ROADTRIPPIN - HANGING WITH ABE

A few hours southeast of Nauvoo is Springfield, Illinois – Abraham Lincoln’s Hometown. This is where he lived with Mary Todd Lincoln, and where his political life began. Well, I couldn't be that close and not stop.

LINCOLN HOME

The home that Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd Lincoln built and shared together is now a National Park, and a great place to visit. When Lincoln’s son was older, he gave the home to the State of Illinois – on the condition that no one ever be charge to enter. So there is no admission fee (but you do have to pay $2/hr for parking).

   As you walk through the home, many of the original furnishings are still there. And you get a great glimpse at what life was like in the Lincoln home. You even get to see Mary Todd Lincoln’s “commode” – a mahogany box in her bedroom, so that she didn’t have to walk outside at night and in the cold to use the outhouse (also still on the grounds). I’m not sure she’d be thrilled that her “bathroom habits” are considered of historical significance today.

  And it’s not just the Lincoln Home – there are a number of other homes from the time still standing, and the whole neighborhood is part of this National Park. Two homes across the street are set up with museum displays of information relevant to the period. It’s a charming neighborhood and a great way to spend an afternoon – definitely like stepping back in time.

LINCOLN TOMB

I was also able to go to Lincoln’s Tomb. It’s a huge cemetery, and a massive tomb. The obelisk rises 117-feet up, with four flights of stairs leading up. There is a large bronze Lincoln head in front of the entrance, and a larger-than-lifesize bronze Standing Lincoln watches over the entrance. Once inside, you are in the rotunda with a smaller bronze version of the Seated Lincoln (from the Washington D.C. Lincoln Memorial) – and from there corridors leading each way to the crypt. The corridors lead you in a circle back to the crypt, with a lovely variety of various bronze statues of Lincoln adorning the hallways.

   Then once at the center-back, you are at the crypt, the final resting place of President Abraham Lincoln. Mary Todd Lincoln and 3 of their 4 sons are also entombed here. The room is majestic and solemn. The entire place is done in beautiful marble, and has a majesty and elegance about it.

COVERED WAGON

As I left Springfield, I tried to find Santa Ana’s Leg (because you know how I like weird stuff). But since I couldn’t find it, I headed off to the World’s Largest Covered Wagon. The wagon is 25-feet tall and 40-feet long – significantly larger than the Pioneers used. It’s right on Route 66 (another favorite of mine) – and in Lincoln, Illinois. So I guess that the location as Lincoln’s Namesake is why the Wagon Driver is a 12-foot-tall fiberglass Abraham Lincoln reading a Law Book. It’s certainly easy to find (I mean, how would you hide something that big), but there isn’t any signage – so other than it being an oddity, I don’t really know much about it. Except that it was a great way to end my Lincoln Day.