Going Home

This is a closeup view of one of the legs of the water tower. Not obviously in the best of condition, and things like the vine growing in it do not help.

Jeffrey on the parade ground. The fog was coming across in bursts, one of which is visible here, obscuring the top of the lighthouse. The structure to its right is the wardens residence, although it no longer has any interior structure. And the "wall" behind the base of the lighthouse is the administration end of the mail cell block. The cliff face is crumbling, and is getting to the stage of needing some remedial action to prevent any damage to the warden's residence.

A close up of the warden's residence. It appears to have steel beams inside, which I presume are there to maintain the walls. But note how close the cliff edge is located to the walls.

The parade ground area has an excellent view of the city of San Francisco, seen here through slight fog.

The San Francisco - Oakland bridge. Oakland is across the bay on the left side.

The section of the bridge on the Oakland side was damaged during the 1989 earthquake, and a new section is being built, which is visible here, coming in from the left hand side.

We made our way down to the dock to catch the next ferry back. While waiting, there was passing traffic to watch. Some people out enjoy an afternoon sail.

This boat is all business, though.

And not just marine traffic - this advertising airship passed over. Not sure that the view from above Alcatraz would be all that interesting.

By this time we had rejoined the boat to return to the "mainland". This is a closer view of the San Francisco end of the San Francisco - Oakland bridge. Two levels of traffic, one headed east, the other west.

The Golden Gate bridge, though mostly covered in fog. The right hand tower is just visible against the headland on the right.

I don't know if this is the same sailing boat as above, but this time with the fog shrouded Golden Gate bridge behind.

The Sea Princess is still docked, but the city skyline is not impaired by fog. That Trans America building is easily identified.

The Trans America building (they're an insurance company) in context within the city. This photo was taken through the car window, hence the reflection.

From here it was just the regular "how to get out of downtown" then drone along the freeway. But it was a very interesting day!