San Francisco

By the time we got to San Francisco, it was around nine o'clock at night. Our hotel was on the corner of Van Ness and Lombard, which was swarming with cars and pedestrians. When we went to check in, we were informed that we were finally able to cash in on the promotional deal Choice Privileges was running: 1 + 1 = free. Basically, if you stay two nights at one of their hotels, you'r entitled to a free room on your third night. Having stayed in participating hotels every night for about two weeks now, we were relieved to see our loyalty finally payed off; even though the deal seemed more like 1 (week) + 1 (week) = 1 night. Our room had an amazing view of the Golden Gate Bridge, and after taking in the scene for a few moments, we headed out on the town to find something to eat.

We decided on a steakhouse across the street from the hotel, called Bobo's. We were severely under dressed in our sneakers and hoodies, so we let our appetites do the talking; double surf and turf. After feasting, we both agreed that a long walk around the city was in order. After walking for a while, we stumbled into an entertainment district, where Jojo was lured into a corner bar by the shrieking voice of Steven Perry; she'll never stop believing. After convincing the bar tender that I didn't know any of the fist pumping cast members of the Jersey Shore, we sipped our beers and sorted out the details of the following day. Satisfied with our plans, we walked back to the hotel and fell asleep to Sandra B. in "The Blindside."

We were up early the next day, and ready to eat. We walked down to the Fisherman's Warf and found a restaurant on the water. We sat outside on the deck and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast overlooking the harbor, where fishing and sightseeing vessels navigated around Alcatraz Island, just a quarter of a mile off the coast.

After breakfast, we made our way to the Alcatraz tour lines. Jojo's preparedness paid off. As soon as we entered the pre-ordered ticket line to pick up our tickets, a tour guide announced that all tours for the day were sold out. We smiled while everyone else in line moaned, groaned, and left the area. We still had a few hours to kill before our boat left for the Island, so we decided to have few early afternoon cocktails; we had to ready our sea legs.

As our boat reached the island, the large sign on the outer rock piles warned passers by of the penalties that came with aiding escaped convicts. It only heightened our excitement. Once we stepped foot on the island, we followed a tour guide that was giving a thirty minute walking tour, themed on his research of the escape attempt of Joseph Bowers, Alcatraz inmate #210. It was a completely original, fact-based conspiracy story, that allowed the guide to teach his listeners a small piece of Alcatraz history, while showing them some of the main points of interest on the island, and excited them for the self guided audio tour inside the cell-house. The audio tour was narrated by previous inmates of Alcatraz, as well as former guards and staff members.

We saw the cells where three inmates carved through the interior walls of their cells to sneak into a crawlspace that led them to the roof. Once they were in the open, they made it to the water, readied their rafts (made from raincoats), and slipped into the harbor. It was the only successful escape attempt from Alcatraz. All three men were presumed dead, due to the stormy waters and strong currents that most likely swept the men out to sea. We also viewed the recreation yard, where Jojo commented, "It couldn't have been that bad. Look at the view they had!", as she stared out at the Golden Gate Bridge and the San Francisco Skyline.

We were shocked to see blast marks in the cement floor where U.S. Marines dropped hand grenades into a small holding area where inmates murdered prison guards during the Battle of Alcatraz, in 1946.

We spent hours on the island, completely infatuated with the stories of Al Capone, George "Machine Gun" Kelly, and Robert Stroud "The Birdman of Alcatraz, and their time on the island.

We stayed so long that we had to catch the very last ferry back to shore. After two weeks in close quarters with Joanna, I decided this was my chance to get some alone time. The last ferry was leaving at 6:15; I told her 7, and excused myself to go to the bathroom. By the look on her face as she sprinted towards the ferry, I could tell she wasn't amused. She didn't say much to me on the way back to shore, but I knew what she was thinking: Alcatraz was one of the most interesting destinations we've experienced so far.

(The Rec yard)

For dinner, we had to make a stop in Chinatown. We asked a few locals where the best Chinese food was, and they pointed us to the R & G Lounge. The food was excellent. Having eaten an authentic Chinese meal in the countries largest Chinatown, we felt that our stay in San Francisco was complete (even though we didn't see a single member of the Tanner family)