5/12/10 - Lincoln's New Salem State Histroric Site

In 1831, at the age of 22, a young Abraham Lincoln decided to live in the village of New Salem while co-piloting a flatboat down the Sangamon, Illinois and Mississippi waterways. As you walk New Salem's pathways, you get a glimpse of life in an 1830s trading center. As the town developed, so did his career. Lincoln developed from a self-admitted "aimless piece of driftwood" to a merchant, surveyor, postmaster and captain of the local militia. And finally it was here, where by the flicker of candlelight, he began to study law. Lincoln stayed in New Salem for six years.

Scenes of the small village.

Community cooper lived in the house on the right and his workshop was on the left.

Inside the workshop

Lincoln's 1st store.

US Flag has 24 stars.

Inside the Lincoln store.

Carding Mill and wool house.

Ox were the power for this mill. They stood on the platform on the right and as they walked the wheel turned and generated the power for the carding mill.

Lincoln boarded at the Rutledge Inn for 37 and 1/2 cents per day. Alledgedly Lincoln's sweetheart Ann Rutledge was the innkeeper's daughter who died at the age of 19.

Lincoln was appointed Postmaster and served that position for three years until the post office was moved to Petersburg.

Two sisters and their families lived in this two part structure. Their was an open air part in the middle that served as the gathering area.

A sawmill and gristmill.

There were a lot of stairs getting over to the gristmill area....

At this rate with all the stairs we've been climging.....I can stop going to Curves!!!

5/12/10 - Lincoln Home National Historic Site

You step back in time as you enter the only home the Lincolns ever owned, and walk through the charming 4-block neighborhood surrounding this national treasure. This is the only home that Lincoln ever owned. Here, three of their four children were born, and one died. He and his family lived in this home from 1844 until they left for Washington in 1861.

The Lincolns entertained their guests in the parlor, the most formal and public room in the home.

This is the room Lincoln was notified of his nomination for president by the Republican Party.

The family spent most of the time in this room.

The red and green carpet was beautiful in this room

Mary Lincoln largely devoted herself to managing the household and raising their four children. Much of this domestic and private side of the home centered on the kitchen. As you can see it wasn't very large.

Lincoln frequently worked at home on both his legal and political careers. This was the desk that he worked at in his bedroom.

This desk is very small when you consider how tall Lincoln was.

This bedroom was shared by the boys.

The neighborhood takes up four blocks. The sidewalks and streets have been remodeled to resemble post-1860s Springfield, complete with gaslights and a wooden walkway.

5/11/10 - Lincoln Tomb State Histroric Site

Within this granite monument lie the remains of Abraham Lincoln, his wife Mary, and three of their sons. Oak Ridge Cemetery is the largest cemetery in Illinois and the second most visited in the nation (after Arlington National in Washington D.C.) The magnificent and imposing tomb stands on a slight rise and provides a dramatic image as you enter the cemetery.

At Oak Ridge Cemetery, it's a tradition to rub the nose on Lincoln's bronze face for good luck.

You can see how shiny the nose is in this picture.

At the entrance inside the tomb.

You walk down these marble hallways to the actual burial site.

The burial site.

5/11/10 - Old Capitol State Historic Site

This majestic structure with its imposing porticoes and original facade allows guest to imagine the state capitol building as it was when Lincoln lived and worked in Springfield. It is here that he practiced law before the Supreme Court, spent countless hours bent over books in the state law library, served as a legislator, and most importantly, in 1858 gave his famous "House Divide Speech." After Lincoln was assassinated, his casket was brought here to the Capitol, and 75,000 mourners filed past it to pay their last respects.

"A house divided against itself cannot stand...."

This is the room he gave that speech from.

Note the lighting is candles on each desk.

This is the room Lincoln waited in and learned that he had been elected President.

5/11/10 - Abraham Lincoln Presidental Museum

In a stunning way, with state-of-the-art, the Lincoln Museum's more than 40,000 square feet of galleries, theaters, and historic displays immerse you in Lincoln's world and time. The holographic and special effects theatres entertain, educate and mesmerize with ghostly images, live actors and high action. You can witness the 1860 Presidential Election as though it were happening today, complete with television news coverage and campaign commercials. Journey from a rustic Indiana one room log cabin to the Executive Mansion in the nation's capital; follow the fate of America's 16th president and share the joys and sorrows of a family --- and a nation. There were three different areas in the museum that I wasn't able to read or see.....the tears were flowing so much........ 1) the full-size replicas of a slave auction...... 2) the Civil War 4-minute timeline depiction of all the battles counting the HUGE loss of life that totaled more than 1.3 million and..... 3) Lincoln's coffin as it lay in state in Springfield's first Capitol. This is by far the best Presidential Library we have visited. You could only take pictures out in the main rotunda area so we don't have any pictures inside the exhibits.

The White House as it appeared in 1861.

The life size replicas were so real looking it was amazing, you felt as though you could start talking to them and they would respond.

Pat & Barb with the Lincoln's - Barb didn't realize she was actually blocking the Lincoln's oldest son Robert.

Young Abe standing outside his family's cabin in Indiana.

Abe reading before the fireplace in their one room cabin. He only had 8 months of formal education and read everything he could get his hands on.

5/10/10 - Illinois State Fairgrounds

Pat had found out that we could camp at the Illinois State Fairgrounds and it was very close to everything. Other than Miss Garmin getting us in the wrong gate and taking a tour of the 400 acre fairgrounds in the motorhome with all the turns and twists around the buildings etc.... to find the campground.... it was a really nice area. There are over 600 camping sites and when we were there, there were only two rigs in the whole campground....so we basically had our own private campground with acres of grass. The fairgrounds complex is huge, consisting of over 100 permanent buildings. Addie and Cody thought they were in Heaven here!

Molly Brown Birthplace & Museum

The birthplace and museum of the "Unsinkable Molly Brown" heroine.

Mississippi River Traffic

Barge loaded with the equivalent of 900 truckloads of freight!

There is a huge Portland Cement facility along the river. This is cement loaded for shipment all over the world.

This was containers of grain that is sent down river.

5/9/10 - Mother's Day Riverboat trip on the Mississippi River

We took a sight-seeing cruise on the the Mark Twain Mississippi Riverboat. Listened to a commentary on river history, legends and sights and just watching the Mighty River rolling along.

Part of the bridge from Hannibal, MO that spans the Mississippi River and goes into Illinois.

Notice the depth markings on the bridge support showing water traffic how much clearance they have. At this particular time the highest clearance mark is 60' and our boat captain said we only needed 35'.

Overlooking Hannibal and the Mississippi River

The mighty Mississippi River

Looking down at Hannibal, MO

Mark Twain Memorial Lighthouse.

We climbed 244 stairs to get up to this lighthouse and lookout over the town and river.

Looking back at the stairs we climbed up!

The hillside had lots of pretty flowers and was thick with bushes and trees....was very pretty looking out on the Mississippi River from here.