Alum Creek SP, Ohio; Sangris Lake SP, Rochester, Illinois

And so it begins...

The first three days: Ohio through Indiana to Illinois

First Night: a beautiful site at Alum Creek SP, Delaware, OH

Then: Sangris Lake SP, Deer Run Campground, Rochester, IL

 

Sunday, May 23: Matt was actually excited to have Fleur join him at his house. With the hours he’s now working, I was concerned that he might not have time for her, but he’s turning out to be a master juggler. I know she’s in good hands and will be happy to be with him...when he’s actually HOME! (I stole this shot from his IG story. Don’t tell him...he’ll never know!)

Day 1: May 24

We travel to Alum Creek State Park, in Delaware, OH and were greeted by the early cicada brigade. When we woke up on Tuesday, the 25th, these casings were on our picnic table. We were serenaded as we set up camp. Nice state park, the sites were all spaced thoughtfully for privacy and “nature”—I liked that!

In the short time we were there, this was the only cicada I saw climbing up a tree. And it was dead. All the live ones I’ve ever seen had RED eyes! The last time they emerged, we were at the Holden Arboretum and there were THOUSANDS of them climbing up the trees!

We had dinner at Andrew and Madison’s house in Columbus and got to meet Jana, Madison’s mom. I was impressed with Andrew’s grill skills. He’s stepped up a few notches, I noticed! Of course, I only got a picture of the dog! This is Jelli Bean with her LGBT!+ rainbow ice cream cone. With no Fleur around, she was really friendly!

Dan spends a LOT of his “trailer time” on his computer, doing Algebra I problems. You see, he’s volunteered to be a math tutor for local kids and wants to brush up on his skills. Then he quizzes me. (I’m getting a straight B, I’d say.) Most RVs have TVs these days, so I got to mess with the antenna and tune in to NBC to see both nights of The Voice! Finals Monday and the winner was crowned Tuesday! I can’t think of anything else I might want to see until the Summer Olympic Games in late July!

Imagine trying to use the visor on the passenger side. (It’s impossible)

Andrew, then Matt, inspired Dan to want to film his trip. It IS fun to watch thousands of miles go by in a 10-15 minute clip. He’s already scheming how to cut it and dub a soundtrack over. 

(I guess he didn’t like my cussing when I missed the picture of the “Welcome to Illinois” sign!)

In addition to the camera, there is a rear view cam for the back of the trailer, invaluable for lane changes on busy interstates! Also, new this trip, our EZ Pass. 

Morning coffee is just better in a Linnea Campbell Ceramics cicada mug, a Mother’s Day present Andrew gave me when we visited them on Monday night.

Since we, er, *I* missed the WTI sign at the state border, I took a shot of this one at a rest stop.

The Abraham Lincoln Museum, Springfield, IL
We toured here today. Lucky us! We had our vaccination cards with us and the museum was doing a promo: if you had vaccine proof, then you got in free! Whoot! 

The central area of the Lincoln Museum, with faux first family posing. I was  very impressed with the  museum and displays and theaters. Very well done.

This theater had a fantastic narration (by the painter who did this portrait) and production that summarized Lincoln’s life. Really impressive. Another theater did a “live” (I have NO idea how they did it, but it was incredible) presentation about the significance of the Lincoln library and some of the kinds of historical artifacts they catalogue.  It combined a live person that vaporized as the Civil War was represented.
 I was “wowed”.

The White House kitchen recreated to look as it did in Lincoln’s Day

I included this because it was very interesting to me that Lincoln’s funeral train went through Conneaut, Ashtabula, and Geneva. More people saw his funeral train than had ever seen him in life!

Huge mural depicting a scene in Gettysburg—sacred land consecrated by the blood of those who died there.

A scene depicting Lincoln presenting the controversial Emancipation Proclamation to his cabinet.
I never realized that this was such a hotly debated item. I was also intrigued by Lincoln’s love life. Apparently after his one true love died, while he married the smart and headstrong Mary Todd, there wasn’t the spark there that there had been previously. We collect Presidential Historical site pins and in the bookstore, I made a beeline to Doris Kearns Godwin’s “Team of Rivals”; I don’t know if that will give me the answers I seek, but I’m excited to dive into it (including footnotes and index, it’s close to a thousand pages!)

We were so lucky to be here as a special exhibit was going on: THE STATE OF SOUND: A World of Music from Illinois. We got sanitized headsets and plugged in to hear about Illini musicians in all genres of music. It was really a well-done exhibit. Lots of fun. Some I knew, some I didn’t. Lots centered around Chicago, as one might expect.

Dan Fogleburg’s Martin guitar. He was a favorite of mine in the 70s and 80s.

A spire, and a dome.

Yummy lunch on a hot sunny day—Obed and Isaac’s Brewpub

Lincoln’s home in Springfield, left behind after he was elected President. He came from a neighborhood of immigrants, and took that life experience with him to Washington. Lincoln said of government, it’s “...leading object is, to elevate the condition of men—to lift artificial weights from all shoulders—to clear the paths of laudable pursuit for all—to afford all, an unfettered start, and a fair chance, in the race of life.”  I can’t help but reflect how timely this is in light of the past year of Black Lives Matters protests after the killing of George Floyd.
Many sites were closed to the public as was the Lincoln Springfield home. This entire area has historical displays in keeping with the times that Lincoln lived there. We walked under the shade trees  on the boardwalks and read the placards and were appreciative that we at least could do that in this Covid era.

Love this. What a neighborhood church should aspire to.
We noted a homeless tent encampment, in one empty parking lot, and a couple of people on the street with obvious mental illness. But generally, this part of town, with us on foot, was either Lincoln or state government felt both vibrant and safe.  It seemed that the business was either state government or Lincoln-related. And there was a LOT Lincoln-related!

We passed right by Sen. Tammy Duckworth’s office!

The State Capitol building of Illinois

Restoration work continues on the old state capitol building, last used in the 1870s.

After lunch we drove up to Lincoln’s tomb and did the short circuit in the tomb itself. Lots of  smallish statuary was in the tomb. This one looks familiar.

Lincoln’s tomb; Mary Todd Lincoln, and three of their sons are also buried there.

The entryway to the tomb

The tomb is sited on the top of a hill, visible as you approach the cemetery. Illinois flags are at half staff to honor a patrolman who lost his life in the line of duty.

Something about the angle of both Lincoln’s head and the head of the horse, along with the lighting, was striking to me. The statues on display in the tomb depicted various periods in Abraham Lincoln’s life.

This squirrel and I had some conversation.

More to come in the Springfield area. Forgive the LONG post!