Alcatraz, also known as “The Rock,” was a maximum-security federal prison that opened in 1934 and closed in 1963. It was built largely by military prisoners and served as a military prison before being upgraded and turned into a prison in the 30s. There was no rehabilitation at Alcatraz. It was designed to imprison.
“Those who break the rules go… read entire post
Tag Archives: california vacation
Google’s Self-Driving Car (California Vacation)
The thought of a self-driving car seems like an idea snatched from the pages of science fiction. The idea of one seems fantastic and scary at the same time. Last week at the Computer History Museum, Google had one of their self-driving cars on display where we got to learn a little bit more about how they work.
I suppose… read entire post
Computer History Museum (California Vacation)
Get ready for another picture-intensive post that documents my family’s visit to the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California! The Computer History Museum is divided into 20 numbered rooms, which advance their way through the history of computers chronologically, and starts with a pretty old computer — the Abacus.
From a historical perspective this makes perfect sense, but it… read entire post
Sequoia National Park (California Vacation)
The drive to to Sequoia National Park was long — four or five hours from where we had stayed the night before — but oh so worth it. In less than an hour, we went from roughly sea level to an elevation of more than 7,500 feet. The road to Wuksachi Lodge is narrow and hugs the mountains. On their… read entire post
Jelly Belly Factory Tour (California Vacation)
Susan has a knack for finding tours that are both interesting and free. One she found during this trip was a tour of the Jelly Belly Factory, located in Farifield, California.
Outside the factory are several “bean-wrapped” cars, including this one, a van, a VW bug, and several box trucks. These must be a great deterrent for road rage. How… read entire post
Warner Bros. Studio (Part 2 of 2) (California Vacation)
After completing our tour of the back studio lot of Warner Bros., we moved to some of the television sets. The first set we toured was the set of the television show Sullivan and Son. We have not seen the television show Sullivan and Son yet, but it was one of two sets we were allowed to take photos on.… read entire post
Warner Bros. Studio (Part 1 of 2) (California Vacation)
The Warner Bros. studio in Burbank, California offers daily tours of its back lot. This is one of the things I was really looking forward to seeing on the vacation and it did not disappoint. The Warner Bros. back lot consists of almost 30 sound stages and lots of other sets both indoors and out. Some of them were instantly… read entire post