San Francisco

 View from the top of the Crooked Street 

All too quickly our week on Kauai drew to an end, and we were flying back to San Francisco, where we visited the California Academy of Sciences, one of the largest museums of natural history in the world. There was so much to see, do and learn about here, from the planetarium which is the largest digital one in the world, the rain-forest exhibit, a 90 feet (27m) tall glass dome complete with butterflies, to the huge aquarium with its coral reefs, tide pools, swamp habitat and colony of penguins. On the way back from here we also visited the Golden Gate Bridge and took snapshots of one of San Fran's most famous landmarks, with a view over to Alcatraz which was to be our destination the following day.

 The Golden Gate bridge

Golden Gate in the sunshine

View of San Fran from Alcatraz

Arriving at Alcatraz Island

Fishermans Wharf with San Fran city in the background 

Steep hill

With tickets selling out at least two weeks in advance, we were glad to have booked our trip to Alcatraz many weeks earlier, and along with our packed lunch we made the 15 minute boat ride out to the island, which is now a state park. Alcatraz Island has a rich history, from its various military usages to the Native American occupation, but what most people know it for is the prison, of which we enjoyed a great self guided audio tour. Returning to the mainland we strolled around the various attractions on the famous Pier 39, though there were not many sea lions around, and we took a quick trip round the bay in the Rocket Boat which was quite an experience. Finally we walked up the famous crooked street and got some great snapshots of this unique city.