![\"dsg_2841\"](\"http:\/\/pisarro.org\/aboutnick\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/DSG_2841.jpg\")
<\/a>Our innkeeper told us we could walk to Pier 33, but he pointed out\u00a0that\u00a0would encounter many \u00a0unavoidable, extreme hills. We asked him to get us a cab. While we were waiting, he packed up a bag of muffins and almond croissants for us! He marveled that this was to be one of the best days of the year weather-wise, with lots of warmth and sunshine.<\/p>\nWhen we arrived at the pier, there was\u00a0already a long\u00a0line for ticket holders, but not for 9:40 A.M. departures. I found an employee who could answer my questions. She explained that we would be going to \u00a0Angel Island first. Our\u00a0line was shorter and \u00a0in a less obvious location. When Nicholas arrived, the sun was strong. He and Nick discovered that they had not brought along sunglasses, but there was, of course, a souvenir shop that solved\u00a0their problem.<\/p>\n
After lunch, we boarded a ferry to Alcatraz, \u00a0the original word \u00a0 having been \u00a0from\u00a0\u00a0archaic Spanish\u00a0meaning\u00a0“pelican.” On the ferry, you can face \u00a0the beautiful San Francisco skyline, or you can turn around\u00a0to face an uninviting structure atop a high, cold rock.\u00a0Alcatraz was a federal prison from 1933 to 1963, housing fewer than 300 prisoners, most of whom had been convicted of bank robbery or murder, and had caused\u00a0trouble at \u00a0other prisons. The tour gave us a view of the gruesome\u00a0daily\u00a0lives of the prisoners. Two of its residents were infamous. One was Al Capone, a \u00a0gangster who was convicted of income tax evasion. The other was Robert Stroud, called “The Birdman of Alcatraz,” a misnomer because he had birds when he was imprisoned at Leavenworth, but not at Alcatraz.\u00a0Noteworthy to me were photos of the children of the guards and staff who lived on the island\u00a0playing \u00a0in the shadow of “The Rock.”<\/p>\n<\/a>We boarded our ferry for a glorious ride in San Francisco\u00a0Bay. Once on Angel\u00a0Island, trams take visitors on a\u00a0guided tour. <\/a>We learned that Angel Island was “The Ellis Island of the East” in many ways, having been\u00a0the arrival point for about one million Asian immigrants. Those arriving at Ellis Island were completely processed in about five hours, but many of those who arrived at Angel Island were not \u00a0so fortunate. When a ship arrived at Angel\u00a0Island, all of its passengers were \u00a0checked for a \u00a0variety \u00a0illnesses that included diphtheria, leprosy, and plague. If anyone on the ship was visibly ill, all of the passengers and crew were detained for at least several weeks. Also, because of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, people of Chinese ancestry who had no employed citizens of the USA to\u00a0vouch for them were held on Angel Island \u00a0for up to two years. The shell of one of the buildings in use at the time remains.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n