Alcatraz Island
Saturday I went to Alcatraz Island (and later Angel Island) with Shannon and hundreds of other tourists on board the ferry from Pier 33 in San Francisco. It was an early morning but an unusually clear and moderately warm day in the Bay Area. I’ve always enjoyed visiting and photographing National Parks and this trip was no exception — the NPS does an exceptional job of presenting the story of the origins of the island as a Civil War military installation, military prison, federal prison, Indian occupied island, and park. 82 year old former Alcatraz guard Frank Heaney was on the dock and gave a brief talk on his experiences working on the island. For me, it was pretty cool to be able to experience and listen to a bit of living history. The self guided walking tour up to the prison was very interesting – as was the audio tour that described the various areas and history of the facility. A great introduction to San Francisco – I learned a lot!
Gallery of Photos from Alcatraz
USA: California: Alcatraz Island – Images by Jason O. Watson
Sherlock arrives on the West Coast
After two trips (one by air, one by land) across the country, Sherlock and I finally made it out to California. I took him to Poplar Beach / Bluff Top Coastal Park, near Half Moon Bay, yesterday for a couple of hours. Sherlock met his first California Sea Lion — I guess it was a little different than the white tailed deer he’s used to chasing through the woods behind Redfields in Charlottesville, but the over effect was the same — Mr. Sea Lion was pissed, made a lot of noise and went back into the ocean. The fishermen in the background thought it was good entertainment. This was Sherlock’s first trip to the ocean since a trip to OBX several years ago, and his first sight of the Pacific. More photos previous trips are in the slideshow below…
In other news, I’m settling into the new job and am very much enjoying the change of scenery. Missing Charlottesville, but it helps that I’m in an amazing place working with and surrounded by top-notch folks. It may take a little while to re-establish regular photoblog updates, but I plan on doing so as soon as possible.
Sherlock and the Beach – Images by Jason O. Watson
