Day 10(and 9 but mostly 10)

Our days started at 9:30 am on april 10th. This train ride was pretty but uneventful which is why I am counting it as a starter to the 10th day.

Once we arrived in the San Francisco station around 8:13. Once we got there we took a bus to pier 39, to get some break fast and check out the Aquarium. For breakfast we had sourdough french toast which was really good, then went to the Aquarium. 

The San Francisco Aquarium was very interesting but, in my opinion, not nearly as nice as the seattle aquarium. This being said the San Francisco aquarium had a leg up on the seattle aquarium in one regard, and that was the tunnel tanks. There were two long glass tunnels that were surrounded entierly by water, as you walked fish could swim above you next to you and behind you. It reminded me of diving, in that way. At the end of the first tunnel there was an octopus and friends room that had a huge pasific octopus, who was giving one of his friends a nice hug.... 

After the aquarium we wondered the wharf a bit to try and find a place to eat before we took a boat out to Alcatraz at 1:30. As we serched we found a great platform on the side of the dock where about a hundred sealions were sleeping in a big pile. They were sleeping and playing it was really cool.

After that we found a spot to eat some lunch. We had a dozen ousters and then I had a fish taco, and my dad had a dungeness crab salad. Then we headed out for Alcatraz...

Once at Alcatraz, we decided to skip the 10 minute intorduction to the island, (and the 300 or so pepole that stood there listening) and got a head start at exploring the island. The first biulding we came to was a wreck, but had a great view of the guard tower and the ocean behind it. 

As we contined up the side of the island, we came to realise that the island was actually a really pretty place. This suprised the both of us because from what we have read or seen about the island we expected it to be kind of the opposite of nice. Then we came to the main building. Once inside we chose to skip the audio tour and explored on our own. Inside was really cool to see. 

The cells were tiny, they were less than five feet wide, about 7 feet tall and 8 feet deep. Each cell was solitary, so the inmates never had a roommate. In a few of the cells they had the paper mache heads and the holes in the walls, from the escapes. It was really interesting. 

We then proceded to check out the rec yard, It was pretty grim, but as you climbed the steps the view of the rest of the city got increasingly better. From the top step you could see the entire city. We proceded to explore the solitary conefinment section or D wing, and then headed back down to the boat. It is one of my favorite national parks purely due to the history behind it.