Hannah

I didn’t buy anything here, but my sister bought a very cute hoodie. There’s lots of gift options at this store, so you could likely find souvenirs for pretty much anyone here. We browsed all the shops early and came back in the afternoon to actually buy things. This store looked great, but I already had my heart set on a few things I found elsewhere.

We had this delivered to our hotel. Wasn’t sure how big the pizzas were since the menu we found online just said “small, medium, large,” so we ordered a large for two people. We did not need a large. This could have easily fed four people. Even so, the prices are affordable, so it wasn’t much of a loss. The pizza was so good! Probably my favorite meal we had on our seven day road trip.

We’re from Illinois so Lincoln-related museums and historical sites comprised most of our elementary school field trips. It was really surreal to finally see this place in person after learning about it so long ago.

Admission into the theater is $3.50 (timed tickets) and includes the museum and Petersen house as long as you purchase the correct tickets - read the details when you buy them to make sure you get to see everything - don’t skip the Petersen House! It’s right across the street and is a major part of the story.

When we went (June 2022) we arrived around 9:00am and waited in line for 10-20 minutes, then were let in to look around the museum. We were told at what time they’d open the theater, so we made sure to be near the stairs at that time so we could choose the best seats. After they let everyone in, a ranger stood on the stage and told the story of the night Lincoln was shot - she did a very good job - and then we were free to look around, take photos, and head over to the Petersen House whenever we were ready.

“Best seats” of course is a subjective term, but if you go all the way to the left, you get a good view of the presidential box seats and the stage.

I highly recommend visiting Ford’s Theater if you’re ever in DC. We were in the city for about a week and this was definitely one of my favorite sites we visited.

If you visit Ford’s Theater, you can’t miss the Petersen House right across the street. Admission is included in the cost to see the theater as well as a Lincoln related museum. (If I remember right - there were lots of options of combinations of which things were included in the tickets, so read carefully and make sure you get to see it all. We went I. June of 2022.) After going to the theater itself, you can take your time and go into the Petersen House whenever you’re ready. Your timed theater ticket will let you into the house as well.

Very large beach that seems to not be as well known. It’s rocky and the waves are a little rough but there are plenty of little alcoves and pools to check out little fish, crabs, and urchins. If you pick up a handful of sand near the edge of the water there’s a good chance one of the tiny shells will be a hermit crab!

The parking lot is huge and free and it’s easy to find a spot away from other people if you don’t like being in crowded places. We had a little section all to ourselves for about an hour in the middle of the day. We were even joined by a sea turtle who swam in and hanged out near us for a while.

If you see a turtle, don’t chase it around or try to touch it. Just let it do it’s thing. This one nearly swam right into us before we even knew he was there.