I m also glad I didn t skip it that would have been a shame. And I love when attractions pleasantly

My mother was very enthusiastic about the idea of me going to prison. car trailer rentals  Seriously.  I wasn't even considering a trip to Alcatraz during my time in San Francisco, but my mother insisted.  It was the best thing my friends did while they were there, she claimed, you simply car trailer rentals have to go.  And so I did.
The Alcatraz sunset cruise and tour was definitely a highlight of my visit to San Francisco (which car trailer rentals is saying a lot, given how amazing San Francisco is), but for a surprising reason.  You see, I had no idea that Alcatraz was so, well, lovely.  It's truly a gorgeous place, especially in the springtime.  I don't know why this isn't more commonly known but I'd like to shout it from the rooftops.  Hey world!  Visit Alcatraz in the spring!  It's stunning!
As soon as we stepped off the ferry I noticed something was off.  Were those irises circling the watchtower?  And that institutional-looking staircase is it lined with pink blooms?  Is that phlox trailing over the side of that retaining wall?  I think it might be.  Wait is that a calla lilly?!?  I had a hard time listening to our tour guide as he walked us up the steep hill and I barely noticed car trailer rentals the effort the walk required as I snapped photos left and right.  I could continue car trailer rentals to tell you about it, or I could just post some of the photos.  Gee, I wonder which one I'll do.
By the time we reached the prison itself I was more than happy to stop clicking having taken over a hundred photos just on the way up and give myself over to the educational part of the tour.  As any good Suitcase Scholar, I love audio tours, car trailer rentals and the audio tour of Alcatraz may well be the single best audio tour I've ever experienced (save for perhaps the multi-media tour at the British Museum, but really that's not a fair comparison.  It's like apples to oranges, museums to prisons )
The tour begins by introducing you to the tour guides and some of the inmates whose voices you will hear throughout the tour.  Take the time to look at the photos and slowly immerse yourself in the experience.  Because this audio tour is fully immersive with the background sounds of yelling, clanging, and other prison noises, the audio guide really makes you feel like you are in the Alcatraz of yore.
After wandering about the cell blocks for a while, you'll enter the administrative offices area.  IMPORTANT TIP :  At this point, pause your audio tour and walk out the doors directly in front of you into the outdoor space at the tip of the island.  If you've taken the sunset cruise and you really, car trailer rentals really should by this point the sun should actually be starting to set.  I probably spent a half hour out here mid tour, taking photos and generally marveling at the beautiful views.  I could once again continue to go on and on or, once again could post some more photos.
I continued with the tour, which ends in the dining car trailer rentals hall, complete with authentic dining hall sounds soundtrack.  Because the tour is so well timed, it is right around this point in the evening when the Alcatraz hospital opens, which is accessed by a stairway in the dining hall.  I climbed the steps to take a peek and found it creepy yet crowded.  After a brief stop in the gift shop  (where I seriously contemplated purchasing some prison signs for my classroom.  Yes, you read that correctly!) I made my way back out to the ferry dock to return to a life of freedom in San Francisco.
My original opinion on a visit to Alcatraz was that it would be a complete waste of a nice day.  But I'll be the first to admit that this theory was one hundred percent incorrect.  There's truly nothing like prison in the springtime.
After my tour I met up for dinner with a local friend.  She's lived in San Francisco for almost ten years, and in telling her about my day I paused to ask if she'd ever done the tourist thing and visited car trailer rentals Alcatraz.  No, in fact, she had not.  So I told her she simply had to go but to please be sure to visit when all of the flowers are in bloom.  And yes, she looked at me funny.
The only way to visit Alcatraz is to book through the Alcatraz Island s official website, Alcatraz Cruises , which is run by the National Park Service.  If you book any other way, you may cruise around Alcatraz, but you won t stop there.  And that would be a damn shame.  They offer four tours per day an early bird, one morning, one afternoon, and one evening and a combined Alcatraz/Angel Island cruise.  A detailed comparison of the various options can be found HERE .
Wow! I can t believe how different everything looks in the daytime! I wouldn t trade my experience on the night tour for anything but I really, really, really wish I could return to take the tour at different times of the day and year. It s just so beautiful out there.
So your night tour was fully at night? This WAS the night tour but the sun didn t set for a good hour and a half into my visit. It kind of seemed like best of both worlds. Perhaps that s yet another reason to visit in the spring?
As a simi-non-tourist to SF (I live in LA and my sis lives in SF, so I go about 2-3 times a year), I have been to Alcatraz car trailer rentals three times in my life (I try to go once a decade, hehe) and earlier this year I went and did the night tour and LOVED it!!! Seriously, if you are a local and do one touristy thing in SF, it s gotta be this. Even my sister has gone twice since living there (in 8 years).
I m so glad to hear that! So often, people miss out on the great things car trailer rentals that are nearby just because they don t seem like destinations . I hope my SF friend goes next spring (she seemed kind of reluctant ) I spent the holiday weekend being a tourist in my own area which is admittedly WAY less exciting than SF! And my husband s best friend who lives in Manhattan did a be a tourist in NYC day for his wife one year for her birthday and they said they had a blast. Went to a show, did a double decker bus tour (of their own city how awesome!)
I m also glad I didn t skip it that would have been a shame. And I love when attractions pleasantly surprise me. They make up for the attractions that, like the Tower of London, are a bit of a let down. (sorry. Didn t like the Tower of London. I ve never seen so many people in one place in all my life!)