Alcatraz, oh Alcatraz...

Citizens and Soldiers spent a beautiful, sunny day on Alcatraz on Saturday, 14 April 2012.

We just caught the boat in the morning, cruising smoothly to the island with sun and gulls in our wake. The island itself was lovely after all the rain - the air was clear, and you could see all the way across the bay. It was nice to meet up with other friends from the National Civil War Association, as well. 

We spent the day wandering around, speaking with tourists and visitors alike, all of us wondering just how many photo albums we'd each wind up in. Jen Roger ("Cousin Gideon") and Andrew Keehan spent a lot of time hanging out at the guard tower sign, chatting with tourists and posing for pictures. Leann Griffin, Tara, I, and Sharyle Leidy split our time between chatting with Jen and Andrew, and meandering the grounds. 

At 3.45, we caught the ferry leaving the island and headed back to the mainland. A brief stop for pizza for an early dinner, and we all headed home, a good day tucked under our collective belts, already planning on going back in October. We have lots of pictures on our Facebook page - stop by and check them out. 

Two events under our belt already!

And both were rousing successes.

After having breakfast and a meeting at Michaels in Shoreline Park, we spent Sunday 25 March 2012 next door at Rengstorff House in Mountain View, relaxing in the front parlor, catching up on group news, and stitching on our latest projects. It was fun to add color and interest to the 1867 Italianate home, warm and comfortable. Lunch was delicious - pounded cheese (1 lb butter + 1 lb chedder + ground red pepper to taste + pounding in mortar/pestle = TASTY), sandwiches, soda bread, and three types of tea (China black, cinnamon black, green). We even took a walk by the lake in the mid-afternoon.

Our other event was the First Great Pattern Exchange this past Wednesday (28 March 2012). We dragged all our favorite 19th century clothing patterns over to Maryanne's, and sorted and traced like crazy. Lunch was delicious again, with chicken tortilla soup and fruit salad. We'd like to try and make it a regular thing - pattern exchanges are wonderful for trying out new patterns, and seeing what works and what won't.

Here's to our next event: living history on Alcatraz, 14 April 2012! As of this writing, we're not on their calendar yet, but we'll be on the island all day.

See you soon!

Aaannnd...we're live!

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Who are we? We are a group of accuracy-loving historians who love educating the public about life in the 19th century, specifically 1840-1899. We focus on portrayals of the plain, every-day, common men and women of that century. We do this through various mediums such as school programs, living history presentations, lectures, and historic site interpretation. Our services are provided free of charge and for the sole purpose of providing our site hosts with the most accurate interpretation possible. If you, or your organization, is looking for a program like any of the above, please feel free to contact us and we will be happy to look into the possibilities. Please contact us either by phone at +1.650.867.7683, or by email at citizensandsoldiers at gmail dot com.

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