After a free breakfast we drove Rt 36 to Springfield, IL, a straight shot to the Land O'Lincoln. The ride through this area was just what Big Tom had been imagining - fields of ready to harvest corn and soybeans and huge equipment at work. America's heartland broken up by a two lane highway. Along the way were some interesting homes desperately in need of TLC and at each one an old car that needed it even more. Also seen were wells pumping in the middle of the soybeans, moving up and down, like birds dipping their beaks in a puddle. Gas or oil, I don't know.
We took a guided tour of Abraham Lincoln's home (the only home he ever owned). Tours are free - the tickets are stamped for a specific time, but we didn't have to wait.. Not crowded at all.
It was amazing to me how small scaled the furniture was - no wonder people thought him gangly looking. Note to family...there was a fake Mary Lincoln white almond cake (made of Crisco, no doubt) displayed in the dining room. Now I am going to try it!
We then walked about 6 or 7 blocks to the new Lincoln Museum which is wonderful. Several theaters presenting films in addition to life size depictions of a log cabin and the White House. Most moving was the dimly lit room with Lincoln's coffin on a raised platform just as if we could have been passing by it in 1865. Of course there were galleries of memorabilia too.
We visited Lincoln's tomb before heading out of town. Quite impressive. The four statues at the corners were made of melted down Civil War cannons.The sun chose that moment to appear as the earlier part of the day had been cloudy with a brief shower that only made the heat wet.
Managed to get to East St.Louis in time to get pictures of the Memorial arch (across the Mississippi) before the sunset. WOW! We could see the arch looming ahead for quite a distance.
The Gateway Geyser that we were hoping to photograph with the arch in the background was not turned on , so that was disappointing. We did find an outlook tower that we climbed to get a better view. Hightailed it through St.Louis and on to Foristell, MO, where we are holed up at a Best Western along Interstate 70 and are outnumbered by trucks 10 to 1.
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