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 Bearing to get up early, we all ate breakfast and got ready for the biggest excitement day ever we all been waiting for. When we got ready, we walked half mile to BART and took off to San Francisco. Riding for 45 minutes, we arrived at Powell St, which is San Francisco’s famous street for the cable cars and shopping center. We wanted to take the cable car to Pier 33, but the lines were dreadful. The line was so long it would’ve taken over an hour to get on the cable car. So, it was a change of plan, we decided to walk to the Pier 33 going through the hills of San Francisco. We all knew it will be an exercise for us but it would be pleasant to walk through the city.
 As we were walking, we climbed three steep hills and mostly down hills. As we got to the top, we saw Golden Gate Bridge, Oakland Bay Bridge, and Alcatraz. It was beauteous. Then we walked down the hills, loosened up and talked. As we got to the flat part in San Francisco, we all walked so fast because we’re so excited. Anne had to run and catch us up then she told us to slow down. Almost arriving at the Pier 33, there was this LOUD blow horn that everyone could hear it except Megan. Wow, it was so loud I had to take my cochlear off and I still could hear it. The reason for the blowing horn is to let you know if you hear the horn that means an emergency. It could be an earthquake, tsunami, anything. It was the loudest horn I’ve heard.
 We got to Pier 33 and we had about 40 minutes left for the ferry to Alcatraz. We had our lunch on the pier, and once we finished, our time was up. Anne gave us our tickets and we all got in line. At the beginning of the line, we got our group picture taken with the background of the Alcatraz. It was 1pm that time; our boat comes at 1:20pm. We had to wait 20 minutes for our boat to come, so we just looked at the brochure about the Alcatraz and Nancy explained some history about the Alcatraz too. When Nancy finished talking, it was 1:20pm, we got into the boat. The boat was so big, it was three levels. We sat in the top level outside so we can see the Alcatraz. The boat ride was about 20 minutes long, as the boat was moving; we saw the city of San Francisco and Golden Gate Bridge. It was magnificent.
 After seeing the bridge and the island, we finally arrived at Alcatraz. The island was huge and it was high because of the hills. We all got off and walked to the main entrance where they had a speaker telling the history, how to tour through, any questions, and all that. Then we walked to the movie about the history to start the tour, it was very interesting how Alcatraz was started. We all walked around the Alcatraz, we saw apartments where officers used to live, and we saw the ballroom where officers would dance with their wives when they visited. We saw the lighthouse and the tower, everything was so interesting and how the building is still standing. Then, we went into the biggest part of Alcatraz, the cell house.
When we entered, Anne and Charise got the audio tour. We started with the basement and worked our way up. In the basement were the showers and the clothing section. We walked to the first level and the cell house was huge. Anne started talking about the history of Alcatraz. Everything she signed was so interesting we couldn’t keep our eyes off. We saw how the prisoners lived in the cell; they just had a bed with a sink and toilet. Also they had a chair and table but it was so small. The cell house was a square so on one side will be the men with good attitude and the other side was the isolation room. When the men would refuse to do something the guard told them to do and if they refused, they ended up in the isolation room. The isolation room was the toughest part because it is a small room with the gate and another door that close the room. It is pitch black inside when you close the door. I can’t imagine how it would be like inside all day and do nothing. But Anne told us that if you end up in the isolation room, you can play a game with yourself. The game was to flip a button from their uniform and try to find it in the dark. The men who were in the isolation room can only leave the room one day a week to shower and walk around. Must been a tough life for them to end up that way.
After touring through the cells, we went through the library and the dining hall. Strange, when Alcatraz served food, they would serve so much food so the men won’t have to fight for the food. Also, the men will take a hot shower because if they try to escape, the water will be cold for them so they can’t escape. I was very surprised how that happened. After the library and all that, we walked into the officer’s office. When we were inside the office, the door slammed behind us. Anne got scared and it was strange because there was no wind in the house. We all felt creeped out. Alcatraz is one of America’s most haunted places. Anyways, Anne explained all the history about the officers. The tour was so fascinating, I would love visit the place at night and see the old spirits if I could. The tour was about two hours, after we finished, we got on the boat back to Pier 33.
  When we got off, we all were tired from seeing the signing but we are young, we still can push through. We walked to the famous Pier 39, which was Fisherman’s Wharf. It had everything. We went to a formal restaurant called Fog Harbor. We were seated with the view of the Alcatraz and Golden Gate Bridge, it was phenomenal. The restaurant itself was delicious. I had clams for appetizer and my main course was chicken with mashed potatoes. The chicken melted away in my mouth. I loved the restaurant, it was delicious. Also, that was when I ate my first sour dough bread. It was good, I liked it. It would taste good with pasta. After the restaurant, we walked to Ghirardelli Square. Anne and Nancy were so excited because they said it the best chocolate ever in the world. I don’t know if I can agree with them because I am allergic to chocolate. But I can have white chocolate and I did eat two covered white chocolate strawberries. Oh my lord, it was luscious! I will never forget that moment. The other was eating melted chocolate ice cream.
Finally, after eating all the ice cream and strawberries, we walked to back to the center of San Francisco because we wanted to see the Lombard Street. It is the street with the Z hill. It was awesome; we walked to the bottom of the hill. Once we got to the bottom, we took so many pictures and the flowers were so beautiful and strong fragrance. In the Lombard section, there were condos, they were so beautifully decorated. I would love to live there but I can’t imagine the price of living there. After, we walked to the bottom of the hill to the cable car section. We had to wait in line for 20 minutes; it wasn’t as bad as in the morning. This was the most exciting part I was waiting for overall in the trip. We all got into the car and I had the pole section where you can stand on the outside and see the city. When the cable car went through the city, it was an unbelievable feeling. I was so happy to be on a cable car and see all of San Francisco, it was a great experience. I hope to do more when I visit again. This day was the best trip of all I’ve done in the trip. We took the BART train back to CSD and when we arrived, we just went to bed.
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Darren
