If you are a friend of mine on Facebook you know that I love TBT – Throwback Thursdays. It is a great way to dig up your old school photos and share them with your facebook community. I know that a lot of my connections on FB are friends from ‘back in the day’ and it is funny to see them sharing their photos as well.

Since I am a writer, I thought about sharing my photos with a story attached. I always have a story, and if you know me well, you know that to be true.

So, my first wayback Wednesday is about…well…travelling. Fits into my life I suppose, for the last 24 years being a travel agent.

I enjoy relaxing island vacations, reading, sitting by the pool, but I have come to appreciate that I enjoy going on a “trip” vs. a vacation. They are different, and if you have experienced both, you know what I mean.

Back when I was starting out in the travel business I took my first “trip”. It was April 2005 – 19 years ago, which that in itself is a crazy thought.

It was a crazy whirlwind trip – 7 days, flying into Las Vegas, then onto Los Angeles, then onto San Fransisco, back to Vegas and then home. Three different airlines, six different hotels and three different car rental companies.

We had amazing experiences along the way. A show in Vegas, Red Rock Canyon, a Laker game in LA, Venice Beach and so much more. It was still in the peak of the OJ Simpson trials, and we drove up and down looking for Rockingham (OJ’s street) which we did find, as well as the Bundy Drive townhouse (murder scene).

We did spend almost one whole day waiting on the NBC lot to get into a taping of the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. We did get in and saw Hank Aaron, Mark Harmon and Margaret Cho.

And then we arrived in San Fransisco. What a beautiful city that is. Since I was only there for a few days, and it was 19 years ago, I know that it is back on my list as a place that I need to return to, especially now that I am a foodie.

One of the best parts of the trip for me was the visit to Alcatraz. I remember not being that interested in going at the time. What was I thinking??!! It turned out to be one of the best parts of the whole week.

You have to buy tickets in advance. We learned that when we went on our first day and they said that all the departures were full that day. So, we bought tickets for the next day.

Alcatraz Island is a looming land mass in the heart of San Fransisco bay and can be seen from all over the downtown area. You take a boat out to the island. It is then a 1/3 mile walk up the hill to the jail.

You get a head set with pre-recorded descriptions of what you are walking through and what it was when the jail was open. The dining hall was fascinating. Officers were unarmed, while the inmates were “armed” with metal forks, spoons and trays. There were tear gas canisters mounted into the ceiling beams in case there was anyone that got out of control.

The tour talks about the inmates, and the escape attempt of 1962. Three inmates created a very detailed elaborate plan to escape off the island and after lights out on June 11, 1962 they put their plan in action. The were never found and presumed to have drowned in the cold waters of San Fransisco bay.

The Federal prison closed in 1963.

In 1972 Alcatraz island was made part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. and part of the National Park Service. More than 750,000 visitors come to the island annually (statistics from 1995). Recent statistics are about 1.3 million each year.

One of the lessons I started to learn when travelling with others is to have an open mind and be open to compromise. What I really didn’t think I had any interest in turned out to be a trip highlight. If I hadn’t had an open mind, I never would have seem Alcatraz and that would have been a shame.

Stay tuned for my next Wayback Wednesday installment!!