On our last morning in San Francisco, Heather, Sullivan, and I took the ferry over to Alcatraz. When we got on-line to book our Alcatraz tickets (four days in advance), Monday was sold out, Tuesday was sold out, and there was only one time-slot available on Wednesday morning. We tried to book four tickets for Wednesday morning, but it would only let us buy two...and those two tickets ended up being the last two tickets available!? Lucky for us, Mom and Dad had already been to Alcatraz and weren't at all heartbroken about needing to stay behind. Heather and I, on the other hand, definitely would have been heartbroken if we had come all the way to San Francisco and missed seeing the infamous Alcatraz Prison!? We were lucky we bought those last two tickets when we did!?
We left baby Eliza behind with the grandparents, thinking that the morning might be cold and windy, but it was actually a beautiful morning, and we would have been better off taking the baby and leaving Sullivan!? Sully had been out of his element for five days now, with no rules, on restrictions, no time-outs...nothing but instant gratification and constant spoiling. He was a bit of a monster, to say the least. He wanted to go where he wanted to go, when he wanted to go. My Alcatraz tour consisted of me trying to listen to the headphones and follow the tour directions, whilst being constantly pulled and whined at by Sullivan. I didn't get much out of it, and probably listened to a mere 10% of the tour, even with Heather taking him over for half the time!? Bless her soul! The best part of the tour for Sullivan was the recreation yard, where I took off his leash (yes, I leashed him...big crowds, fast runner!?), and let him run wild. He ran and climbed and explored in the exact same spot convicts did back in Alcatraz's glory days...so special.
I had read a couple books on Alcatraz on our 12-hour drive to San Francisco, so it was very fun and exciting to see the actual building and cells where so many stories took place. I thought it was awesome and was so glad I got a chance to see it and explore the prison in person. Not to mention, the best view of the city was from the Alcatraz ferry. It was a morning that was well worth the entrance fee. Heather and I had a great time, despite having to deal with the Sully-monster.
After our Alcatraz morning, we checked out of our hotel, said goodbye to our beloved San Francisco, and drove a couple hours north through wine country, to Clear Lake, California. There, we checked into our WorldMark condo, started some major laundry, and spent the afternoon soaking in the hot tub. As much as we loved San Francisco, it felt really good to get out of the city and get back into the country. I felt like we could breathe and relax again. Clear Lake was beautiful and serene, and just what we needed for a couple of days to unwind from all our big city adventures.
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