Alcatraz and Wine Country
Today was a perfect day to go to jail and use my ‘get out of jail free’ card and see the wine country. Normally it’d probably be the other way around go to wine country and after hitting a number of them and doing the tasting gettin thrown into jail for drinkin under the influence…ok, some states call it a DUI, others a DWI, lets just say after seeing the news story on TV, it doesn’t make much difference because after visiting a number of winery’s I can easily see being a little looped. So, because of that decided tonight wasn’t a good idea to get together with my second cousin, Kim, because after a few wines and some beers, getting on a two wheeler isn’t the thing to do.
Was told to take a lot of pictures of Alcatraz, so that’s exactly what I did. Many of the same buildings, from different angles, but the audio tour is definitely the thing to do. Was a little disappointed that it didn’t point out more of the grounds, but covered the penitentiary to a great extent. I guess that’s where all the stories were because the rest of the grounds were mostly for the Warden’s house, electrical buildings, maintenance buildings and guard buildings. Was surprised by the number of buildings that were in tough shape, but found out they started tearing down the buildings to dismantle it before the Golden Gate commission came along and claimed it as a historical marker…and that was after the Indians invaded it. Notice the sign welcoming the Indians, it wasn’t because of them being thrown in jail, but a standoff of them taking over the island after it had been claimed as not worthy of occupation – or something like that. Well, wish I could tell you more stories, such as the gas cylinders in the mess hall, ok, cafeteria, but in a jail, ‘mess hall’ probably fits, but the whole idea was incase the inmates got out of hand they could control them by gassing them…that’s why it was also called the gas chamber. Ok, you have to do the audio tour to get all the stories and hear the background sounds which is more than I can do with this blog. Notice the difference between cell block A and the rest of the place, they had us grab the bars because the originals were square and the newly renovated cells had round bars, but I couldn’t feel the difference, were they suppose to be colder, warmer…didn’t quite understand what difference they were trying to point out, but oh well. Then there was the solitary confinement cells which no way would I want to be locked in those. They were suppose to leave the lights on, but never did and the other thing with the area is it was the side facing the Golden Gage Bridge which has the ocean on that side so means the cold winds blowing in from there and they did have windows, but also holes in the walls to let the air thru the building…for those stuck in those cells, not only was it dark, but cold.
So have to do the Fisherman’s Warf for lunch and a lot to choose from, but for a quick lunch hit one of the side stands. A lot to choose from, but the fried shrimp and chips’ll do. Was already thinking, San Francisco is definitely a place I need to return with someone to share the adventure and it’ll still be hard to get everything fit into a week…ok, maybe if Dennis and Amy put me up, we could spend more than a week. Well, there’s definitely plenty to see in this area and for the 3 days that I’m here, not nearly enough time to see everything.
Ok, time to get home and meet Dennis to head to wine country and he brings a friend Paul, cuz today, 3 is better than two. There is so much to see in wine country and so many winery’s that I can see renting a limo for a day to take a few tours. Not only because of the number of places to visit, but remember, after a few wine tastings, you feel it, even if it does cost to taste the wines, so buy a bottle and that fee is waved…another thing to do, taste one you like so buy the bottle so you can sit and drink a little more. Got to taste some great wines and had a lot of fun talking to Carol and Bill at the Bartholomew Park Winery. Bill is a big Harley rider and heading out for a 16 day ride so had to talk to him about day 44 for me and everything I’ve seen and still have left to see. Yep, 44 days that I’ve been on the road and have passed up that movie, what was it 40 days and 40 nights and still going, but hey, how long can I guy go? Back from wine country and met even more people at Paul’s place. His girlfriend Meghann….ok, girlfriend might be high schoolish to some, but still a term most use, her dad Rob who lives by Zion park and told me it’s a place worth visiting…already been there and have marked it as a place to revisit. Rick who use to be roommates with Paul and Dennis and Ellie and Stan, isn’t Ellie just the cutest little girl and oh yea, more of a small world, Ellie’s mom is from Medford, the same town Dennis is from. Ok, for those that don’t know, Medford is about 15 miles north of Colby Wisconsin where I grew up and the Medford people would always come down to Colby, you know, ‘Colby wantabees’. Ok, they might argue otherwise, but I never made as many trips to Medford as they did south. That’s the great thing about this trip, just how many people I’m meeting and how great they all are, and interested in hearing about my adventures. I’ve got to tell you, I’m learning more and more about life as this trip goes and the greatest is just being alive. The other is I am truly blessed having the friends that I have. That had me thinking, sometimes we might take our friends for granted and not keep in touch the way we should, but they are always there for us, isn’t that the way all relationships should be? Ever notice just how easy it is for us to take our loved ones for granted and out of all the people in our lives, shouldn’t they be our best friend and appreciated even more for being in our lives? Some know what I’m talking about, but oh well, I guess we live and learn and eventually know who our ‘true’ friends are…ok, more therapy.
Hey, notice that Nascar is coming to town? Would be a great weekend to spend in town and see a little racing since I’ve never been to one, but that’ll have to wait and I’m sure I’ll eventually get to one. Had another great dinner with Dennis, Amy and family and I so much appreciate their hospitality and letting me stay as long as I have. It has definitely been a break that I needed to just relax and not worry about getting on the bike everyday, but tomorrow will be a new day and time to hit the road again. Have been on the west coast for quite a while already and still a lot to see between here and home. Alcatraz Pictures. and Wine Country Pictures.
Was told to take a lot of pictures of Alcatraz, so that’s exactly what I did. Many of the same buildings, from different angles, but the audio tour is definitely the thing to do. Was a little disappointed that it didn’t point out more of the grounds, but covered the penitentiary to a great extent. I guess that’s where all the stories were because the rest of the grounds were mostly for the Warden’s house, electrical buildings, maintenance buildings and guard buildings. Was surprised by the number of buildings that were in tough shape, but found out they started tearing down the buildings to dismantle it before the Golden Gate commission came along and claimed it as a historical marker…and that was after the Indians invaded it. Notice the sign welcoming the Indians, it wasn’t because of them being thrown in jail, but a standoff of them taking over the island after it had been claimed as not worthy of occupation – or something like that. Well, wish I could tell you more stories, such as the gas cylinders in the mess hall, ok, cafeteria, but in a jail, ‘mess hall’ probably fits, but the whole idea was incase the inmates got out of hand they could control them by gassing them…that’s why it was also called the gas chamber. Ok, you have to do the audio tour to get all the stories and hear the background sounds which is more than I can do with this blog. Notice the difference between cell block A and the rest of the place, they had us grab the bars because the originals were square and the newly renovated cells had round bars, but I couldn’t feel the difference, were they suppose to be colder, warmer…didn’t quite understand what difference they were trying to point out, but oh well. Then there was the solitary confinement cells which no way would I want to be locked in those. They were suppose to leave the lights on, but never did and the other thing with the area is it was the side facing the Golden Gage Bridge which has the ocean on that side so means the cold winds blowing in from there and they did have windows, but also holes in the walls to let the air thru the building…for those stuck in those cells, not only was it dark, but cold.
So have to do the Fisherman’s Warf for lunch and a lot to choose from, but for a quick lunch hit one of the side stands. A lot to choose from, but the fried shrimp and chips’ll do. Was already thinking, San Francisco is definitely a place I need to return with someone to share the adventure and it’ll still be hard to get everything fit into a week…ok, maybe if Dennis and Amy put me up, we could spend more than a week. Well, there’s definitely plenty to see in this area and for the 3 days that I’m here, not nearly enough time to see everything.
Ok, time to get home and meet Dennis to head to wine country and he brings a friend Paul, cuz today, 3 is better than two. There is so much to see in wine country and so many winery’s that I can see renting a limo for a day to take a few tours. Not only because of the number of places to visit, but remember, after a few wine tastings, you feel it, even if it does cost to taste the wines, so buy a bottle and that fee is waved…another thing to do, taste one you like so buy the bottle so you can sit and drink a little more. Got to taste some great wines and had a lot of fun talking to Carol and Bill at the Bartholomew Park Winery. Bill is a big Harley rider and heading out for a 16 day ride so had to talk to him about day 44 for me and everything I’ve seen and still have left to see. Yep, 44 days that I’ve been on the road and have passed up that movie, what was it 40 days and 40 nights and still going, but hey, how long can I guy go? Back from wine country and met even more people at Paul’s place. His girlfriend Meghann….ok, girlfriend might be high schoolish to some, but still a term most use, her dad Rob who lives by Zion park and told me it’s a place worth visiting…already been there and have marked it as a place to revisit. Rick who use to be roommates with Paul and Dennis and Ellie and Stan, isn’t Ellie just the cutest little girl and oh yea, more of a small world, Ellie’s mom is from Medford, the same town Dennis is from. Ok, for those that don’t know, Medford is about 15 miles north of Colby Wisconsin where I grew up and the Medford people would always come down to Colby, you know, ‘Colby wantabees’. Ok, they might argue otherwise, but I never made as many trips to Medford as they did south. That’s the great thing about this trip, just how many people I’m meeting and how great they all are, and interested in hearing about my adventures. I’ve got to tell you, I’m learning more and more about life as this trip goes and the greatest is just being alive. The other is I am truly blessed having the friends that I have. That had me thinking, sometimes we might take our friends for granted and not keep in touch the way we should, but they are always there for us, isn’t that the way all relationships should be? Ever notice just how easy it is for us to take our loved ones for granted and out of all the people in our lives, shouldn’t they be our best friend and appreciated even more for being in our lives? Some know what I’m talking about, but oh well, I guess we live and learn and eventually know who our ‘true’ friends are…ok, more therapy.
Hey, notice that Nascar is coming to town? Would be a great weekend to spend in town and see a little racing since I’ve never been to one, but that’ll have to wait and I’m sure I’ll eventually get to one. Had another great dinner with Dennis, Amy and family and I so much appreciate their hospitality and letting me stay as long as I have. It has definitely been a break that I needed to just relax and not worry about getting on the bike everyday, but tomorrow will be a new day and time to hit the road again. Have been on the west coast for quite a while already and still a lot to see between here and home. Alcatraz Pictures. and Wine Country Pictures.
posted by Dalej Webb at 10:15 AM
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