When I was a pre-teen my uncle was the property manager at Henry Ford's Fairlane manor. Since he was the big boss we got a tour that included *everything.*

Old abandoned subway in Rochester NY. Gained access through the city library I was working in. Just a hatch in the basement with a ships ladder down to the old system.

Super computer at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. I’m old enough to remember Cray super computers, and these computers made a Cray seem like an old Pontiac car next to a Bugatti.

I got a tour of the Children's Television Workshop spaces in NY City. The corporate offices were amazing, but the puppet workshop had muppet body parts all over the place. Not unlike the droid scrap yard in Cloud City.

The tunnels under the Magic Kingdom in Disney World. Its like a whole city that cast members use to move from the outside world or one land to another land without hurting the magic for the guests.

So this is a story.

Back in 2010-12 I was a resident at a state psychiatric hospital. I happen to like old architecture, so when I wasnt preoccupied with being very mentally ill, Id walk the grounds and look at the buildings.

Some of the buildings on the property were long abandoned, and one was in the process of demolition.

One day I noticed a window open, ground level, that led to the underground tunnels. I had time before I had to return to my ward, so I went through it. These were the tunnels that connected all of the buildings, and I found an entrance to one of the abandoned buildings while snooping around.

It was so cool in there. I found an old gymnasium with a large stage, and there was a folding table with old patient art on it. (I took one, which I kept to this day)

I made sure to keep this window accessible, and I returned to explore almost daily for months before I was finally caught by security. All they did was lower my priviledge level for a few weeks because I was at the end of my stay anyway.

Its nice to have that memory in an otherwise very dark period of my life.

Area 51. I was about nine years old in the early 80s. We went on a family vacation and went to area 51. My dad was retired from the military but always wore his captains hat. My dad was messing with my mom and said he was going to go in and drove up to the first gated checkpoint. The guard at the gate must’ve saw my dad‘s hat, lifted the gate and waved him in. My parents looked at each other like WTH and my dad kept driving. We got about a half a mile in past the front gate before we were stopped. My parents had to talk to them for about five minutes, but eventually let us just drive out.

Decades ago I got to work with a mapping crew in some rarely explored parts of Mammoth Caves. Got to see places very few others have ever been.

I have technically sat in the House of Lords- because I was unwell when I was visiting there, and so was granted an exception to the usually strict rules about not sitting on the seats there… I’m pretty sure that makes me a Lady now.

My dad did the lighting fixtures for the Statue of Liberty, so I got to see all sorts of back areas when he brought me along. I was a little kid, but still- I got to visit her and see all over during the renovation in, I think, 1985?

I was a coach at a major Special Olympics International event back in 1983 and I had some time on my hands and had taken a walk near a Helicopter that had recently landed near the Campus. I was admiring the aircraft when Muhammad Ali stepped out, walked over to me and invited me to take a tour with him around Baton Rouge in the Helicopter! He had seen my Vest identifying me as Coaching Staff, and had observed me admiring the aircraft.
We went for a 40 minute tour (he asked me how much free time I had), treated me like gold, and talked Special Olympics together as we looked around on the tour.
He gave me an autographed photo of the both of us together, and gave me Autographed photos to give to all my athletes and their parents. He also gave me an Ali jacket, and later gave me a certificate of a large donation he made to the Special Olympics in my name! A really personable, caring, wonderful human being who really genuinely cared about kids and the Special Olympics.