember. Alcatraz itself functioned as a prison from roughly 1930 - 1963, when it was closed down by Attorney General Robert Kennedy. The prison was meant to house the "worst of the worst." Among other notable inmates was Al Capone. The main part of the tour walked us around the three-story cellblock. Each individual cell was tiny -- maybe no more than 5 by 7 feet and very simply furnished with a bed, a sink, a toilet, and a stool. One of the most depressing aspects of being imprisoned on Alcatraz was its very close proximity to the city. In fact, the inmates said that late at night when the cellblock was quiet, sounds from the city would drift across the bay. They would hear the ring of the cable cars, laughter, and the voices of women -- all things that represented the freedom they did not have. Overall, Alcatraz is a very dreary place.

The end of the tour brought us to the bookshop, where we were introduced to a gentleman who is one of only five surviving Alcatraz inmates. Like I said, the prison was closed in 1963 -- the prison reform movement of the time was placing a larger emphasis on rehabilitation rather than retribution. That and the difficult climate of the prison really placed a lot of wear and tear on the structures of the prison. Anyways, this particular guy was an inmate for three years in the late 1950s. I think he was in for bank robbery. He must have been 80 years old. He was a nice guy and he wrote a book (that the bookshop was selling) about his experience in Alcatraz. I bought the book and had him sign it. As he was signing, I asked him what he thought about the Rock being a tourist attraction. He said he thinks Alcatraz is something that every young man should see as a deterrent.

One other thing about Alcatraz. I heard that when inmates were first brought to the island, they were told that there was a crazed great white shark missing a dorsal fin that circled the island day and night. That would have been enough to keep me from thinking about escaping. Well, that and the 45 degree water and impossible currents...

After we finished up on Alcatraz, we boarded the ferry back to the mainland. Then it was time for lunch. We decided to visit Mama's, a San Francisco establishment in North Beach on Washington Square. It's this little diner that serves excellent food. The only catch is that there is quite a wait to even get in the restaurant. When we got there, the line wrapped around the corner -- it took us 40 minutes. I've never been so hungry in my life. You stand there waiting in line looking in the windows at the delicious food that the customers inside are eating. Dad, this is not the place for you. When we finally got seated and placed our order, we discovered it was definitely worth the wait. The food was fantastic. I went for the shrimp benedict w/ avocado and Ashlee got the monte cristo sandwich.

With our bellies full, we headed to Nob Hill to catch a free walking tour run by a non-profit called SF City Guides. Basically enthusiastic San Francisco residents volunteer to show tourists around their favorite neighborhoods. Our particular guide was a retired physician who seemed quite active for being 80+ years old. He walked us around for about an hour and half relating to us this history of the barons of San Francisco.

After our tour, we took a trip down to Union Square to scope out the scene. Some people consider this area to be the heart of San Francisco. I found that I didn't care for it at all. Other than grabbing a pint at Lefty O'Douls on Geary Street I found the rest of Union Square crowded, commercialized, and over-rated. Well, I guess it's not as bad as Fisherman's Wharf. We also encountered our first casualty of the "recession." We had planned to eat dinner at an Indian food restaurant listed in our 2007 guide book. While Ashlee perused H&M, I went to scope out the menu. The restaurant was located on the border of Union Square and the Tenderloin, one of the dodgier SF districts. As I approached the address listed in the book, the crowds grew increasingly thinner and the buildings increasingly shabbier. Finally I stood at the spot where the restaurant should have been, but no restaurant was there. The second I pulled out my map to doublecheck, two different shady-looking people whistled at me and asked if I was lost. Nope! I met back with Ashlee and we found out that the restaurant was closed.

We ended up making the trek back to North Beach for pizza. We've decided that if we ever live in San Francisco, we want to stay in North Beach. It's a real fun and quirky neighborhood. We ate at North Beach Pizza. We ordered the Cable Car Special: creamy garlic sauce, chicken, bacon, and tomatoes. It was delicious.

After dinner we headed back to our hotel and called it a day.

Tomorrow we're planning on spending the day at Golden Gate Park and the Haight. That's all for now!