(Note: If you’re not particularly interested in a bit of history about Alcatraz, please skip the italicized paragraphs.)

BY SCOTT -- After Kerry and I decided we wanted to spend a weekend in San Francisco, the first thing we did was book our hotel and flight on our preferred travel planning site, Expedia. The second thing we did was find out how to get to Alcatraz.

Today, Alcatraz (the name means “pelican” in Spanish and refers to the island’s original inhabitants) is under the purview of the National Park Service. U.S. military occupation of the 22-acre pile of rock began in 1859 with constructi0n of a fort designed to protect the bay during the Civil War (the Rebels never got around to mounting an attack). In 1907, the fort was converted into a military prison, then transitioned into a maximum-security federal prison in 1934. Alcatraz was closed by Attorney General Robert Kennedy in March 1963 due to structural issues and cost concerns.

I’ve always been enamored by Alcatraz, sitting as it does surrounded by water in an open bay within sight of a major U.S. city. Through the years, anytime I discovered a rerun of an old crime movie featuring Alcatraz, I dropped whatever I was doing and plopped down in front of the TV, mesmerized for the duration. I actually stumbled across the 1979 film “Escape from Alcatraz” a few days before we left for the Left Coast; when we finally got into the prison, I had fresh images of the place in my mind.

The movie starred Clint Eastwood and was based on an actual escape attempt by Frank Morris (portrayed  by Eastwood) and brothers John and Clarence Anglin (Fred Ward and Jack Thibeau, respectively) in 1962. Morris is believed to have masterminded the elaborate plan, which involved painted papier-mache heads left beneath the blankets on their bunks and rafts constructed from pilfered raincoats. The three actually made it off the island and into the frigid waters of San Francisco Bay, but were never recaptured and are believed to have drowned. There’s a full page of interesting trivia about the filming of the movie at the Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com), including this tidbit: A young Danny Glover made his feature debut with a small, non-speaking part as an inmate.

Your planning for a visit to Alcatraz should begin well before arriving in San Francisco. Tickets for the ferry ride (there’s no admission charge for the prison itself) are available online and should be purchased a week or two in advance, especially if you want to sign up for the semi-exclusive Alcatraz Night Tour, which includes special programs, smaller crowds and unequaled evening views of the city skyline on clear nights.

On the day of your tour, arrive (with tickets in hand) at Pier 33 a few minutes early, especially if you’ve been walking all day and are hungry and/or thirsty. The Alcatraz Landing Cafe reviews on Yelp average only two stars, at least in part because everything on the menu is obscenely expensive (at least the locally-brewed draft beer was cold). Whatever quenches your thirst, hand over a twenty (or two), then plop down in the adjacent courtyard dining area. If you have time, consider browsing about the information boards and intricate Alcatraz-themed displays scattered around the pier. Pay no attention to the uninformed people who insist on queuing up for the ferry 20 minutes before the posted departure time; the ferries leave on schedule and your captain will use his on-board intercom system to announce -- loudly and repeatedly -- when it’s your time to walk the gangplank. (Relax, you’re on vacation.)

The truest thing Mark Twain never said -- “the coldest winter I ever spent was the summer I spent in San Francisco” -- is true, indeed. Fortunately, I’m a travel nerd and we had been reading guide books and watching YouTube videos for weeks before arriving on Alcatraz. Consequently, Kerry and I knew to dress in layers and leave our shorts in the suitcase. Unfortunately, dozens of the 300 or so people who shared the evening ferry with us had not properly prepared themselves for San Francisco’s screwy summertime climate, which fluctuated between 70 degrees and the low-50s depending on the wind speed and cloud cover. We had a good giggle at the multitude of newly-purchased gift shop sweaters we counted on the backs of those still-shivering souls.

In retrospect, it almost seems appropriate that our 15-minute boat ride took place on a choppy sea during a miserably cold, overcast afternoon. Combined with our exhaustion from a day on our feet, the weather created a level of near-despair as we walked onto the pier. Surely, in some small way, our mood mirrored the experience many of the island’s federally-mandated “guests” had upon arriving on Alcatraz in decades past.

It’s a pretty good climb from the pier to the entrance of the large inmate shower area, which today serves as the launch point for the 45-minute self-guided audio tour. The island’s 135-foot elevation translates into a steep climb up a cutback, one-lane road. Along the way, our well-informed tour guide stopped in front of several points of interest -- among them the Civil War-era sally port, which once contained a drawbridge, and the hollowed out hulk of the officer’s club, which served as the recreation center during the federal prison days. (Restrooms are located at either end of the climb, in case you didn’t have time to hit the head on the ferry.)

Once inside the showers, we were handed an audio kit with foam headphones and directed towards a long, disappearing concrete stairway. Available in several languages, the recording features former Alcatraz inmates, correctional officers and residents recalling stories of their time on the Rock. The easy-to-follow walking directions correspond to signs mounted on the walls and begin with a big “press play here” sign at the top of the stairs.

The main cell area includes cell blocks A, B, C and D. Block A was mostly used for storage; blocks B and C, containing 336 cells, housed a majority of the inmates during the island’s 29-year stint as a federal prison, though there were never more than 302 prisoners on the island; block D contained the ever-feared solitary confinement cells, which are damp, dark and downright spooky, even in the light of the setting sun.

The self-guided walking tour zigzags through the cell blocks and into the library, then past the dining area and the door to the recreation yard, and finally through the visitor’s area and out via the original main entrance. Back outside, we found that the winds were even colder than before. The clouds had begun to break up, though, so at least we got to enjoy a spectacular, starkly-shadowed view of the City by the Bay from the courtyard adjacent to the lighthouse.

Also near the lighthouse is the burned-out shell of the warden’s quarters, destroyed during the American Indian occupation. Kerry and I were completely ignorant of the story about the dozens of Native Americans who took over the abandoned island in 1969, claiming it as their ancestral home and refusing to leave. The group was finally expelled in 1971 and the island turned over to the National Park Service. Alcatraz was declared a national recreation area in 1972; it received designation as a National Historic Landmark in 1986. There’s a treasure trove of information about the history of Alcatraz -- including memorabilia from members of the families of the prison guards, who lived in civilian quarters on the island -- in an exhibit area in the pier-side barracks building.

There was a lot of “hurry up and wait” involved in getting to and from Alcatraz, but after a day or two of reflection we were glad we hadn’t used our weary feet as excuses to waive off the opportunity to visit the island. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that we’ll never forget -- and one that we recommend you undertake, if you ever get the chance.