Escaping to Alcatraz

Nearly two years ago to the day, my friend Dave and I took the popular ride across the bay to Alcatraz Island to join swarms of other tourists for an afternoon exploring one of the world's most famous prisons.  Having shared several photo sets from this excursion before, it hit me how I hadn't really talked about our experience from visiting this iconic landmark.  Frankly, it seemed like a fun post to write.

We drove up from Indio the day before, taking a welcome detour through Big Sur along the Pacific Coast Highway.  We only had one full day for site seeing in San Francisco before we had to continue our long drive home, so the main attractions topped our list. We bought our tickets for Alcatraz online before leaving on our road trip knowing that time would be in short supply.  If there's one piece of advice to take to heart on visiting, buying your tickets before hand is it.

Dave's orange VW bug bounced and weaved easily around the hills of downtown San Francisco, which was a good thing because we weren't sure where to go exactly.  Our hotel was out by the airport, so it wasn't until that morning that we actually got our first glimpse of the city.  Haphazardly we found Lombard Street and from there we could see Alcatraz Island out in the bay.  It wasn't so difficult to see where landmarks were, it was just a challenge to understand ways of actually navigating to them.  Long story short, we found Pier 33, boarded our ferry, and headed out to the Rock.
    

The first thing that crossed our minds when we got to Alcatraz was how big the island actually was.  There's plenty to explore, and while the prison is obviously the highlight, it's a surprisingly small part of the location.  After getting off of the ferry you start walking a long path up the hill to where the prison house is.  There are numerous smaller buildings along the way, some of them now ruins, which only seem to add to the mystery and eeriness of the island.


As you reach the prison it's a bit surprising to see what rough shape some of it is in. The facade is crumbling in some parts, there a substantial cracks, and you start to think about the fine line between preserving the ruin and preserving the original building.  We did soon realize that while restoration has been ongoing, the prison was already in rough shape when it closed in the sixties.

Once inside you shuffle into what was the communal shower room to pick up an audio deck and headphones to take your self guided tour of the landmark.  I really loved the audio tour as it added so much ambiance to the location.  Between stories about famous inmates, escape attempts, and the function of the prison, they played sounds of the cell doors slamming, the guards talking, inmates playing their instruments, etc.  It brought the abandoned structure to life.  Despite all of the people around, it actually made the experience feel more personal and unique than I imagined it would.

One of the funny things about Dave and I each doing the tour was that because we could pause it when we wanted to take more time to look at something, our tracks ended up at different parts.  We would look at each other to say how interesting something was only to discover that we were listening to different parts.  This only created more confusion when Dave wanted to catch up, but lost his place on the track.

We checked out the few rows of infamous cell blocks, explored solitary confinement, and made our way out to the recreation yard.  Not surprisingly, the view of San Francisco from Alcatraz is impressive.  You can see the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance, and the skyline is all right there in front of you.  They said that was one of the worst parts of being an inmate there, the life and energy of the city was constantly teasing you.

One of the cells shows the scene of the famous 1962 escape with a dummy head in the bunk and the concrete around the air vent chipped away.  Three inmates managed to make it from their cells, into the utility corridor, and out to the bay.  While it's believed they all drowned, their bodies were never found leading some to believe they made it ashore.  Whether they survived or not, their escape was masterful in its execution.

We made our way back outside and were greeted by more stunning views of the city and the towering lighthouse.  Alcatraz Island is actually the oldest light station on the west coast of the United States.

Probably because we knew we had to wait for the ferry anyway, we seemed to spend quite a while just enjoying the view and talking about our trip. We ended up in the gift shop before heading back to the city, where I managed to build a nice collection of souvenirs.  Dave and I both seemed to come away from the island with more questions than we came in with, but I suppose that was a good sign.

There is something truly captivating about the dark history of Alcatraz, knowing that people were locked up there, and then touring it as entertainment. I'd love to go again someday, but until then it's not an experience I'll soon forget.

Death and All His Friends

A year isn't a long time, it's simply enough time for everything to change.  I've written at length about losing my friend Dave, about the ongoing process of creating a short film about one of my favorite memories with him, and about the lessons I've learned in moving forward.  The truth is that it's still difficult sometimes, not just because Dave is gone, but because death changes those who are left to deal with it.  It sent a ripple through our small group that pushed us in different directions, revealed some unfortunate truths, but ultimately made us all a bit stronger.

Dave passed away a year ago today.  The first year is really an awakening to all of the things missed.  You can't help but make comparisons and think about where you were, the things you had talked about, or the random moments that suddenly seem profound when tracing a year of firsts without that person present.  My disconnect from living outside of Regina has only made the experience feel more foreign at times.  I don't immediately think about Dave not being there, I see something or hear something that reminds me of how long it's been and I can easily kid myself into thinking that it's just because I'm overdue for a road trip back to Saskatchewan.

Everything didn't suddenly become worse, it just became different.  I sometimes wonder if things wouldn't have continued to change as rapidly if Dave were still around anyway. The fading influences of university life, friends moving, discovering new values, and finding it harder to connect are parts of growing older.  Dave's death just became an obvious bookend and catalyst for us to all look at things in a new light.  I think it would've been weirder if we didn't all become a bit skewed because of it.

I've gained perspective over the last year.  I've enjoyed getting to know Wendy and Darwin better.  Darwin especially has reinvented some of my memories, simply because it's easy to see pieces of Dave's persona in him as he grows.  I've naturally found a lot to be thankful and appreciative for in coming to terms with losing such a close friend. And still, I think what I'm longing for most is a sense of purpose from it all.

I'd love my friends to all be optimistic and forward thinking, and to have that be something new we could all rally around.  I want our past to still hold meaning as we continue building our lives, especially with the great distances between us.  And most, I'd love to know that Dave's death wasn't the beginning of the end for our group, but a reason for us to reinvent it.  I'd like to think that's what's happening, but I say it knowing how much effort needs to be made to sustain it.


Looking at this picture of our film school crew from 2009, myself on the left and Dave on the far right, it hit me how few group meet ups like this we actually pulled off.  It really is unfortunate that we live so far apart these days, as it's easy to miss stuff like this as soon as you realize what it would take to make it happen again.



Things took a new course a year ago.  I'm okay with that now.  It's made me see the value of my life in ways that I hadn't been forced to consider before.  I just want those of you who I knew when I was younger, those who I knew as a student, those who I grew up with, those who I'm still close to - I want you all to know how much I appreciate your friendship.  I want you to know that whether we're as close as we used to be or not, I'd still be there for you if you ever needed me.  The reality is that it's an undervalued bond, and losing that connection is akin to losing a piece of what made me who I am today.  I can see that now.  

I stand by all of the promises I've made to you in your passing Dave, and hope that you'd agree that I've had your interests at heart when it mattered most.  My focus is on the next chapter now.  I know there's still lots for me to discover and part of that comes from saying goodbye. I'm ready for the new adventures ahead.   

"So come over, just be patient, and don't worry"
-Death and All His Friends, Coldplay

Inside Hoover Dam

The first time I visited the Hoover Dam was on a trip to Las Vegas in 2008 with my friend Andrea.  We had Vegas Vacation on the brain and took the tour inside the dam.  There's not actually a whole lot to see.  You mostly take an elevator down, walk through a few tunnels, and check out the main room with all of the generators.  It's an impressive enough operation to see once anyway.

When I went back with Dave in 2010 we didn't bother taking the tour, but had fun walking across the dam.  The biggest difference between the visits was actually the progression of the Hoover Dam bypass for the interstate.  Construction wrapped up only a few weeks after our last visit, and I imagine the view is pretty nice from up there.  A visit to Hoover Dam is worth your time, though you're best to avoid it on a long weekend as we waited a few hours on the road because the traffic was so bad.