If you’re looking for an unusual vacation, why not try Sing Sing prison? It might be a perfect destination for tourists who feel guilty about taking time off from their everyday lives and have an inexplicable need to be punished for having a good time. The dark, imposing prison, according to Reuters, is located on the Hudson River about 30 miles north of New York City and is still active. Many of its 1,745 inmates are held in maximum security, which leads us to believe they’re not in there for insider trading or other white-collar crimes. Local officials in Westchester County hope to receive start-up costs of about $5 million from the state to convert the prison’s old powerhouse into a museum and build a tunnel to the original cellblock, no longer in use. At least 150,000 tourists a year are expected to take the trip "up the river". Jerry Mulligan, a planning commissioner and a spokesman for the project, recently noted, "It could be the Alcatraz of the east. This could trigger a whole wave of tourism." Actually, the prison renovation plan could either "trigger a whole wave of tourism" or a crime wave, depending on whether you’re talking to Westchester County’s director of tourism or potential victims in nearby Ossining, N.Y. Inmates will undoubtedly relish the idea of the new underground tunnel. It could serve as a convenient exit for prisoners unwilling to dig one of their own with only a spoon over a span of several, painstaking years. It would be a perfect answer for prisoners longing for the bright lights, big city. In much the same way that inmates were recruited to build the original cellblock in 1825, it is hoped that present inmates might work in the prison museum. However, the planners should be reminded that prisoners in 1825 were there before the days of grand theft auto and drug cartels. They were a comparatively easy-going group of felons, guilty of horse stealing, stagecoach holdups, bank robberies, claim jumpings or piracy on the high seas. They were the stuff of today’s adventure movies. Many of the hardened criminals are there now because of domestic terrorism, serial murders and drug dealing. They tend to be not very nice people and you certainly wouldn’t want them to be chit-chatting with your daughters in the prison gift shop. You would be understandably leery about them handling your credit card numbers at the shop’s cash register or serving as tour guides through the prison’s new tunnel. On the other hand, a prison-based vacation spot might unlock other possibilities. The old cellblock could be turned into a bed and breakfast with chain-suspended cots for beds. We might expect to see an indoor amusement park, complete with exciting rides. After all, what could be more thrilling or chilling than a roller coaster ride operated by convicted killers who like to hear people scream? A prison-themed restaurant for tourists might offer barberry pies, Big House Bagels and Slammer Sirloins. A special dining attraction could feature hamburgers and steaks grilled to perfection on "Old Sparky", the prison’s infamous electric chair. But let’s not stop there. If the prison tourism project becomes highly profitable, why not release all of the convicts to the streets and make room for more attractions?