18/05/10

(reporting on the 19^th)

Another night under a proper roof on a sofa that is longer than I am, and another shower to start the day. Can’t get too used to these luxuries, when we hit the road again we’ll be back to sleeping in the van, where space and showers are a luxury. Anyway, after breakfast we headed down to the docks to meet charlotte’s sister and her boyfriend Alex with whom we were going to Alcatraz with. I was expecting the visit to Alcatraz to consist of a boat ride and a prison to wander round, but there was actually quite a bit to do on the island. When we arrived there was a brief welcome talk before we headed inside to watch a 20 minute documentary on the history of the island and life for the many inhabitants who were not prisoners. Following the film there was a ranger led tour of the gatehouse from when the island was a fort rather than a prison.

The actual prison part was all done via an audio tour. We were each given an audio player with headphones and told to start it playing when we got to a certain point, then that would guide you around the prison. The audio was read by old inmates and guards from the prison and included some sound effects to enhance the atmosphere. It was a surprisingly immersive experience and you soon forgot the fact that you and everyone else was wandering around in complete silence. The weather had also cleared up nicely so the views of the Bay Area and the Golden Gate Bridge were amazing.

Once we had escaped from the prison and had lunch, we said goodbye to Charlotte’s sister and her boyfriend and headed back to Jessica’s house. Once we had swapped photos we went our separate ways; Bryony and Charlotte off into town to go shopping and G0N and myself were going to Berkeley. So we at the Operation Blue Buffalo blog say goodbye also to our guest blogger, so anyone who is still actually reading this stuff are now back to just G0N’s and my entries for the time being.

As I mentioned in my entry a few days back; after Stanford, the University of California Berkeley had a really tough act to follow. Upon driving up the road towards the university I could see some green with a few roofs poking through, which didn’t really seem that impressive. Once we entered the campus and saw the first of the departmental buildings that all changed. Berkeley is every bit as impressive as Stanford is. They say that Berkeley is the jewel in the crown of the University of California system and I see why. The campus feels far more British than Stanford with green spaces, wooded areas and buildings that remind me of the London colleges.

After touring the campus it was time to hit the road again and leave Berkeley and the whole Bay Area. To be honest I was quite sad to see the lights of San Francisco disappear on our way out as I really enjoyed my time there. However, we have to get going again, there is still much to see and many more miles to drive.

Cube out