Alcatraz Prison is one of those tourist locations that leaves you cold or excited. To some people it is an incredibly interesting place to visit. To others the thought of view the rusting cells of long dead inmates is as interesting as watching paint dry.

If you have decided you do want to visit the island and prison complex you MUST BOOK TWO WEEKS IN ADVANCE. In the summer tourists, not in the know, turn up at the ticket office to be told the next available place is in three weeks time. Make sure you buy your tickets for Alcatraz Prison on line and print them off on the self service machines on the pier using the same credit card. There are some expensive tour groups that have same-day tickets but best not to take chances.

On you way out to Alcatraz you will have plenty of time to view the San Francisco skyline. Remember to take lots of film or data disks for your camera. The ferry trip presents many different views of both the Golden Gate Bridge and the Oakland Bay Bridge. Take a jacket. The wind off the Pacific can be cold. Food is sold on the boat, but not on the island.

Alcatraz is a fascinating, whether you arrive on a foggy or sunny day, you'll be transported back in time. This was the home of notorious criminals like Al Capone, Robert 'Birdman' Stroud and Machine Gun Kelly. It is run by the National Park service. The ticket includes your entrance and an audio headphone tour narrated by ex-convicts. The recorded tour is enhanced by background sounds that make you feel you are walking through the rooms, corridors and into the cells while it was actually a prison.

Many of the buildings are in disrepair. You can only go into the main cell house for safety reasons. The cells seem endless and are stacked 3 high. National Park wardens also offer extra tours and give insight into many of the areas that are not covered by the audio tour. I would recommend at least 3 - 4 hours to fully explore Alcatraz. It's quite easy to spend an entire day there if you like historical guided walks.

As a National Park, the island is now home to hundreds of protected seagulls who like nothing better than to use the tourists as target practice. Wear a hat. The island, has no native predators, and is a natural breading ground for birds. When I visited, mother seagulls nesting with their young were abundant on the island. Alcatraz is an evolving ecological preserve and there are many native as well as foreign plants that were brought with imported soil. Inmate gardeners planted vegetable and flower gardens and in time the untended plants have taken over slopes and cement walls. As well, parts of Alcatraz are closed during bird breeding season, to help maintain bird population.

There is a video presentation with exhibits in the Civil War-era munitions building. It originally served as a lighthouse, then a military fortification. It served as a Civil War era garrison and defended the bay with over 100 cannons. When the fortress became obsolete, the military continued to use the site as a military prison. In 1934 it became a maximum-security federal penitentiary. The prison closed in 1963 due to the high operational costs. Alcatraz became surplus property and was seized by American Indians. They lived on the island for 19 months in the 1970s. Since 1963, it has been a National Historic Landmark

What I found strange was the door recreation yard. Why did they have a door? The prisoners were not allowed out. Make sure you go through the door as it leads out to the other side of the island which offers a view of the demolished guards' houses. You can also walk around to this part of the island if you turn right after exiting the tour.

The island's location in a bay surrounded by frigid water and strong sea currents on top of every known manmade security measure installed in Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary made it nearly impossible to escape from. Alcatraz became the most secure prison in the world, and James A. Johnston, the warden, while practicing a humanistic approach to reforming criminals, was in fact a very strict disciplinarian. His rules of conduct were among the most rigid in the correctional system, and harsh punishments were given to inmates who broke even the minutest regulation.

Thirty-four prisoners were involved in 14 escape attempts during Alcatraz's 29 years of history. Only five prisoners were unaccounted for at the end. Three of them were involved in the famous feat that was later portrayed in the movie, Escape from Alcatraz. The three prisoners disappeared from their cells on June 11, 1962. Official report stated that the prisoners drowned while trying to reach the mainland, but several simulated tests that were conducted years later all proved that escape was indeed possible. The actual fate of the escapees remains unknown and a $1,000,000 reward remains unclaimed even to this day.

If you are in San Francisco mid October on the same Saturday as the Fleet Week Air Show book your trip to Alcatraz on the 2:00 pm ferry. You'll have the BEST spot in the house for the Fleet Week air show and have Blue Angels, stealth bombers and fighter jets flying directly overhead.

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