I'm going to interrupt my "Back to School" series to share with you some pics from our tour of Alcatraz this weekend. If you are ever in San Francisco, this tour is a MUST. It was incredibly informative and learning about the attempted escapes was fascinating. I will warn you though that tickets sell out way in advance so be sure to secure yours a month or two before your visit. Matt and I want to go back and do a night tour! I think that would be so creepy and cool! My former coworker and dear friend, Kathleen was in town and this was something she really want to see while she was here. I am so glad that we did it! I also picked up a couple books about Alcatraz that I can't wait to read. I'll link them below if you want to check them out.
This is the first building that you see when you get off of the boat. After Alcatraz Penitentiary closed, Native Americans claimed the island as a form of protest and were there for a year and a half. There are still signs of their occupancy such as the spray paint you can see on the building in the picture above.
It was a chilly and foggy day when we were there. It added a sense of mystery to the island. The bay was rough and it made me think about the attempted escapes and realizing the desperation of the men who tried to brave the freezing, rough waters to reach freedom and escape the nightmare of the prison.
Rows and rows of tiny cells.
There are a lot of famous inmates that were incarcerated at Alcatraz. The audio tour gave first hand accounts from other inmates describing these well-known criminals and their behavior during their time on the island.
They had a few cells that they called "the hole" where prisoners were sent when they were causing trouble. The cell was teeny tiny with nothing inside but four blank walls. They also kept them in complete darkness.
Side note, it was drizzly and super windy on Saturday so I opted for a hat (representing my Texas Rangers!) and some comfy workout gear. Outfit details will be listed below.
We learned that it wasn't the harsh treatment of the prisoners that tortured the inmates the most, but rather the fact that they had this view of the city and knew that freedom was so close, but so far. They claimed that seeing the lights of the city, hearing voices echo across the bay, and the occasional smell of chocolate from the Ghiradelli factory would really affect their mental state.
We learned so much about the military fort that was originally established on "the Rock" and how it later became the prison. While the prison was running, there were several attempted escapes. One of the escapes resulted in the mystery of whether or not the three inmates who escaped actually made it to freedom. They were never found. So intriguing!!! We learned about the Battle at Alcatraz were inmates took control over the prison by force and held it for several days before they ultimately realized they could not escape. If you're at all into this sort of history stuff, you would love this tour. Plus check out the books I bought below! I'll let you know what I think after I read them.
Matt is in Dallas this week for work (sniff sniff!). I am so jealous that he got to go home and eat queso. I'm going to put on some sweats, pour a glass of wine, and watch Escape from Alcatraz, snuggled up with my pup Winston of course!
Hope you all had a great weekend! I'll be back soon with Back to School Part 2 post.
Shop the post:
Jacket is The North Face / Pullover is Target / Tank is Old Navy / Leggings are Old Navy / Earrings are Kendra Scott / Necklace is Kendra Scott / Bag is Longchamp in "Bubblegum" (if you can't find that color, the new color "fig" is beautiful!!)
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