The Rock

Probably the most infamous federal prison of the US is Alcatraz but its origin had a different intent. During the Spanish rule of California, Juan Manuel de Ayala charted San Francisco Bay in 1775. He named today’s Yerba Buena Island as “La Isla de los Alcatraces”, which translates as “The Island of the Gannets” more commonly translated as “Island of Pelicans”.

The earliest recorded private owner of the island of Alcatraz is Julian Workman, to whom it was given by Mexican governor Pio Pico in June 1846, with the understanding that Workman would build a lighthouse on it.

The island was sold to the US government in 1849 and the first lighthouse on the coast of California was built there in 1854. Other buildings were erected on the island, and the first permanent army detachment was garrisoned there in 1859. In 1861 the island was designated a residence for military offenders. In 1907 the island was designated the Pacific Branch of the United States Military Prison. From 1934 to 1963 it served as a federal prison for some of the most dangerous civilian prisoners.

There is a poster when you first start your tour of the cellhouse that really sheds the current feel for the purpose of the island.

Aside from the cellhouse on top of the island, two structures stood out to me, for different reasons. One is from the movie “The Rock” where Sean Connery is walking across the shell of the Officers’ Club. I don’t have a picture of Sean Connery, but I do have a picture of the Officers’ Club where I believe the shot was taken.

The other structure that caught my eye was the water tower. Not an imposing structure by any means but its historical noteworthiness were fascinating. In November 1969 Indian activists, including members of the American Indian Movement, occupied the island again, demanding the deed to the island and refusing to leave until they were forced off by federal marshals in June 1971.

I found it interesting that family members of the original occupiers of the 19 month protest were allowed to repaint the tower in 2012 and other areas around the island, so that the history of the island had yet another chapter.

Well, there will be one more post for Alcatraz where I give my take on the cellhouse itself. I know that many others has been there and posted about what all they saw but each person sees this history from a different side. I see it with conflicting issues of history, amazement of how the notorious prisoners lived, all mixed with a heavy dose of sadness of wasted lives.

Let us never waste opportunities to be kind, showing consideration of others and reflect the power of grace offered to us from above.

FOTD, Memories

Cee reminds of the the beauty of flowers as we share Flower of the Day pictures. With the trickery of spring, 60 degrees on Monday, snowing on Thursday, I am reaching back in my memories to help me smile. These teasing’s of spring make you that much more ready to dig in the dirt to enjoy its bounty of color. So, I give you a smattering of remembered color from last summer.

In all things, remember how flowers make us smile and usually with the smiles come kindness. I think flowers have an excellent ability in making us glow.

Always Be Kind!

The Island of Alcatraz Lighthouse

When people first hear the word Alcatraz they immediately think of it as a famous prison, which it is, but it has a long history before that became a reality. Alcatraz got its name from the Spanish in 1775 when naval officer and explorer Juan de Ayala surveyed the harbor and the San Francisco Bay. Since he observed pelicans in large numbers on the island he named the island as “Isla de los Alcatraces” meaning the “Island of Pelicans”. While I did not see many pelicans, seagulls were everywhere.

In the mid 19th century, the island was developed with a light house, a military fort, and a military prison. Below is a picture of the original lighthouse from Wikipedia. This lighthouse was first completed in July of 1853.

In 1909 a new and higher lighthouse was built to replace the original light house due to damage from the 1906 earthquake and the building of the current cellhouse which overshadowed the height of the current lighthouse. The new lighthouse is 84 feet tall with a tapered octagonal shape and its light reaches out 22 nautical miles. The lighthouse, which is the oldest operating lighthouse on the west coast of the United States, was automated in 1963 when the Federal Penitentiary closed.

With the island being vacated in 1963, Native Americans(American Indians) occupied the island for more than 19 months, 1969-1971. Their hopes was to reclaim their land per rules of the treaty. This island is where their ancestors gather the seagull eggs. Initially the occupation was a group primarily from San Francisco, but they were later joined by AIM and other urban Indians from other parts of the country. In 1972, Alcatraz was transferred to the Department of Interior to become part of Golden Gate National Recreation Area. It was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1986.

Over the next few post, I will share the pictures and the history that I learned from my tour of the island. While the history was interesting, I had a hard time forgetting the sadness and troubling times from its history. This place was visual proof of man and his self destructive ways. I am hoping for a day where kindness and gentle nature is the norm, probably not in my day but maybe one day. Remember always the power and beauty of kindness and try to share it as much as you can.

Moon Phases

Tonight is 100% full moon. While we won’t see our first super moon until July, the moon seems to be really bright this month. Probably because winter can be so cloudy, we forget the beauty of our night light. No leaves on the trees adds to the mysteriousness of the light.

This shot was taken later in the evening on March 5, waxing gibbous 96%. It had been a cloudy day so it was fun seeing the moon shine through the wispy clouds and trees. This shot really shows the upper portion of the tree that got broken in a storm a couple years ago. Its still hanging there waiting to break free.

This shot was taken early in the evening of March 6 as the moon was just cresting over the hill from the house across the street, phase waxing gibbous 99%.

And of course, today, the full moon day…it’s cloudy. Go figure. Well, at least we had a couple of evenings where the moon showed through.

In August we will have a Blue Moon – meaning two full moons in one month, August 1st and August 31st. I have always been fascinated about the views of the moon and how it lights up the sky on a clear night but I did not realize until recently(probably knew as a kid but forgot) that the full moon occurs when the moon sits exactly on the opposite side of the earth from the sun. And the gravity of this occurrence creates higher than normal tides. Living in Florida, I knew that was true. It also makes animals do weird things, or maybe its just my dog?!? And more babies are born on full moons – yes, that it true. Just ask any nurse on the maternity ward.

Everything has its purpose and it is fun seeing how it affect us on any given day. In closing, remember the affects of Kindness and use it often.

FOTD, March 7, Camellia

Cee’s Flower of the Day challenge helps brighten our day because regardless of the time of year, flowers somewhere in the world are blooming and being shared for us to see. I left the snow covered grounds of Iowa to the beginnings of spring in California. But, I was still amazed to see a camellia in full bloom.

While we were on Alcatraz island the moss and ferns were rich green from all the rain and the hopes of warm weather.

Remember to look around at the beauty you can find regardless of where you are. Nature has many beautiful faces, offering smiles and kindness; yes even plants can smile.

Always Be Kind

Water, Water, Everywhere, March 6

Jez reminds us of the beauty and fun of the WWE challenge, and water usually has boats. There is something magical in watching a sailboat and when you have colorful sails, it draws you in even more.

I think the birds even enjoy watching them. Around San Francisco, birds were a staple around the boats and the marinas.

We were fortunate as those menacing clouds held they water until later in the evening after we got back in side. Remember water is like life. It can be a gentle flow or a menacing storm. When we see others going through a storm, let us be kind to show them a smoother stream. Kindness has a way of making hard times survivable.

Always find ways to be kind.

All photos at top of post are my own. ©Anita’s Hope
No usage allowed in any form without my written consent.

Photos at end of post concerning being kind are downloads from Google

FOTD, March 6, Unknown

Cee’s fun challenge of Flower of the Day can always prove beautiful and interesting. While in San Francisco, I saw spring flowers already blooming and I took a picture of this one because I had no idea what it was but it was intriguing.

I recognize the holly behind it but don’t really know what this is, but isn’t it cool. The long bamboo like stems look similar to a larger plant I have in my house but mine doesn’t bloom. Then further down the pier, there was an awesome topiary of succulents in the shape of a seal. It was not quite ready for it’s spring bloom but it was still awesome.

The tulips and daffodils in the lower section of the flower bed were just getting started. In another week they will be really full and beautiful.

Reflect on the beauty that surrounds you as spring starts to show it’s warm face and remember to share that warmth with kindness.

SOCS, March 4, Wild Animals

Linda Hill challenges us on SOCS this week with Wild Animals. Well, technically these are wild but…they were too comical with how they had tied in with humans. The animals I am referring to…the California Sealions at San Francisco. They had commandeered the marina at Pier 39. My daughter and I spent 5 days in San Francisco and the seals were visited daily. Very entertaining.

They reminded me of my daughter’s basset hound where they would bellow and make lots of noise but would not bother sit up.

The wetter seal just came on the dock disturbing those already sleeping causing much bellowing but nobody really get up.

Occasionally you would have a faceoff of two males proving who was the “baddest”. There would be noise, huffing and puffing, and the occasional snapping about…

But then after sufficient noise, they would all lay back down and go to sleep, usually with a head laid across the other. Maybe man should take notice of how seals settle their arguments, ending in peaceful slumber.

The most comical wild animal at the pier was actually a seagull. I was kind of amazed of how much trash was around the area and in the water, especially when they speak of the damage the humans are making by throwing debris into the oceans. But back to the seagull…someone had thrown a small rubber ball in the water and the gull was having a blast. There were about 15 humans being fully entertained by this bird. He would take the ball, throw it in the air, watch it bounce, and then chase it to throw it again.

Sometimes he would throw it in the water and then go after it, bringing it back onto the dock.

It was all very entertaining watching the “wild animals” at Pier 39. But it gave me pause to see how easily animals and humans interacted with each other creating joy or sorrow at the same time. We all need to be more mindful of God’s creation.

I close with a reminder on the value of kindness and that it doesn’t always have to be towards humans. All of creation needs to be dealt with kindly in every way that makes sense. And in my mind, Kindness always makes sense.

Animals understand kindness as well. Always be kind

Photos at end of post concerning being kind are downloads from Google

Good, Better, Best

This is a grading system we are all familiar with and we use it quite often for varying reasons. Since I recently went on vacation, and had to fly, I am grading our pilots, as we had 4 separate flights with 4 separate experiences. I am also slipping in a few pictures of the amazing views.

I think we can all agree that all pilots are good simply because they get us front point A to point B safely…relatively speaking. But some just have a little more finesse with the controls.

For instance, leaving home from a smallish midwest airport, the pilot seemed to think he was driving a sports car, throwing down the throttle for quick lift sending the passengers to the insides of their seats. Lift was easily obtained, passengers were safe but good giggly wiggly. We were told that weather ahead could be bumpy as the storm fronts were moving across the western US.

From the picture above we could see why it was a bumpy flight to Dallas but seriously, did the landing need to be that hard or sudden by slamming on the brakes. However, we did get to Dallas safely so we had a good pilot.

We board the connecting flight to San Francisco and smiled to ourselves as this was a much bigger plane, therefore possibly a smoother ride…hahaha. Again we have a race care driver throwing our g-force to the back of the seats. My daughter was with me and she said, “maybe this is how they train them now.” Maybe I though since it had been over 8 years since I had flown. The flight in the air was smoother, either from higher altitude or bigger plane – what ever, it was a better ride and the clouds below were beautiful. Coming into San Francisco at night, we waited to see how he would land. The initial touchdown was smooth like butter. I looked at my daughter and said “That’s a nice landing but before I got it out of my mouth, he slammed on the breaks like you could stop a plane of that size on a dime. And immediately we started fish tailing down the runway. He regained control quickly but it made for a questionable landing. Again we get the grade of a good pilot.

San Francisco and Bay at Night

On our return flight on Tuesday back to Dallas, we had the same size plane as from Dallas so we were hoping for smooth flight. The weather was better so hopefully not as bumpy. The pilot addressed the passengers in a manner I was used to, so my hopes were up as he was more friendly and informative. His takeoff – smooth as butter. Ah, a season pilot. And the flight was less bumpy but the weather had a lot to do with that. But out landing, almost smoother that our takeoff. I told the stewardess to please thank the pilot for a wonderful experience. He got a grade of best pilot.

We had a 3 hour layover in Dallas before coming back to the midwest. I knew again we would be in a smaller plane so maybe this last leg may not be as smooth. The plane seemed a little smaller that the one we left from the midwest in and it was an older plane. I was a touch concerned. The takeoff was a little bumpy but the flight was smooth. I had put up my camera thinking I had enough pictures from the plane but I missed an amazing sunset with bright reds and oranges streaked with a few purple clouds. The landing was smooth and the overall experience was good so we give this pilot a grade of better.

So our vacation travel was good and added to the wonderful vacation experience. I have many picture to share that I will post in the coming weeks. Have a wonderful weekend and remember to always be kind.

FOTD, March 3

With my recent trip to San Francesco, I was amazed of the flowers blooming there. I understand its California but a recent storm in the area brought snow to the upper regions and temps while we were there were in the 40s. No flower blooming weather…still…

This Calla lily was located in the garden area of Alcatraz. But Calla lilies were everywhere in San Francisco.

As we look at the beauty of flowers, let us always remember the beauty of kindness and share that as well.