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Alcatraz Island visitors get new audio tour
Plan on doing time at Alcatraz? The former island penitentiary off San Francisco has undergone a $3-million redo that includes a new audio tour, in which former inmates and guards tell their stories — with sound effects. (Listen for "grenades" from a bloody 1946 escape attempt that are actually July 4 fireworks recorded last year in San Francisco.)
You'll also find original uniforms, furnished jail cells and new gift items such as a Regulation 29 sticker, ideal for a family bathroom wall: "You are expected to bathe in a reasonable length of time."
Adult tours from $21.75. (415) 981-7625, www.alcatrazcruises.com.
 The French built this place before the Americans took it over. There are a couple of big lakes next door. |
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