In previous postings, we had alluded to having a bucket list of items we wanted to accomplish. One of them was to visit Alcatraz Island. This 22 acre high security prison is 1.5 miles from San Francisco itself. Originally designated a military reservation by President Millard Fillmore in 1850, it served as a high security federal prison from 1934 until 1963. The Spanish first documented the existence of the island in 1775, calling it "La isla de los Alcatraces" meaning island of Pelicans because of the large number of these birds nesting there.

     www.alcatraz.gov

  The Alcatraz Ferry cruise,which leaves from Pier 33 on Fisherman's Wharf, to the island takes about ten minutes. Tickets for the ferry can be purchased from a number of venders along the Wharf, but they tack on a processing fee. The cheapest tickets can be purchased right at the ferry office. Upon landing on Alcatraz, the National Park Service presents a mandatory five minute orientation to the island, making sure that everyone is aware that the last ferry leaves at 6:30 pm. It is a fairly steep climb up the main road to the cell block building, although there is a shuttle available for those who need assistance up the hill. The NPS provides a free audio tour of the prison as part of the experience. You will need to plan to spend at least three hours in order to see everything that is open to the public (some areas are closed because of deterioration issues or because it is undergoing restoration). It was fascinating walking through the cell block building and listening to the commentary from former guards and inmates. Imagine being an inmate here and seeing the mainland so temptingly close yet so far away. Thirty-six inmates made escape attempts but only five are listed as being missing and presumed drowned. Three of those five, Frank Morris, and brothers John and Clarence Anglin, according to some sources, are believed to having successfully made it to Brazil. One documentary presented a photo showing what facial recognition software believes were the two Anglin brothers in Brazil.

  All-in-all, this was a good day, even though we spent it in jail. Whether it was a presidential pardon, or our own good behavior while here on "The Rock", we were able to leave on our own, without shackles, and no U.S. Marshals chasing us. We managed to escape across the trecherous currents of San Francisco Bay and returned to the solid ground of the mainland.

  We received an email asking if our taking Amtrak's California Zephyr was a good choice? It was a great choice! This was a totally unique experience for us. The Zephyr route is considered to be the most picturesque. It did not disappoint! One could hear many "oohs" and "ahhs" from fellow passengers. The most common statement we heard throughout the trip was "Wow! Isn't that beautiful!".

  Our train consisted of two engines pulling a baggage car, five coach cars, an observation/lounge car, a dining car, and two sleeper cars. Each morning, after getting dressed, we headed to the dining car for breakfast. The table is set for four people. If your party is less than four, then others would be seated at the same table with you. This is called community seating. The reason for this is it allows the dining car staff to serve more people in a short span of time; and it adds a social community experience for the passengers. Each table is set with a real table cloth, cloth napkins, and a vase of flowers. It's quite pretty in this car. Everything is completed with great efficiency. All cooking is done in the kitchen on the lower level of the dining car. The food is then sent to the upper-level serving area by means of a dumb-waiter. Breakfasts are served from 6 to 9 am, on a first come-first served basis. There is a good selection of food choices.

  After breakfast, passengers can go to the observation car, with its floor to ceiling windows to watch the passing scenery. Some of the seats are positioned so that each passenger is facing the window, while other seats are in groups of 4 to 6, or at tables, so that card or board games could be played. The Lounge car is located on the lower level of the Observation Car. This is where coach car passengers can purchase sandwiches, fruit, snacks, and/ or beverages ( sleeper car passengers can also purchase snacks and beverages here if they so desire, but this is primarily used by coach passengers). Other travelers could choose to return to their own spaces. While we ate breakfast, the sleeping car attendant returned our beds to couch seating for the day. Our preference was to return to our own compartment, feeling that the passing scenery could be observed from both sides of the sleeping car more freely, without having to look over the shoulders of passengers opposite us, as would happen in the observation car. Lunch was served from noon to 2 pm in a similar manner as was breakfast. Dinner seating was on an assigned basis by the dining car steward. Around 9 pm, the sleeping car attendant transformed our compartment into beds for the night. We had felt that sleeping on a moving train would be comparable to a rock-a-bye nap in a hammock. This gentle swing didn't exist the first night, as the tracks seemed rough and noisy. Night number two was much smoother and quieter.

  There were many stops along the route for passengers to disembark and for new ones to come aboard. Those passengers going further on could use these stops for a smoke break, to stretch their legs, or simply to get some fresh air. Carl had an interesting experience at one of these stops. He walked to the front engine for the purpose of taking a photo. No conductor yelled "All Aboard" when it was time to leave. As Carll was returning to our car at a leisurely pace, one of the assistant conductors told him he better get on board right away. "We are leaving NOW!" Needless to say, Carl hopped aboard at the first car he could. If the assistant conductor had not seen Carl, the train would have left him at the station. As it was, Carl had to walk through the length of the train, eight cars (not counting the two engines nor baggage car). They don't go back for you , should you get left behind.

Tip: bring a good book, a deck of cards, or a kindle along, as you can only talk to strangers for so long.

  All-in-all, we had a great time, met interesting people, and definitely would do it again.

  Once our cross-country Amtrak train adventure ended, we took an all day tour of Yosemite National Park. Our son, David, has been trying to persuade us to make this visit for a long time. This was our chance to do it. The 1100 square mile national park hosts nearly 4 million visitors per year. Galen Clark first discovered the Mariposa Grove of giant Sequoia trees in 1856 and was able to secure legislation to protect the area. Thirty-four years later, naturalist John Muir convinced Congress to create the National Park System with Yosemite as its first National Park.

      Yosemitenationalpark.gov

  A full day's tour was no where near enough time to see everything. Still, what we did see was spectacular! Unfortunately, the Mariposa Grove of Sequoia trees was closed for maintenance work. In a day full of surprises, one additional surprise awaited us. Part of this tour included lunch at the Ahwahnee Hotel. Expecting a set menu from which to choose, we found that it being Sunday, we could partake of the very excellent lunch buffet (and excellent it was). This could not have been a better day nor experience. However, one more surprise awaited us. On the return trip, our tour guide, Antonio, made a side stop at Treasure Island for a fantastic night-time view of the Bay Bridge. It was truly beautiful.

Since we wrote about our interest in taking a train across America, a number of readers have emailed us about this decision with several questions; "Why take the train as opposed to flying?"; "After having done so, did we still think a train trip was a good one?"; "How expensive is it?"; and at least one reader said, "Give us tips!". So here goes.

Our youngest son's family lives in San Diego. Before we head out for another extended trip around the world, we needed a month long visit with David, Jessica, and our grandchildren, Devin and Gabriella. A novel way to get there was aboard Amtrak's California Zephyr. We've flown to San Diego a number of times, as David and Jessica have lived there for many years. So this means of transportation would be unique for us.

Our son, Carl, always adventurous, suggested taking a cross-country train. Since doing so has been on the bucket list for quite awhile, we said "Why not!". We studied the Amtrak map, trying to figure out which route to take. There are four from which to choose. Our choice was to fly to Chicago, in order to pick up the California Zephyr there, for this cross-country trip. That was only decision number one. Next, we had to choose between a couch seat, a roomette, or a sleeper car. Going coach is the most cost-effective means one can take. However, there are less amenities. One would need to bring his/her own pillow and blanket with this choice. Your assigned seat does recline(like on an airplane), but that's all you get. Meals and snacks are available for purchase. Young adventurers usually make this choice. Another way to go would be a roomette. In this tiny compartment, your seats convert to beds. Pillows, blankets, as well as all meals, are included in this price option. However, toilets and showers are only available at the end of each car, one set per 25-30 riders to share. Or you can choose a sleeper-bedroom. For us, this was a no brainer. We have our own bed, toilet, and shower in a private compartment. All meals are included in this price option. There are five sleeper compartments per car and are quite comfortable. Our bed is made up daily by the sleeper attendant. The main couch folds down into a double bed , and if needed, there also is a fold down bunk bed. The food is wonderful and there are many choices for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The earlier you book, as well as the number of sleepers available, affect the price. The prices jump as sleepers are sold. It's a matter of supply and demand. Last but not least is the family sleeper. This choice is for a family of four and is really inexpensive. There are many specials offered by Amtrak. We saw some for as much as 20% off. We were talking with a family who booked their trip for October, last January. They got a wonderful deal for $800 for a family of four to go from Chicago to San Francisco, all meals included. Ours was a lot more expensive than that because we detrained in Denver for an overnight stay, which included a city tour of Denver, as well as an all-day tour of Yosemite National Park at the end. Also, we booked the last sleeper available on the train. Next time we will book earlier.

To prepare for our train ride, we read pamphlets distributed by Amtrak, visited their website, as well as read a book called "All Aboard". All of these sources were quite helpful.

  For several decades, we have made periodic trips to our nartion's capital, visiting the monuments, Smithsonian museums, Arlington National Cemetery, even the White House. During all of those visits, we never made it to the National Cathedral. This oversight became a bucket-list priority for our current visit. Our daughter, Madonna, and her husband, Josh, spent the better part of two days with us, which included completing this bucket-list item (and we really enjoyed their company). What a glorious building!

  Officially known as "The Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in the city and diocese of Washington", it is the sixth-largest cathedral in the world and the second-largest in America. While construction began in 1907, it took 83 years to complete the process. "Completion" is not really the proper term to use. Architects for the cathedral deliberately left parts of the exterior and interior decorations blank so that future generations could add their own signatures to the building. In August of 2011, the cathedral sustained 34 million dollars worth of damage from the Virginia Earthquake. Repairs are ongoing.

  There is just so much to see within the cathedral, that we decided to return for a second visit. This proved to be a great decision on our part. We met Chris Garten, director of the cathedral's gift shop and a part-time historian of the building. Chris spent an hour-and-a-half giving us a personal tour of the edifice, and showing us many of its little known secrets. We greatly appreciated his time spent with us, and thank him for this wonderful experience.

  While our first year's adventure has ended, we are not done with our travels, not by any means. We are currently in the midst of a cross-America trip, visiting our three children, our three in-law children, and our four grandchildren. Part of this voyage will include a train excursion with tours of the Rocky Mountain and Yosemite National Parks.

   As we made our plans to return to the United States, a decision was made to have a home base. But why would we need one, you might ask? In addition to the psychological sense of having an anchor location, there were several reasons why we made this decision. Health care issues played a big part. Most doctors, dentists, and/or labs will only accept new patients as long as they lived locally. Our daughter-in-law, Valerie, ran head-first into this aspect when trying to arrange our physician appointments. Having her do this for us was a huge help. An additional complication arose when the HMO Doctor and the pharmacy we were using kept miscommunicating over one prescription. It took us the better part of two weeks of calling both to straighten out this problem. Imagine trying to deal with this while on the move. This would have been a much bigger hassle if we hadn't had a home base out of which to work. Being able to have one location in which to receive important mail and bills was necessary for us. But this would only work as long as there was someone there to monitor the mail. Our solution was to appoint our son, Carl, as our power-of-attorney. In addition to monitoring the mail, a power-of-attorney can pay bills that are not covered under an auto-pay system, as well as to handle tax issues (e.g. dealing with a tax accountant and paying tax bills).

  Our travel adventure plans include having a place which we can return to at the end of each year's excursions. You might question why, then, we did not just re-invest into a new home of our own? If we had gone that route , we would have spent our whole travel time worrying about the home while away. Besides, we aren't yet ready to settle down.