Ed has wanted to go to Alcatraz since he heard about it as a little boy....my family is just 45 minutes away from The Rock...you would think i had taken him there sometime in the last 16 years....nope, unfortunately it hasn't happened....It has been a long standing joke anytime we see reference to it on TV or in a movie or a conversation...going something like this;
Ed, "Wow, wish i knew somebody from up there so I could have a reason to go to Alcatraz....." "Too bad i didn't marry a girl who had family near Alcatraz so when we visited i could go there..." "Wish we had an excuse to go up to Northern California so i could go to Alcatraz...." "I've seen pictures of the place, looks really cool..." "How many times have you been there?" "Wow, my kids have even been there..."
So, yes, the teasing has been horrendous.....and every San Francisco's sports team always shows shots of it when their home games are aired....there has been no escaping the snide remarks....I honestly did not know Ed had wanted to go to Alcatraz our first couple of years of marriage....when something is in your backyard and you have gone multiple times you just don't realize someone might want to go there, so that part wasn't my fault. Once Ed let me know he wanted to visit Alcatraz I did try to make that happen. Unfortunately, when visiting, the days available for going didn't correspond with plans already made on visiting with everyone...so the joke turned to he just wanted to go there before he died. We tried to go in 2007 when we were visiting from Okinawa, but the only slots they had available were a couple days after he was flying back out to our own rock in the Pacific. The kids and i were staying longer, so we went, again...without him....Soooo, i knew this trip i really needed to get that guy to Alcatraz! He's fought in 2 wars in 2 different countries and so i really wanted to get this in before his next deployment! I called home and told them about the plans i had for Ed's Christmas present. Grandma and Grandpa thought it would be really fun and wanted to go with us! Perfect! I reserved all our tickets for our 2nd day there and mum was the word. Ed brought up Alcatraz a few times as our fly date got closer. I told him i was pretty sure it was closed this time of year and that it would be really cold, windy, probably rainy, and just plain miserable to go this time of year. It was soooo hard to watch his face get that expression of a little kid who just watched his dog die...but i wanted to surprise him! We flew to Cali on Wednesday and Thursday morning we got up and i told Ed we were going into the City for the day and were going to have fun on Fisherman's Wharf and just enjoy all the Christmas festivities in the City. He asked about Alcatraz. I said it was closed. Again, the 'my dog just died' look...i almost caved and told him, but didn't. As we were driving across the Bay Bridge he was looking out the window and asking if that was Alcatraz out there in the water. We went on and on about how clear it was outside and that it is sooo cool he is able to see it from the bridge, and again about it being closed during the holidays and how cold it would be out there. He just looked out the window....the kids knew where we were going and i was sooo proud of them for not spilling the beans!!! We parked and began walking over to the water and the boats. We found where we were supposed to board and Ed was just looking at the boat that said Alcatraz Tours and said, "I think they are open..." I said, "They are! Merry Christmas Baby! Our boat leaves in an hour!!!" He was sooo happy and the kids were all full of giggles! Sooo, Ed finally got to go to Alcatraz! I think it was everything he thought it would be.....I am just sooo glad i was finally able to do something on HIS bucket list since he is ALWAYS taking care of my bucket list....scuba certified, elephant riding in the jungles of Thailand, hiking The Great Wall of China, shark cage diving, visiting Guam where my Mom lived as a military brat, family vacation to Hawaii, The Grand Hotel, my famous ferris wheel addiction, family tandem bike riding...the list goes on, maybe i will blog about my bucket list someday....but anyways, 16 years worth of him making my simple and not so simple dreams come true....sooo glad i could take care of one of his, especially since his job is waaaaay more dangerous than mine!!! We had a great day on Alcatraz! The audio tour is amazing as it it takes you through the prison and the grounds. You have your own head set and so you can pause it if you want to stay longer on any given part of the tour. Or, you can take one in a different language and test your skills! Haha! I am sure the tours with the Park Rangers are still just as good as they have always been, but it was nice with the audio tour on how you got all the sound effects to go along with all the stories and the different voices in the narration..it was a perfect day to visit Alcatraz and relive all the history on The Rock!
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| It was the most perfectly beautiful day to go to Alcatraz! Coming in on the boat. |
Ed, "Wow, wish i knew somebody from up there so I could have a reason to go to Alcatraz....." "Too bad i didn't marry a girl who had family near Alcatraz so when we visited i could go there..." "Wish we had an excuse to go up to Northern California so i could go to Alcatraz...." "I've seen pictures of the place, looks really cool..." "How many times have you been there?" "Wow, my kids have even been there..."
So, yes, the teasing has been horrendous.....and every San Francisco's sports team always shows shots of it when their home games are aired....there has been no escaping the snide remarks....I honestly did not know Ed had wanted to go to Alcatraz our first couple of years of marriage....when something is in your backyard and you have gone multiple times you just don't realize someone might want to go there, so that part wasn't my fault. Once Ed let me know he wanted to visit Alcatraz I did try to make that happen. Unfortunately, when visiting, the days available for going didn't correspond with plans already made on visiting with everyone...so the joke turned to he just wanted to go there before he died. We tried to go in 2007 when we were visiting from Okinawa, but the only slots they had available were a couple days after he was flying back out to our own rock in the Pacific. The kids and i were staying longer, so we went, again...without him....Soooo, i knew this trip i really needed to get that guy to Alcatraz! He's fought in 2 wars in 2 different countries and so i really wanted to get this in before his next deployment! I called home and told them about the plans i had for Ed's Christmas present. Grandma and Grandpa thought it would be really fun and wanted to go with us! Perfect! I reserved all our tickets for our 2nd day there and mum was the word. Ed brought up Alcatraz a few times as our fly date got closer. I told him i was pretty sure it was closed this time of year and that it would be really cold, windy, probably rainy, and just plain miserable to go this time of year. It was soooo hard to watch his face get that expression of a little kid who just watched his dog die...but i wanted to surprise him! We flew to Cali on Wednesday and Thursday morning we got up and i told Ed we were going into the City for the day and were going to have fun on Fisherman's Wharf and just enjoy all the Christmas festivities in the City. He asked about Alcatraz. I said it was closed. Again, the 'my dog just died' look...i almost caved and told him, but didn't. As we were driving across the Bay Bridge he was looking out the window and asking if that was Alcatraz out there in the water. We went on and on about how clear it was outside and that it is sooo cool he is able to see it from the bridge, and again about it being closed during the holidays and how cold it would be out there. He just looked out the window....the kids knew where we were going and i was sooo proud of them for not spilling the beans!!! We parked and began walking over to the water and the boats. We found where we were supposed to board and Ed was just looking at the boat that said Alcatraz Tours and said, "I think they are open..." I said, "They are! Merry Christmas Baby! Our boat leaves in an hour!!!" He was sooo happy and the kids were all full of giggles! Sooo, Ed finally got to go to Alcatraz! I think it was everything he thought it would be.....I am just sooo glad i was finally able to do something on HIS bucket list since he is ALWAYS taking care of my bucket list....scuba certified, elephant riding in the jungles of Thailand, hiking The Great Wall of China, shark cage diving, visiting Guam where my Mom lived as a military brat, family vacation to Hawaii, The Grand Hotel, my famous ferris wheel addiction, family tandem bike riding...the list goes on, maybe i will blog about my bucket list someday....but anyways, 16 years worth of him making my simple and not so simple dreams come true....sooo glad i could take care of one of his, especially since his job is waaaaay more dangerous than mine!!! We had a great day on Alcatraz! The audio tour is amazing as it it takes you through the prison and the grounds. You have your own head set and so you can pause it if you want to stay longer on any given part of the tour. Or, you can take one in a different language and test your skills! Haha! I am sure the tours with the Park Rangers are still just as good as they have always been, but it was nice with the audio tour on how you got all the sound effects to go along with all the stories and the different voices in the narration..it was a perfect day to visit Alcatraz and relive all the history on The Rock!
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| He didn't know until we walked up to our boat! |
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| Home sweet home for the Michigan boy! |
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| Playing a mock baseball game in the rec yard |
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| The tourist picture... |
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| Is this your first time behind bars? Um, dont answer that! |
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| Ty reading about an escape attempt that happened at that very spot |
