L.A.-San Francisco Megabus tour worth pinched pennies
Megabus departs from Los Angeles
Alcatraz Island, San Francisco
We clanged up the hill, holding on tight. Stunning views of bridges and bay, Victorian houses and stairway gardens appeared and disappeared rapidly. San Francisco's 43 hills and quirky 19th century architecture are captivating, and there's no better way to see them than from a clamoring cable car. All too soon, we had reached the end of the line at Taylor and Bay streets, and we exited, sorry to have the ride end.
We were near Fisherman's Wharf and headed for Pier 33 -- a six-block walk -- where the Alcatraz Island ferry is. We had purchased tickets in advance for the 9:30 a.m. tour ($24.50) and met Mary at the pier. None of us had visited the historic site before, and we were looking forward to exploring the onetime federal penitentiary. The prison, which operated here from 1934 to 1963, housed such inmates as Al "Scarface" Capone and Robert Stroud, better known as the "Birdman of Alcatraz."
The boat ride was a disappointing 12 minutes -- the view of the San Francisco skyline is so spectacular that I would have liked to have spent more time on the water to fully enjoy it -- but once we arrived, we found new distractions. Former prisoner Darwin Coon, a bank robber, was holding court outside the entrance.
"It was a living hell," said Coon, who now signs copies of his book, "Alcatraz: The True End of the Line," for tourists. "The only way I made it was to live one day at a time."
We climbed the hill to the prison and poked around inside its grim walls, trying out cells and isolation rooms, visiting the cafeteria, listening to taped comments by inmates. Then we emerged on the outside of the prison, where a dramatic view of the city awaited.
The rough, chilly waters surrounding "The Rock" made it easy to see why Alcatraz was considered relatively escape-proof. In the 29 years that the island served as a federal prison, 36 inmates tried to flee. Three who may have made it dug through concrete and left dummy heads in their cells during a 1962 breakout; their plot was the focus of the 1979 Clint Eastwood film "Escape From Alcatraz."
The former prison, part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, has self-guided tours, and visitors can stay as long as they want. But we had a schedule to keep, so we took the ferry back to the mainland at 11:30 a.m., bound for lunch at Fisherman's Wharf. This area, once home to a large fishing fleet, is now more of a tourist trap than a working wharf. Ripley's Believe It or Not! is among the many museums there. But no visit to San Francisco is complete without a walk around Fish Alley.
FISH ALLEY FARE
The center of this universe is the intersection of Jefferson and Taylor streets, where we saw a few of the local fishing boats that remain active. Then we strolled down a passageway packed with stalls where Dungeness crab simmered in steaming pots and vendors hawked crab and shrimp cocktails and clam chowder. The food looked inviting (and was inexpensive), but more than anything else, we needed some time to sit down, so we walked upstairs to Alioto's No. 8 for lunch.
The restaurant, similar to Sears, is a local institution. Founded in 1925, it has been run by three generations of the Alioto family. We had chowder ($10) and watched sea gulls soaring over fishing boats with names such as Johnny L, High Hope and the Sandra Dee.
Our itinerary was calling, so we walked a few blocks south and, at the corner of Beach and Mason streets, caught a Muni F-line streetcar ($1.50), which deposited us in front of the Ferry Building. It was our last stop. This venerable city landmark, built in 1898 and renovated in 2003, is a picturesque public market with food shops, cafes and outdoor markets. I picked up a chicken sandwich ($5) at Mistral Rotisserie Provençale for the trip home.
We boarded the bus at 3 p.m. at the Caltrain 4th Street Station for our return trip, and arrived in Los Angeles around 11 p.m.
If I were to make this trip again, would I do anything different? I might extend my tour another eight hours by taking the 11:30 p.m. Megabus south; it's one of three scheduled trips a day.
Then I'd add a visit to Coit Tower, a walk across the Golden Gate Bridge and enjoy an inexpensive dinner in Chinatown.
All I'd need would be half-a-dozen cans of Red Bull to do it all.
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