We all had a bit of a sleep in today as we didn’t need to leave till 9.30. It was a short 20 minute walk to Pier 33 where we were to board a ferry to Alcatraz. There was a queue to get the tickets and then a queue to board the ferry and then another queue to disembark. By the end of these holidays I’m going to be sick and tired of queues.

We did a ranger tour when we first arrived on the island which was a good way to get some insight into the history of the island. It also included details on how highly secure prisoners, like Al Capone and Machine Gun Kelly, were transported to the island. They put the literal train carriage on the boat to make sure there was no possibility of escape.

We also did an audio tour which talked about conditions on the island, including talks by the inmates and prison guards. And no tour is complete without learning about all the escape attempts that had been made over the years.

After Alcatraz we went for a walk along the piers and came across a submarine display. Right next to it there was a small museum that included arcade games front there last 100 years. It was incredible to play some of these old racing and pinball games which were all mechanical in their movements. After lunch we stopped by Ghirardelli for some of their famous sundaes. We only got 3 to share amongst all of us and it was more than enough.

Our hotel includes a gaming lounge with board games, coffee machine and snacks. We spent a couple of hours here and it was a good way to relax after all the walking from this morning. For dinner we went down to a Chinese restaurant called Pallette which has plates shaped like palettes as well. It was a Michelin recommended restaurant and definitely didn’t disappoint.