Alcatraz Island

Alcatraz Island is in San Francisco Bay and is accessible by boat if you are smart enough to purchase your ticket before you get to Pier 33.  5,000 people board the boats each day to travel to the island.  Once there, a park ranger greets you and explains the rules and gives you a history lesson.  Then you are on your own.  You can go into the theater and watch the video on the island which was first occupied by the military in the 1860s or you can walk up to the cell block.  Once in the cellblock, you are outfitted with a iPodlike recorder that gives you a living history tour through the facilities.  Since everyone starts the tour at a different time, the pacing is good and there does not seem to be any excessive crowding.  The view from outside the Administrative Office is stunning and the message relayed by the audio tour is enough to deter anyone from doing a criminal act. The island is also a bird refuge and the site of beautiful gardens and exotic plants.  Go and spent the day.  It is worth the trip.