Aylmer Express "MoHo" Extravaganza 2006

Our plans seemed to be unfolding just as we had hoped. We woke to brilliant sunshine and a quick look outside showed that there was no fog in sight. This is what we were hoping for to take our boat trip to and tour of Alcatraz, the most notorious incarceration facility in the United States. We wanted good weather for a couple of reasons. First, you need to take a ferry across San Francisco bay to get to Alcatraz so we didn’t want to be denied the breathtaking views of the city, the Bay bridge, the Golden Gate bridge and, of course, Alcatraz from the water. Secondly, if it is foggy, it will definitely be colder and being on the water can make it a chilly experience at the best of times, so sun is really what you want to have. We also purposely booked our tour at a time where we could miss the morning rush hour across the Golden Gate into San Fran yet give us enough time to complete the tour and still have some time left over to swing by the Exploratorium again since the kids (ok, and me too) loved it so much. We managed to get into town with very little traffic. We found parking right where we wanted it. And made it to the boats right on time. The ride over was great providing plenty of photo opportunities. It is only just over a mile (1.6 km) to “the rock” so the trip was fairly quick. When we got to the island, we started off with an introductory film that gave a brief history of Alcatraz Island. Then we got the headphones and enjoyed the self-guided audio tour. It was really well done and it made the tour a little more pleasant since you could pause along the way to take things at your own pace. Alcatraz was a very interesting concept for a penal institution. It was a place where they allowed the prisoners to be able to be close enough to see, and even hear at times, just what they were missing not far away in the bustling city of San Fran but at the same time keeping them securely locked away behind the aegis of the strong currents and cool temperatures of the bay. Once we finished the tour we were just in time to catch the “Escapes” guided tour. There they discussed the highlights of the different escape attempts that have been made and some of the details surrounding what happened. Then it was time for us to make our own escape from Alcatraz. We caught the next boat back to the mainland, jumped in the car and headed to the Exploratorium to embark on a second session there. It did not disappoint. Once again we got the “last call” warning, and were kicked out of there for the second time in a week, yet we still had not managed to make it through the entire place. It has got to be the best science museum we have ever been to by far. At this point, our original plan was to swing by Golden Gate park and take our bikes for a tour all around, but, it was such a picture perfect day with no fog that we decided to take a walk all the way across the Golden Gate bridge and take in the views it has to offer. I think we made the right choice as Morgan told me that he will likely remember this walk forever. Not only is it really impressive to see that six-lane, two-tower wonder up close, but the views from there are simply sublime when not obscured by fog. We walked all the way across and back again watching sailboats, tour boats and wind surfers passing through the bay and under the bridge, along with a few helicopters doing fly-bys, while the sun dropped over the pacific. An absolutely memorable way to end the day.

Today’s word:

aegis \EE-jis\, noun:
1. Protection; support.
2. Sponsorship; patronage.
3. Guidance, direction, or control.
4. A shield or protective armor; -- applied in mythology to the shield of Zeus.