White Christmas at Fort Marcinko (Sort Of)

This was the first white Christmas ive ever seen in Texas, such as it was. Barely any of it stuck, and it was all gone by the afternoon -- but it was a sight. . .

Light dusting on the front bushes, about a quarter of an inch deep drift. . .

. . .barely stuck to the front yard grass. With the sun, it all melted fast. . .

. . . pretty much all that stayed, was what was directly in the shadows. . .

. . .and in the corners of the roof. . .

. . .heres some light snow that stuck in the shadows between mine and the neighbor's house. . .

. . .and in the back corner on the woodpile. . .

. . .the snow behind the back fence in the field. . .

. . .the tracks from ther mower stick out in with the snow.

SFO2005 -- Alcatraz

I was able to get over the Alcatraz and explore before my flight left. Somewhat expensive, but worth the money. NPS gives all visitors recorded self guided tour headsets to tell the story as they roam. Many of the voices are those of prisoners and guards from back in the day. My only regrets on this stop is that i didnt have more time -- and only had the one camera battery.

View of Alcatraz Island from the Fisherman's Wharf ferry landing. . .

. . .Approaching the island, with another ferry coming back. . .

. . .closer view of the island. . .

. . .the sign underneith the lighthouse is the obligatory 'Here's where you're at:' sign. . .

. . .hazy/foggy view of the Golden Gate Bridge from the Alcatraz Ferry. . .

. . .there was some sort of Sailing Regatta going on that day. . .

. . .a building used for industrial purposes back in the day. . .

. . .the Alcatraz Water tower rising above the island. The building on the left is the Powerhouse. . .

. . .closer view of the power house. . .

. . .closeup of a common Alcatraz prison cell. . .

. . .a NPS display depicting life as an Alcatraz Correctional Officer. . .

. . .the view of the prison block. . .

. . .Al Capone's Alcatraz cell -- cell block B, #181. . .

. . .view of Cell Block A. . .

. . .San Francisco skyline from Alcatraz. . .

. . .Fisherman's Wharf from the return ferry.

SFO2005 -- Exploratorium at Night

The Exploratorium is a public science museum, located in the Marina District. Aparently its one of the areas most popular attractions, though i only had time to see it glow at night as i took these photos.

The Gold Dome of the Exploratorium all lit up. . .

. . .with the Palace of Fine Arts to the right -- both reflecting in the water. . .

. . .and to the left. this side was surrounded by a chain link fence, though i couldnt really tell why in the dark . . .

. . .the Palace of Fine Arts behind the trees.