Lincoln Home National Historic Site

Monday, April 4 continued – After our wonderful visit to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, we then walked about five blocks to Lincoln Home National Historic Site. With our parking pass, we should have driven, but we're never confident about getting a parking spot for the big truck. In hind sight.....drive. There is plenty of parking. One bonus of our walk was a stop we made at Obed & Isaac's Microbrewery. This is a microbrewery with some great beers and a very delicious soft pretzel. Actually, all the food we viewed being served look delicious....we must have been really hungry!

Marsha’s Obed’s House Cider; Paul’s Adeline’s Belgian Triple

Once we arrived at the Historic Site, we received a ticket for our house tour time. The house is open for guided tours, and the tour is free.While waiting  to take the tour, there are two movie theatres about Lincoln's Home where he lived for the seventeen years. The movies are excellent. The tour guide was very informative.

The backyard contained…what else but…an three-seater outhouse.

The house contains all original furnishing of the Lincoln’s. The tour really allowed us to feel Lincoln's life before becoming president. Although an amazing historical figure, in many ways he lived a pretty normal life before becoming president during the Civil War.

NOTE: As you look at the photos, keep a keen eye for the coordination…or shall we say…lack of coordination with the carpet and the wallpaper. Paul actually mentioned this to the tour guide. Everyone got a good laugh.

The front parlor. Original furnishings.

“Whatnot” shelf where Mrs. Lincoln displayed her finest items.

 One of President Lincoln’s many, many hats.

Back parlor. Remember the carpet and wallpaper.

The guest bedroom.

Here is where Mr. Lincoln slept.

His writing table where he spent hours and hours.

Mrs. Lincoln’s bedroom. Can you guess what that brown box is?
Most of them today are white and porcelain.

The boy’s room. The boys played with a these toys.

Hired girl’s room.

The kitchen is very small.

The entire neighborhood has been restored to what it was like during his time. Most of the other homes are open. We were welcomed to stroll through them at our leisure.

We have plenty more to see here in Springfield, IL, so stop back so we can share “Everything Lincoln” with you. What did you think about the carpet and wallpaper…interesting for sure.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day!

ABE LINCOLN PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY & MUSEUM

Monday, April 4 – Don't miss this Presidential Library and Museum. The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, IL, is a MUST see. It is for sure the best Presidential Library and Museum we've visited.

We started our day at the Springfield Visitor's Center. We suggest this stop, if for no other reason, you can get a coupon for a discount at the Lincoln Library and Museum. $16 for both of us rather than the usual $24. Nice deal! We also received a free parking pass to use on a majority of the parking meters any where in Springfield during our visit. Along with numerous pamphlets and great visitor advice this was a bonus stop.

We then walked just up the street to the Presidential Library and Museum. We were greeted by a volunteer that explained the Library and suggested how best to see the five areas in the building. We started with the two movies which were amazing by themselves. We were also told where we could and could not take photos. No photos in the two movies is allowed.

The first movie, “Ghosts of the Library,” is a magical presentation explaining why it is important to “save all this stuff.” The historian in the movie is joined by ghosts of Civil War soldiers and even Abraham Lincoln to reveal why history matters. We don't want to be a “spoiler” so be sure to see this movie....the end will thrill you!

The second movie, “Lincoln's Eyes,” is a multi-screened presentation viewing the Civil War through Lincoln's eyes. Unexpected special effects will put you in the center of dramatic moments in history. Awesome!

We then visited the first area of the Library – the Log Cabin. This area informs visitors about Lincoln’s boyhood life where his dream began. It follows him along his path from store clerk, to husband and father, to lawyer, and to politician.
Remember…you can click on any photo to enlarge it.

One-room cabin is where Lincoln grew up.

Abe during his courting years with Mary.

Mary's Blue Room explains how Mary Lincoln helped her husband's career and the glamour and challenge of life in the Executive Mansion. This scene also introduces you to the great crises that affected her and the nation: fighting a war, ending slavery, and unexpected deaths.

The War Gallery is the stirring events affecting Lincoln during the Civil War. Just to see how Abraham Lincoln aged during this time period explains the suffering this man endured during his presidency. This section is very moving and nearly brought us to tears!

When Lincoln presented the Emancipation Proclamation to his cabinet.
They were not very happy.

You can see how much Mr. Lincoln aged over a very short time.

John Wilkes Booth entering President Lincoln’s box at the Ford’s Theater.

What it looked like when Mr. Lincoln was lying in state.

The Treasure Gallery is a display of dozens of original artifacts of the Lincolns and their contemporaries. The softly lit, changing display included his stovepipe hat, Mary's letters and jewels, the Gettysburg Address, and more. We were delighted in viewing Lincoln's stovepipe hat, where we saw the hat was worn away by Lincoln's fingers as he tipped his hat to the ladies. Pretty amazing! No photos permitted.

We really enjoyed the Museum  and strongly urge you to visit if near Springfield, IL. Please allow at least three hours to see the Museum. You'll need every bit of that time and maybe more!

Guess we shouldn’t have smiled. No one else did.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day!

ILLINOIS STATE FAIRGROUNDS

Sunday, April 3 – We had another long driving day north on I-55 through Missouri to Springfield, IL. It was a nice and SMOOTH ride on I-55. That's a pretty nice interstate! The roads through Arkansas were nice also. This route is much easier on your vehicle rather than the southern route on I-10 through Louisiana, that's for sure!

Can you guess what city we went through on our way to Springfield.

Can’t get to the East unless you cross the Mighty Mississippi.

We are in Springfield, IL, to see everything Lincoln and to visit the Illinois State Capitol. We are staying at the Illinois State Fairgrounds. The grounds encompasses over 360 acres of land that is fully fenced for added security. This place is huge! It is a pretty nice place to stay.

Abe greats visitors at the front gate.

One of the many, many, many buildings on the grounds.

We have never seen a poultry building as nice as this one.

We have a full-hookup site with 50 amp electric. The hookups are at the very rear of the campsite so hooking up water and sewer were a little challenging for us. Paul had to dig out our extra sewer hose. He's going to need it anyway, because we found our regular sewer hose full of holes. He's not sure if it was sun damage or if the landscapers at the Houston Elks chewed it up with their line trimmer.

We are camping on the blacktop instead of the sites on grass. It's pretty wet here from spring rains and more rain is in the forecast for later in the week. At least we won't track mud into the RV. The campground just reopened for the season on April 1. There aren't many campers here, so we have plenty of room to spread out. Our closest neighbor is four sites away. It's nice that they spread out the RV's so they aren't sitting next to each other. An added bonus is if you are 55 or older it is only $20/night instead of $25.

Looking right.

Looking left.

Marsha has several days of intensive sightseeing planned. She's been looking forward to seeing this area and all things Lincoln for several years so Paul needs to get ready for a couple long days walking all over town. Check back and see if he survives the tours.....:-)

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day.