Alcatraz
Richard and I spent our first anniversary in the San Francisco Bay area many moons ago. Alcatraz had long been on my bucket list, so of course we took the ferry and went for an afternoon visit. Alcatraz Island received its name in 1175 from Juan Manuel de Ayala a Spanish explorer, the name translates to “ Island of the Pelicans, it has since then earned the name of “ The Rock” due to its rocky terrain. In 1853, the U.S. Army began constructing a military fortress on the island and later it became a military prison. In 1861 Civil War prisoners were brought to the island and in 1898 prisoners from the Spanish-American war were added bringing the prison population from 26 to 450. After the earthquake of 1906 hundreds, more civilian prisoners were brought to the island. During its time as a military prison the island functioned as a minimum-security facility with the inmates working at various jobs to include working for the families who lived on th...