303abuser
People bemoan a lot of tourist stuff but Alcatraz is excellent. Had a friend who worked there years ago so I got to see parts most don’t (like the rooms they use for The Rock). It’s a fascinating place. A lot of people don’t know this, but after the jail closed in the ’60’s, a bunch of Native Americans and activists took over the island for like 18 months or thereabouts. In protest of…well, everything. Seeing the parts they occupied wasn’t quite as interesting as the prison but still interesting to experience. They made quite a mess but the NPS left it as is as a relic of the time.
Another fun fact, the reason it took so long for the Bay to be discovered is Alcatraz’s location makes what is now the Golden Gate Bridge look landlocked from the Pacific. Those sailing up and down the coast in discovery never knew there was a massive Bay inside.
