Day 5 Mommy and Me in DC

Where do you go when you have a plane voucher to use by the end of the year, you refuse to fly by yourself because of airport anxiety, and your daughter has been asking to visit the Capitol for a year?  You take a mommy and me trip to DC!  

Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5

FACT:  over 15,000 books have been written about America's 16th President, Abraham Lincoln, which when stacked is 4 stories tall! He has the second most biography written about him, second only to Jesus.

Its our last day in the Nation's Capitol and we are going to make it count!  Today's plan is seeing the Ford's Theater and learning about Lincoln's final chapter of his life and career.  Being from the Midwest, where he started he career as a lawyer and politician it was neat to see the other part of his career.  The Ford Theater has been restored to close to its grandeur of the 1860s, and is a active theater with live performances in the evenings.  

It is also a National Historic Site operated by the National Park Service which means one more Junior Ranger badge for Lydia! At any National Park or Historic site you can ask a Ranger for a book to complete.  Ford Theater had a double tiered Junior Ranger program, do a minimum amount of activities for a badge and certificate, and an additional number for an additional patch.  Lydia did enough activities for the patch and badge.   Did I mention they do a swearing in ceremony when a child earns the Badge? 

There are multiple parts to the Ford Theater attraction and when you book tickets online you can see the options.  There are timed entrances to the museum under the theater that details Lincoln's last term of his presidency and also the conspiracy Booth tried to create in his assassination plot.  There are walkthroughs of the theater including the recreated booth he was shot,  if you are lucky enough like we were you can look in the door to the Presidential booth and look over Lincoln's chair to the stage.  You can also tour the Peterson House across the street where Lincoln took his final breaths as well as additional exhibits of the aftermath of his assassination and Lincoln's lasting legacy for our nation. 

Presidential Box in Ford's Theater

The Ford's Theater gave Lydia her 3rd Junior Ranger Badge for the trip, not bad for a 5 day adventure.  We left the theater in search of a few more Stamps for mom's Passport Book and some lunch.  Some Passport Stamps can be tricky to find, but there is an app available to help you find them.  We found the Historic Pennsylvania Avenue Stamp in the Old Post Office now the Trump hotel.  The lower level has a historical display including old vault doors and historical photographs.  

We found some lunch and a surprise at the Reagan International Trade building.  We visited the food court another night over the weekend and found it open but deserted.  it was a very different experience on Monday when it was bustling with government workers.  Tucked in one corner of the building we found a portion of the Berlin wall and the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Memorial Exhibit.  Might as well learn about one more President before we leave town. 😋

Reagan International Trade Building

A certain girl was starting to yearn for home so we headed to our hotel to pick up our luggage and then on to the airport where another adventure awaited us.  While we were seeing the city one last time our plane home was already being delayed.  It was already delayed enough to cause us to miss our connecting flight and we had to look into alternate options to get home in a timely manner.  The best option was to hire a shuttle and drive to the Baltimore Airport and take a direct flight home.  We arrived home at the same time as our original flight with out having to do a layover!  And that first flight that was delayed 40 minutes when we changed plans, ended up being delayed 4 hours!  We were glad we made other plans!  

She has the traveling bug and is already thinking up our next #mommyandme adventure.  On our quest for National Park Passports and Junior Ranger Badges the Nation is our classroom.