Rhod and Anna's World Adventure

No not the wrestler-come-movie star but Alcatraz Island Federal Penitentiary which is a long winded way of saying prison.

We were going to make the trip to Alcatraz with Simon. Unfortunately we forgot to book any tickets so when we got to San Francisco on Thanksgiving weekend there was not a ticket to be had until Sunday and Simon flew home on Saturday. Sorry Simon. If it's any consellation it rained while we were there.

Alcatraz sits on an island 1 and 1/4 miles from San Francisco and was home to Al Capone, Robert 'The birdman" Stroud and various other people whose names I have forgotten. It's location was ideal for punishing the inmates as it was close enough to the mainland for them to see and hear what was going on so they knew what they were missing out on. The prison was used to house dangerous criminals and those who had attempted to escape from other prisons. It was deemed escape proof as it was a dangerous swim through the currents and the cold water to get to the mainland. To ensure they didn't get used to cold water Alcatraz was the only US prison at the time where the inmates got hot showers!

We went on a tour of the island with a ranger to find out about the escape attempts. The favourite jump off point was out of the window of the factory and straight in to the water. Of all the attempts only 5 people were never recaptured. Nicholas Cage and Sean Connery are not included in that count although I believe they did escape in the film. I've not seen it.

In 1963 someone wise decided that punishing prisoners was not right and that they should focus on rehabilitating them. This party pooper closed Alcatraz and since then it has been occupied by native americans and has now become a national park and a prime tourist attraction.