braindump

Gull enjoying the view on Alcatraz

I’ve been to San Francisco before, but have previously missed out on some of the big tourist attractions. So I’m starting today with a trip to Alcatraz, which is actually a National Park. And, as I found out, it has a much more interesting history than just the prison and escape attempts that it’s famous for.

The first thing that I learned was that I was visiting on International Migratory Bird Day; as an island with no natural fresh water, Alcatraz has never had land-based predators, and so has long been a nesting place for migratory sea birds.

View of SF through tiny window

Alcatraz’s history was first as an army base, for defending the Bay. Then it became a military prison, and then a high security prison, for which it’s become famous. After the prison was closed, Native Americans established a camp on the island, as a protest against the lands that had been taken away from them; they were eventually removed, but their protest did help persuade the government to change their policies towards them.

As a prison, they say that the hardest thing about Alcatraz was not the conditions; it was the view of the city, a short distance away, but out of reach.

As I was queuing to pick up my ticked for the ferry ride over to Alcatraz, I spotted a Collingwood cap, and heard some Australian accents. The Australian family they belonged to were just the first Aussies I ran into that day. It seems that wherever you travel, you always encounter Aussies and Germans.

Segways handle the hills with ease

After finishing the tour and returning to the mainland, my next bit of sightseeing was a Segway tour, starting at the waterfront, but including a fair bit of the surrounding areas as well. The tour starts with a training session on how to ride a Segway. Unlike a bicycle, the Segway has two wheels with a platform mounted between them on which you stand, with the batteries mounted in the platform, and the steering column attached to it as well. It balances itself like magic when you stand on it, but you do need to learn how to drive it properly, and how to avoid doing the wrong things (which will cause the Segway to growl at you). During the training session, I met another Aussie, who had just finished a week’s conference in San Fran, and was sightseeing before flying out.

Segway stands still for the photo

Once the training was completed, we set out onto the roads, wearing visibility vests and helmets, driving in formation. After getting used to riding on the roads in traffic and in formation, we were soon having a ball. We were as much a tourist attraction as the sights we were seeing, with people stopping and waving on many occasions. It has to be one of the most enjoyable tours I’ve ever done; sadly, we had to return the Segways at the end.

I finished my sightseeing for the day with a meal at In-n-Out Burger; they expedite the process of getting you in and out again (with your meal) by offering only three different burgers. None of the ingredients are frozen, and everything is prepared on site; as far as fast food goes, it does have a lot to recommend it.

Even though I packed a fair bit into one day, I’m going to try to take other opportunities to sightsee around SF, as there’s so much to see, and it’s a very comfortable city to travel around.