In the footsteps of Al Capone - February 2018
View of Alcatraz
Photo © Lyndsay Radnedge
Cell with escape hole
On a break in San Francisco, Jo and I joined our pals Paul and Lindsay on a trip to Alcatraz. I had often see it from the bay, but never been there before.
It has an eerie feeling. You can almost hear the ghosts of the inmates echoing through the rusting corridors lined with tiny windowless cells. From the infamous Al Capone to half forgotten conscientious objectors, this was home - in many cases for several years. For those who did not behave, there was "the hole", a dark cell where you could be kept for up to nineteen days without any light. Cell 151 exists, and strangely cell 150 contains a guitar.
We saw the cell where a hole had been dug for the guys who once escaped via a makeshift raft. No-one knows if they made it to the shore. They were never knowingly seen again...
It was a sobering experience in many ways. We heard the huge clank as a guide demonstrated the closing of all cell doors together. Of course, several of the inmates were not deserving characters, but you can't help imagining how soul destroying it was, and in many cases still is in prisons around the world.
We felt a sense of relief as we came back into the sunlight and boarded the boat heading back to the mainland...
Cell 150
Photo © Lyndsay Radnedge
Behind bars...
Corridor of Alcatraz
The Hole
Steve and Jo
Photo © Lyndsay Radnedge
Relaxing afterwards with Jo, Paul and Lindsay
