June 22
A cold front came through and despite having temps in the
high 90’s lately, today barely hit 70. It got cooler and then warmed up a bit.
So, it was a jeans day for sure.
It was around a half hour drive to Springfield and we
arrived at the Lincoln Home National Historic Site just as it opened. We got
our free guided tour tickets and 5 minutes later our tour started. The site is
really the whole neighborhood that Abe & Mary Lincoln lived in after they
married and had their 4 children. The National Park guided took us through
their home. Most of the pieces were original and a few recreated.
Lincoln House
Abe's bedroom
this desk is probably where he worked on the Emancipation Proclamation
the 3 hole outhouse
inside the outhouse
After that
tour you could wander the rest of the homes in the neighborhood on your own.
Most could only be seen from the outside, but a couple were museums of items
found on the grounds of the Lincoln’s home. We finished that and went in to
watch the short movie. Very well done.
Charles Arnold House
Charles Corneau House - owned the local drugstore
Our next stop was at the Lincoln Tomb & War Memorials.
Incredible! I had no idea it would be so grand.
on the drive their we passed this pink & blue Garage
entry to the cemetery
Lincoln's Family Tomb
everyone grabs his nose - so it's shiny
closeup of the statues on the 4 corners
inside there are statues of various times in his life
his family members are buried across from him
Robert is buried at Arlington, but has a monument here with the rest of the family
these day lilies were huge
the back of the tomb
his remains were first buried here
John Tanner - once governor of Illinois
the gardens were well kept around his tomb
the caretakers house
the War Memorials
Vietnam War Memorial
Purple Heart
Korea War Memorial
Korean War Memorial - the bell played patriotic songs & hymns
Memorial of all wars.....
named them all with their dates
It was time for lunch and we went to an iconic diner on
Route 66 called Cozy Dog Drive in. Greg had never eaten a corn dog in his life,
so I said this is the day you’ll try one. So, we had Corn Dogs, homemade fries
& onion rings. Yep, health food for sure!
wall art
famous eatery on route 66
cozy dogs, fries & onion rings
After stuffing ourselves we visited the Abraham Lincoln
Presidential Library and Museum In a word…..WOW!!!! One of the best museums we
have seen. When we arrived, there was an acapella group singing songs of the
day. (telling the story of Lincoln’s life & presidency)
The Presidential Library
just a small area on the first floor is for the public
Lincoln Museum - Acapella group
Each area took you through a stage in his life, from growing
up, to his adulthood before being elected president to being president to his
death. The museum did a good job of explaining the politics going on at the
time, addressing slavery, the Civil War & Lincoln trying to unify the
Nation. It also told of his personal life (losing 2 sons to illness) It was
interesting to note that politics weren’t that different than it is now.
Negative campaigning, not accepting him as president because they didn’t vote
for him, name calling etc. Nothing new going on today….. It took up the better
part of the afternoon as there were numerous exhibits, a couple of short films
& more.
slave auction
his boyhood home
his children were never told no
depiction of them checking on their son who eventually died of typhoid (there was a party in their home)
cartoons making fun of Lincoln during campaign
John Wilkes Booth at the theater
Abe & Mary on the right
very moving depiction of his funeral
From there we walked around the park and Union Square and
then walked around the old historic district. Saw and old and new Capitols.
old State Capitol
new Capitol
Calling it a day, we went in search of Gabatoni's Restaurant
which locals say is the best thin crust pizza around. We were there early
around 5ish and the place was packed. The server said to us we were lucky we
got there when we did before the rush. It was full already. Very good pizza. I
took a photo, but it came out blurry. I can’t seem to take pictures of food.
Tomorrow, we drive about an hour to St. Louis, Missouri.
No comments:
Post a Comment