Monthly Archive for December, 2011

What’s Hidden Underneath the Golden Gate Bridge (Historical Fort Point Review)

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Did you know that something is nestled underneath the Golden Gate Bridge? Something very old; and one a sunny day in September, I had the opportunity to photograph it.

Even though I’d already walked my butt off going up to Coit Tower and then over to Lombard Street, my feet would not relent. They were dead set in reaching the Golden Gate Bridge on the northern end of San Francisco. And little did I know that I was about to stumble upon a huge historical landmark hiding right underneath the bridge itself!

Rare Treats

It's It cookie closeup

After walking past a pack of wild segways, I followed a street north up to the bay trail which follows the north shore of the San Francisco peninsula.

But before I reached my destination, I passed by a small food stand. Normally, I wouldn’t stop somewhere spontaneously and buy a sugary treat; but I was on a quest thousands of miles from home, so I gave myself permission to treat myself. I chose something called an “It’s It”, and was instantly glad that I did.

If you’re not familiar with what that is (I wasn’t), it’s basically ice cream between two oatmeal cookies and then covered in chocolate; and I sat down in some shade near the beach for a few minutes and savored it. I wouldn’t have one of them every day, but it was a delicious treat after so much walking.

Marines training near Crissy Field

Artist sketching Golden Gate Bridge

Other highlights along the path included: a large group of marines marching around in a verdant field, an artist sketching the Golden Gate Bridge from right on the beach, and the most hilarious dog walker I’ve ever met. Just as I was passing the beach, I noticed a guy who was walking at least 10 dogs from one hand. He was very friendly and even let me take a picture of his outrageous dog walking truck, complete with horns. (You can find that in the photo gallery that accompanies this article.)

Through our interaction, I was surprised to learn that professional dog walking can be extremely lucrative if you find the right clients. This may seem obvious in retrospect, but how many dog walkers do you know that make six figures a year?

Follow Your Instincts to Discover

And then I came to a fork in the path. My instincts said I should explore the lower path first, and I’m glad I did. After walking for a few minutes, I came across Fort Point, nestled below the Golden Gate Bridge.

Civil War-era cannons

I’d never even heard of it before. Have you?

Turns out, this fort had been built in the 1850s, many decades before the bridge was even conceived. It was now preserved as a historical site, available free to the public. And soon I was inside staring at a spacious inner courtyard, complete with authentic nineteenth century artillery.

I took a curving stone staircase to the second floor and happened to run into a small tour group. I tagged along behind them and got to see some interesting things, including a recreation of what the sleeping quarters looked like. Here’s a hint: Not too comfy.

Stone spiral staircase going upwardFort Point Light and blue sky

When you go, don’t miss the lighthouse on the roof. From the top of the fort, you can see the huge superstructure of the Golden Gate Bridge above. In fact, the size of the bridge made this lighthouse, called the Fort Point Light, seem rather small in comparison. And according to a plaque nearby, it hadn’t been lit since the 1930s, when the bridge was completed.

Overall, I’m really glad I stumbled upon Fort Point. It stands as an amazing monument to nineteenth century architecture, and you can check it out completely free of charge! And all photos from this segment are in the photo gallery.

Golden Gate Bridge spanning across bay

Where’s Marco?

Just like with every travel photo I’ve released since December 2010, Marco the Spacefarer followed me that day and therefore appears in all 26 photos in the photo gallery that accompanies this article. The “Where’s Marco” game is like Where’s Waldo or “I Spy”, but more challenging. In fact, I’m considering putting up hints that show what he’s near. Would anyone be interested in that?

If you’re new to “Where’s Marco”, learn how to play —>

Can you find him in all 26?
Explore the Fort Point photo gallery —>

Coming up Next:

Even after that day, there was still plenty I would yet see in the lovely Bay Area of California. But first, strange coincidences occurred, and I was invited to the most hilarious stage show I’d ever seen:

See what happened next —>

— — —
All photos from this event are in the Fort Point photo gallery. All photos in the Byteful Gallery are under a Creative Commons license. With so much free content on Byteful Travel, why not tell a friend?

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  1. A Visit to crooked Lombard Street & The Pedestrians Who Wanted to Die
  2. A San Francisco Secret: The Coit Tower View (Review & Photo Essay)
  3. Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park Review: The Famous McWay Falls of Big Sur
  4. Andrew Molera State Park Review: Top 5 Sights
  5. Muir Woods Review: Secrets of the Primeval Redwood Forest north of San Francisco
  6. International Rose Test Garden Review: Top 10 (& the Best Free Activity in Portland)
  7. Apple Campus Store Review: Visiting Infinite Loop

How I used Intention-Manifestation to stop an Identity Theft (& had fun doing it)

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On Sunday afternoon, I went on a rescue mission.

It’s not often that my explorations have such a narrowly defined end-goal. Usually, they’re more open-ended in nature. But this time, someone’s identity was at stake; so I ventured out into the brisk December air, focused on accomplishing my goal.

The nature of the mission was simple: retrieve a lost social security card that had gone mysteriously missing. It must be kept from falling into the wrong hands. And in the process of searching, I instinctively used the intention-manifestation model of reality (also known as the Law of Attraction) to help me find it, soon realizing that sometimes finding what you really want is more effortless than finding what you don’t.

The card belonged to my brother, who lives nearby; and he had been very concerned since it had gone missing. I can’t say I blame him. After all, identity theft is a serious concern. And even though electronic identity theft gets a lot of attention these days, the majority of theft still occurs through paper means.

Clearly, retrieving this social security card was paramount. (The last thing anyone needs is someone pretending to be them.) And since I had some extra time on Sunday, I decided to wander around the place where he thought he’d lost it. What I didn’t realize until later was that I had instinctively used the intention-manifestation mindset… with unexpected results.

How to use Intention-Manifestation

I’ve already written about how I used the intention-manifestation model to get paid to travel 1,000 miles, but I’m going to restate it here in case you haven’t read that article yet.

Here’s how it works:

  • I made the decision
  • From that decision, I stated what I wanted to happen: “I will find the SSN card.”
  • I had faith that this would be resolved. I let the universe “Make It So.”
  • I let the intention go. I didn’t cling to it. (This is very important for it to work.)

The best theory was that the card had been placed, along with some other documents, atop a car and then forgotten about. Thankfully, he already had a good idea of where he might have lost it, so I began doing a wide sweep of that area. It had rained recently, but everything had since dried, leaving everything a bit cleaner than usual.

I walked for some time, shuffling through small piles of leaves along the road with my foot. On my way around the block, I came across a small piece of paper in the middle of the road. It was the right size, but was it his card?

No. It was a tiny promotion for some new pop album, and I continued my search. Along the way, I came across other fragments of paper, but they were always receipts or bits of wrapper.

A Clue that Followed Clarity

Nearly back at where I’d started, I finally saw something interesting. With a slightly different vantage point, I now saw a fragment of something white covered in leaves on the edge of the street. I ran over and brushed the leaves aside. It was my brother’s latest bank statement!

“Look gang, a clue!”

He must have had his SSN card folded up inside of it, but it wasn’t in there now. I knew I was close. I could smell victory. I began walking along the edge of the street for a moment, but for some reason stepped up and began walking down the sidewalk. And then, I was stunned by what I saw.

Lying atop green grass, in perfect plain sight, was the social security card.

My eyes widened as I crouched down and picked it up. I had actually found it. With a combination of persistence, faith, and clarity, I had manifested what I was looking for; and when I returned it to him, my brother was quite relieved to have it back. (In case you’re not familiar with social security numbers, I should explain that if I hadn’t found the card, it’s possible that someone could have taken is social security number off of the card and damaged his credit, or worse.)

Make It So!

Only later did I realize that I had used the intention-manifestation model to accomplish my mission. Nowadays it’s become a habit of mine to state what I want verbally and then release the intention with faith. Often, this produces some surprising results. The key is to remember that if you doubt it in your mind, then you’ll find doubt all around you. But by being very clear about what I wanted, releasing the intention with faith, and putting in focused effort toward my goal, I manifested the outcome I wanted with much less effort than I would have ever guessed. In fact, using intention-manifestation can be a blast if you maintain a playful attitude. :)

Have you ever used the intention-manifestation model? Remember that when you do, it’s key to release your desire with faith. There can be no clinging to a specific outcome. When you release it with faith, you have faith that it will manifest in the most natural way possible.

What about you? What’s your goal? Say it out loud right now, and then tell the universe, “Make it so.” Strange coincidences and synchronicities will arrive, and when they do, follow them.

They may even seem strange, but by following them, you allow your goal to manifest.

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  1. How I Solved my Travel Dilemma in 60 Seconds using the Law of Attraction
  2. How to Spot Inaccurate Beliefs While Travelling: Perceptions aren’t always Truth
  3. How to Spot Inaccurate Beliefs While Travelling: Magic of Choice (& Couchsurfing)

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