Fort Point

Imagine yourself as a solider at Fort Point.  As a new recruit, you will spend many hours sweeping the halls, clean your dirty uniform, and train hard.  As a guardian of the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco safety depends on you.  First, our car pulled into a parking lot next to a large building that looked like a museum.  It had many windows and the building was very tall.  Once we went inside I noticed that this building was very old.  After that, I saw two rangers near the doorway. My dad asked if there were any special activities today.  In replied one of the rangers said yes.  My dad asked that question because today was 4th of July.  The ranger that spoke said that the workers would raise the American flag in about 5 minutes he also said that there will be a scavenger hunt.  When we walked inside the open space I first saw about 5 workers holding the American Flag.  Then they raised the American Flag on a pole and we said the Pledge of Allegiance.  After that, we went back to the gate where the two rangers were standing.  We asked the ranger when the scavenger hunt would start.  The ranger that spoke to us when we first went inside said that the scavenger hunt would start right know.  Then I realized that there was another room next to entrance.  I asked my mom if we could go into the room and my mom said yes.  When we went inside we saw a woman that looked like a witch and a line of people.  We saw the woman give a packet of papers to the person who was at the front of the line.  When we were at the front of the line the woman gave me a packet of papers and the title said Fort Point National Historic Site.  Then the woman said that we had to visit the ground floor, the second floor the third floor, and the top of the building.  She said if we complete the whole activity book then we would earn a badge.  The activity book made us to go to the 3 floors and answer the questions that go with it.  I first opened the activity book.  I learned that the cannon powder was kept inside the barrels.  Also I know who lived here before the Spanish arrived and that is the Yelamu Ohlone people.  I also know that Fort Point has a lot of cannons.   There are 102 cannons of different sizes.  In the officer’s bedroom I found a lamp, a bed, and a table.  In Fort Point, 400 soldiers lived here.  Soldiers ate Peas, bread, apple, and a lot more.  At the third floor I learned that 24 soldiers slept in 1 room.  At the top of the building the Barbette tier is used for keeping watch.  I also had to describe the weather.   The weather was windy, cold, and misty.  After I completed the whole activity book I went back to the room with the person that looked like a witch.  I showed her my activity book and she put a stamp on a piece of paper.  The stamp looked like the Fort Point building.  She also gave me a badge that said Junior Ranger.  I said thank you to the person and I left.  Once we got into the car I was proud of myself because I learned a lot about Fort Point and the soldiers that lived there.  If you are ever in San Francisco, don’t forget to stop by and visit the museum at Fort Point.