Alcatraz

We were very glad we'd toted our jackets across San Francisco when the
official Alcatraz Tour ferry sailled away from the pier. The chilling wind and the waves form a
formidable barrier as they did for the prisoners from 1861 to 1963 when the prison closed,
shortly after a successful prison break.



The tour guide gave us its history as we climbed up the long driveway
to the top of the hill until we entered the main blockhouse where the
prisoners were processed and housed.





























All the cells looked alike, cramped and barely accomodating a person's biological needs.






























George had an interesting insight when he compared Alcatraz with how the monks live on Mt. Athos in Greece. The monks even call their spare quarters, cells.









The fact that one place is imposed and the other is voluntary makes all the difference, but the attitude of living a life of repentance, forced or not, is the same. Maybe some found their salvation there. The audio tour pointed out that the prisoners, sometimes not very educated ones, read a lot about philosophy I guess to try to figure themselves out. Monks also read and think a lot about the human, and their own, condition.

I wish the Eastern cure were more known about rather than such a focus on punishing the sins of a few. These desperate people can only be helped by someone who has conquered their own demons. This is more rare than is commonly thought.

San Francisco - Day 16, Thursday, Aug 9

The two days we spent in San Francisco after dis-embarking the ship were the twilight, the denouement, of our trip. In one sense I was tired of all the "catch a ride here by this time" logistics of the previous 2 2/7 weeks, but being away amidst beautifully dramatic landscapes was so nice at the same time. I had just enough energy for one last hurrah.

Back on the ship. After waiting for a couple of hours in a beautiful stairwell, our color was called and we went down to the 4th deck to exit down the gangway. Then it was into the warehouse dock to find our luggage. We hadn't had to tote the 18 pieces for 10 days, but maybe we could muster ourselves a few more times. We'd reserved a less expensive hotel in Jack London Square in Oakland, across the bay from San Francisco which was right by a ferry stop. Luckily the ferry also stopped at pier 41, just a couple of blocks from Princess pier 35. We'd figured it would be too difficult to try to cram all those suitcases on a crowded bus. On the way we stopped at the touristy Pier 39 with their famous sea lions to pass the hour until the Oakland/Alameda Ferry.


































After we got to our hotel, we were ready to just chill for a while, so the kids went swimming while other people took naps. Then we walked to Sui Sui Japanese restaurant and had the best sushi ever! They also had delicious stir fry and ramen dishes for the less adventurous kids. On the way to and from we walked by the


































Oakland Police Department building which was really cool. I can't find a picture but here's their seal. The building looks a lot like it. Jordan loved it and noticed a hiring sign offering $70,000 base. It's neat to see him so motivated.

Sunday afternoon in California

After Liturgy we drove the short distance to the Golden Gate Bridge which was enshrouded by a cloud.
































































Our GPS told us that the nearest Wienerschniztel, hey, sometimes you get cravings, was in Oakland so we drove across Sausilito's pretty hills
































































to another bridge back to Oakland, which also had a mall where we bought jackets for the kids that didn't have them yet. San Francisco is chilly and windy in the morning and evening year round, but nice in the afternoon.

Then we drove back
across the bay
to tour the Napa valley wine vineyards



























































which, though beautiful, were a bit too commercial for our taste. We headed back west on 116, a moderately twisty turney up and down, forrested, sometimes with Redwoods, road, to get back on to hwy 1 before it got dark.



























































I'll just say that going north on hwy 1, south of San Francisco, with the ocean across the oncoming lane was different than our second experience. Coming up on the ocean in Jenner was innocent enough. Even though we were on the ocean side of the road, there was a shoulder and a bit of land before it dropped off onto the numerous public beaches. So we strolled along enjoying the views with those gentle golden hills on our left and planned to drive until sunset when we would park and let the kids play on the beach so as to maximize our view while we afforded a short pause in driving back to our southern San Francisco hotel. The vineyard map we had was not written to scale so we misjudged hwy 1's progress along the coast, and the gps only shows you about 3 miles of map at a time. Anyway it was a relaxing drive, with about 30 minutes until sunset, but then hwy 1 started going inland after Bodega Bay - isn't that where Hitchcock's The Birds is set? *insert sense of foreboding* After about 15 minutes, with the sun already playing hide and seek behind those lovely golden hills, I started to get nervous and asked George where the next public beach was. He said Dillon beach, but we couldn't tell how far it was, and we didn't know if would be faster to backtrack, which we seriously didn't want to do, or if Dillon would show up in time before the sunset. So I was really getting nervous thinking we were going to miss it. Then I saw a sign for Dillon beach, so we turned off hwy 1 to go straighter west toward the coast on a farm road. Those golden twisty turney up and down hills are so pretty! There were some interesting rock formations too in a valley area. I had renewed hope we'd make it back to the coast in time, but then there was a dumb, slow car in front of us that I


tailgated all the way to the coast which we barely got to, seconds before the sun dematerialized from view.












































































































 

,

The rest of Day 4 and Day 5 - San Francisco, Sunday. After all the day starts the previous sunset

We didn't have time to go to Yosemite as we had hoped. Instead we decided to take our time in Sequoia as it would have been too stressful to rush through both parks in one day. So we headed down the beloved mountains into California's fertile valley Saturday afternoon and with the aid of gps guidance found a chinese buffet in hot, dry Fresno. Just before sunset, we stopped at a fruit stand on our westerly route on hwy 152 and ate deliciously fresh cherries, grapes and nectarines for dessert. This road became dramatically gorgeous around Gilroy where the golden hills rose again to divide the valley from the ocean. Then the coastal redwoods guarded the best twisty turney, up and down road I've ever driven on. The difference was that the curves were banked so that you didn't feel like you were going to fall over the edges. It was like a nice smooth roller coaster. I strongly recommend this route to California coastal hwy 1. But it would be funner in a low profile sports car. Sadly it was almost dark when we got to the coast, but I could see and hear enough of the moonlit white-tipped waves crashing into the rocky coast, and smell and feel the salty, moist wind on that hilly highway to feel exaltation. The Texas coast is marshy or sandy, but flat. This was quite different.

We made our way to our hotel in southern San Francisco which we
approached along it's southern peninsula. Sunday morning we drove into the beautiful
but crowded city. It was a little nerve-racking navigating on the
one-way, steep, crowded streets and finding a place to park to attend
Liturgy.

Holy Virgin Cathedral was finished by St. John the Wonder-worker, who died a few days before I was born. We missed the English service, but the Church Slavonic was beautiful, and the choir heavenly (click here to another tab to get more of the Russian choral atmosphere). Understanding "Ghospodi pomilui"- "Lord have mercy" and "Slava"- "Glory" helped a lot. Also the Russian attendants were wonderful examples of humble, loving, devoted veneration of the Saints through their icons. Americans are much more timid and self-conscious about it. Some of the parishoners remember St. John in person and their love for him was very evident as they venerated his relics on the right side of the church and in the generous manner of the couple who gave us a tour of his original resting place below the Church. They had both been students in the Russian school surrounding the Church while he was serving there. Not that he still isn't.

 

Whirlwind Tour

We have seen a lot these last 3 days. After checking into our hotel in Las Vegas, we ordered to go at McDonalds and headed to Hoover Dam around sunset. A cool front accompanied our arrival, which George thinks is just for him. Please pray for his health. He's having to take it pretty easy.

Next morning we headed up to Zion National Park and were amazed by the beautiful drive, before, during, and after we got there. We took Father Stephen's recommended 1.1 mile tunnel, and it was oh so cool. You can see one of the windows as you make the switchback up the mountain to get to the entrance. Like, I hope that's not the end of the tunnel! 
















Since we're two hours behind Texas time, we were able to get up early enough to also make it to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. I was surprised that it's about 1000 ft. higher than the South Rim, and more forested with Ponderosa Pines and Aspens at the top. Altitudes change quite quickly out in these parts.

Today we went through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, which was more treacherous than I remembered. I don't think our van would have made it. Luckily we're in a rental van. Tonight we're sleeping in Visalia which is 45 minutes away from the entrance to Sequoia National Park where the giant Redwood Trees are. I just wish George were able to do more.

Well I'm going to turn in now as we have an early start. Good night.