Just got back from a trip to San Diego and of course hit up Cabrillo National Monument while we were there. This site commemorates the first Spanish exploration of the Pacific Coast in 1542. There is a Visitor’s Center with a small interpretive exhibit, a statue of Juan Cabrillo, and an old lighthouse. We tried twice to hit up the tidepools (arriving just about low tide and an hour before the next day), but both times there were cars lined up the road waiting to park, so unfortunately missed it this time. Still was worth the stop to learn a bit of history and take in the views.
Here’s a couple from my trip a few years back:
Peterson House across the street where Lincoln died (closed when I visited so not sure if there’s a cancellation – or perhaps I passed up
the opportunity to stamp it at the theater on the same principle I mentioned above?).
This
one was new since I last visited the area on that 8th grade field trip. A good stop if you’re walking around the Tidal Basin en route from the Lincoln Memorial to the Jefferson Memorial. There are four sections to walk through dedicated to the president’s four terms, and the memorial gives a pretty balanced look at the highs and lows of a very eventful presidency. This memorial is also near the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, which was still fenced off before opening the year we were there.
visit to Monticello near Charlottesville, VA.
The Visitor’s Center has a museum and is the base for the U.S.S. Arizona, Utah, and Oklahoma memorials, honoring those ships and the people who perished in the attacks. The museum gives the details of the events of Dec. 7, 1941, including the military details of the attack and the day as it played out for the people of Pearl Harbor. There are some interesting artifacts, including a marked up draft copy of FDR’s famous “a date that will live in infamy” speech. The exhibits definitely freshened my memory from that report I wrote in 3rd grade…
“centerpiece” of the monument. The memorial is only accessible by boat with a ticket from the Visitor’s Center. The short boat ride across the harbor is preceded by a film, and then visitors are given time for observation at the memorial, which is built immediately over the ship. Almost 1800 men were lost when the ship sunk and are still entombed there. The names of all those lost in the Arizona are engraved onto a wall at the far end of the memorial. 
Interestingly, a side panel also lists the names of U.S.S. Arizona survivors who later requested to be interred there. From the observation deck, you can see fish darting in and out of the corroded metal of the Arizona and oil slicks that to this day still rise to the surface.
In addition to the U.S.S. Arizona memorial, there is a small, separately managed naval museum including a small sub available for tour at the site of the visitor’s center. I believe a shuttle will also take you over the U.S.S. Oklahoma Memorial, but the Utah is not open to the public as it is on the active military base.
Muir Woods is a beautiful example of a California redwood forest, with coast redwoods lining a shaded creek surrounded by ferns and a blanket of redwood sorrel. Unfortunately, it is also THE place for people touring CA to get a quick giant tree fix, so you get the trees without the tranquility. There are certainly better places to lose yourself in nature, including redwoods, but the scenery is still able to impress (and as you can see, I managed to get a few pictures without people in them!). Other highlights of the Monument (which likely also contribute to its popularity) are the educational programs and the boardwalked trails through the center of the park, which both protect the woods floor while also making the park more accessible to all visitors.
If you must visit Muir Woods during summer weekends (as I apparently had to), it is highly recommended that you take the Muir Woods Shuttle (follow signs from the freeway). Another option if you are planning on doing more than just the boardwalk is to hike into the Woods from Mt. Tamalpais State Park. There are several options here: From the Mountain Home Inn, you can take the Panoramic and Ocean View trails into Muir Woods or follow Alice Eastman Road down to the Plevin Cut and Camp Eastwood trails.
Pantoll Ranger Station, starting with the Stapelveldt and Ben Johnson trails and returning via Bootjack and Alpine. Up at the ranger station, it was all blustery fog and moss-covered trees, but we quickly lost the wind heading down the back side of the hill and had a pretty solitary hike until we got closer to Muir Woods. As you descend, you can see the redwood forest develop as you get further down into the watershed – it’s really quite a nice way to approach! All together, it ended up being about 8 miles and 4 hours, including some meandering about the visitor’s 
center and a stop on the trail for some lunch.
problem with doing the hike this way is that the uphill is all on the way back! Using the TCC trail as a connector, you could do the loop we did from the end of the Muir Woods trail if you prefer to do the uphill first. My fitbit logged 147 flights of stairs – I was highly tempted to go up and down the stairs at my apartment 3 more times when I got home, but my knee was hurting from all the downhill hiking.
