When I was in San Francisco back in September 2009, I visited Alcatraz with a friend, who photographed me (above). I really got a charge out of stepping into the very small cells that prisoners were confined in.  I learned a lot listening to the audio tour, narrated by former guards and inmates. They had a great gift shop (I bought $70 worth of souvenirs). I also enjoyed the view of San Francisco from the island itself. But my favorite part of the tour was the small block of about six isolation cells — where unruly prisoners were locked in for up to 19 days nonstop as punishment. When a park ranger offered to lock anyone who wanted to in for 30 seconds, I of course volunteered immediately. He slammed the door with a deafening bang, and when he did so it was absolutely 100 percent dark. I could definitely get into this. He said the men locked in here did not get beds, only blankets if they were lucky. Yep, that works for me! In fact, if it weren’t for the other tourists in there giggling I probably would have shot a load right in my jeans.

Below are more pictures from our visit: