So my Mom came to visit me as a surprise for my Birthday. What a great surprise it was especially since Justin was in Manila so it was nice to have family to hang out with. So what did we do the evening of my Birthday – spent it in Jail – at Alcatraz.

We took the night tour of Alcatraz which was great as you got to see Alcatraz in the light of day and night. It was pretty cool to see. When I was younger, I remember watching a story about an Alcatraz escape on Unsolved Mysteries. Did you ever see that episode?  A clever bunch carving holes in their cells to escape and making dummies to fool the guards as they worked. Here is a good summary  ” The dummies were made from soap, concrete powder, and stolen paint. One of the guys worked in the barbershop and swiped some hair to paste on the dummies’ heads for an extra touch of realism. For eight months, Morris and the Anglin brothers left their cells at night to drill out the ventilation shaft and collect the items they needed for their escape.”

If you are ever free, taking the night tour also has some perks – extra discussions, special sessions and off the beaten path tours that are not available during the day sessions. We were lucky enough to get included in a tour of the Dungeon and the Chapel – two areas normally not open for the general public to explore on their own. For both locations, we were locked into the chambers so no one else could follow us in. With hardhats and a single flashlight held by the tour guide, we headed into these secluded locations.

The cells were much smaller than you would think

View of Recreation Yard through a small peep window in a door

Darkness falls – view from Alcatraz

Psych Ward – super eerie section of the jail

Down at the end of this hall are the isolation chambers

Down in the Dungeon

Stairs coming up from the Dungeon