Alcatrazal Dazzle

Our friend, Cory, and his girlfriend Nicole ventured down to San Francisco in early December so we met up with them for a day of playing tourist.

Cory and Justin met at WSU and became fast friends. They were roommates in Stimson Hall, Cougar Crest apartments and in the Halfway House on California Street near Greek row, and have been buddies ever since. The three of us actually spent a lot of time together back in the day at WSU and it's fun to get together and talk about old times every now and again.

We met Cory and Nicole at their hotel and then made our way down to the piers to catch a ride to Alcatraz on Alcatraz Cruises. We've viewed Alcatraz from afar, from the piers and from the telescopes before...we've even been within a stone's throw from it on a different boat tour, but we've never been on The Rock. Here are some pics to enjoy:

Cory and Nicole on The Rock

The cell block upon The Rock

Yours Truly

So many cells

Not a lot of space in the wee cells

Nicole and Cory take in the commentary
Don't drop the soap!
The former warden's pad.
The dude in the middle on the bottom row was so excited to have presumably escaped Alcatraz, he couldn't keep his eyes open!
Cory standing out in what was the inmate's privileged outdoor recreation area...playground, if you will.
It's singalong time, folks: "This used to be my playground..."

The inmates said the worst thing was being able to hear the noises of the city, especially on New Year's Eve because the wind would carry the sounds of the parties right to their cells. San Fran is less than a mile from Alcatraz.

After Alcatraz we ventured down past Pier 39 to the Boudin Sourdough Bakery & Cafe for bread bowls of clam chowder before we walked over to The Buena Vista Cafe for Irish coffees. It was a blustery, chilly day (when isn't it??!) so we were very thankful for the Irish coffees!
The Buena Vista is always crowded -- so crowded that you often share a table with strangers. The strangers we shared a table with suggested we drive up to Christmas Tree Point at Twin Peaks to see the lights. Because it was close to Christmas and this point just happens to be referred to as Christmas Tree Point, we figured we'd find streets of homes decorated with Christmas lights.

I was testing out some different photo options on my phone...thus the funky borders on some pics.

Nope! Instead Christmas Tree Point provides interested persons with a magnificent view of the entire city of San Francisco!

We had a fun day with Cory and Nicole. We hope to see you two again soon!