For those of you in the San Francisco area--or who anticipate visiting San Francisco--the short trip to Alcatraz Island will reveal some of the oldest, largest Fig trees you're likely to ever see.

If I recall, one leaves from Pier 40 or 41, for the short boat ride to Alcatraz Island. It'll be easy to find, as Pier 39 is notorious for having been taken over by Sea Lions, who noisily squabble (and smell up the place), as they argue over space to congregate on the pier.

Boats come and go every half-hour, for the couple-mile trip, and once on the island, you can stay all day and take the last boats back to the mainland.

The figs are impressive at any time of year, but particularly so when they're fruiting in Summer and early Fall. Thousands upon thousands of figs give the whole (small) island the smell of ripe figs.

In Winter, while dormant, one can note the massive size of the "trunks" of the trees. I have no idea of the age of the trees, but they're huge, and look ancient.

Even though this sounds like a travelogue, it's not. Of all the things I had ever heard or read about Alcatraz, I never heard mention of the huge fig trees that are there, and I was impressed to come upon them on my first visit. In Summer, you smell them as soon as you exit the boat and step on the island.