Our other major excursion was to Alcatraz. As oppose to Sonoma, Alcatraz did have quite an impression on me the first time I was there and I remembered a lot from that one visit. But I still wanted to go out there again. The weather was rainy and grey, and quite appropriate for visiting a high-security prison even if it is just a museum. For some reason, prisons always give me the creeps even though I know that I can leave at any time. Even more modern, quite comfortable facilities seems like torture to me. When I was younger and visited prisons like Alcatraz, I would be shaken for several days after. It is like the thought of not having the freedom to really live and enjoy everything that life has to offer gets to me. (And considering all the escape attempts that took place, despite the fact that most prisoners only sat there for a few years, it seems to have gotten to the inmates too.) This time, it was a little better however, mainly because this time I had a proper look at the photo of the last prisoners walking out of there, before Alcatraz was closed. But I can still hear the prisoners’ stories from the audio tour and I don’t think it will be the first place I return to if next time I go to San Francisco.