Our last day in Springfield, Ill., started out with a nice breakfast at the B&B. Then we decided to just head back into the downtown area and walk around. We planned to leave town around lunch time.

First, we went to a farmer’s market. Was nice, but nothing too special. Next, we checked out a few local shops. Then we walked around the Old State Capitol Building. We saw that the gate was open and people were exiting, so we decided to check it out. It turned out to be one of the cooler things we did (for history-loving, geeky folks like us anyway!).

A tour was in progress so we joined it. The building was used from 1839 to 1876. According to the official site (because I don’t recall everything we were told):

During the dramatic years leading to the Civil War, the building had an important role in the political struggle between Stephen A. Douglas (1813-1861) and Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865). Lincoln visited the building frequently as both a lawyer and a politician, serving in the building during his last term in the Illinois House of Representatives and delivering the famous 1858 “House Divided” speech in Representatives Hall, and using the governor’s rooms as a headquarters during the 1860 presidential campaign. The building was the scene of the assassinated President’s final laying-in-state on May 3-4, 1865.

Below are some pictures I took while there. First, the outside of the building:



This is the old state Supreme Court area. Lincoln argued, I think this is accurate, more than 200 cases there:



Below is a picture of an actual drum that a 14-year-old boy carried into battle during the Civil War. The drum was displayed in a tiny room on the second floor. We were told that you had to visit this room, if you were an Illinois resident, to enlist to fight in the Civil War.



Ulysses S. Grant’s first job was in this building. He was a recruiter for the military. Funny story, though. His desk was too big to get it through the door to the office he was assigned, so his “office” was under the staircase that led up to the third floor. Here’s a recreation:



When we were at the Lincoln Museum, they had a display set up to look like the room pictured below. This is the old state senate area. Lincoln’s body, after his death, traveled across the country. The last stop was here, where the casket was placed in front of this portrait of George Washington (this is the actual painting). More than 75,000 people went through this room in one day to pay their final respects to the president.



This is a picture of the actual desk used by Lincoln when he was a state senator:



Across the corner on the back side of the building is Lincoln’s old law office. He worked on the third floor:



After this, we grabbed lunch and headed home. Overall, this was a fun trip. Two nights (and three days) was plenty of time for us to see everything we wanted to see. Not sure if there’s much that would draw me back in the near future, but might be cool to take a train there with Oliver when he’s a little older. Thanks for reading along about our journey. I’ll start back with the more typical posts here soon.

During the afternoon of our full day in Springfield, Ill., we visited the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. I know it’s fairly new, but can’t tell you when it opened because the Web site for the museum is hard to navigate.

The museum was pretty cool, though it sounds hokey. There are different areas around the building, each set up to showcase a time period from Lincoln’s life. In these areas are wax figures, artifacts, interactive activities, etc. I’m telling you, it’s worth going if you’re into American history. My favorite part was in the Civil War area. First, there’s a “Civil War in 4 Minutes” video that shows you the battle lines and casualties that took place over the course of the war. Pretty amazing. Then, there’s a wall with close to 200 old photographs on it. At the base of the wall are computer monitors with touch screens, and you can click through to select pictures from the wall to view and read descriptions. I also enjoyed seeing one of Lincoln’s stovepipe hats, which had finger marks worn into the brim from all the times Lincoln’ tipped his hat at passersby.

We were at the museum for hours. At the end, Sarah wanted to watch one of the free movies playing in the theater area. I reluctantly agreed, but must say that the presentation was among the best I’ve ever seen at a museum. I think the show was called “In Lincoln’s Eyes.” Was very good. Then we watch a short, live-action show called “Ghosts of the Lincoln Museum,” or something like that. It was merely OK. Probably more exciting for kids.

The one drawback for a Canon digital SLR camera-toting tourist is that you can only take pictures in the lobby area. That said, here’s a photo of me, being goofy and acting stoic, with a wax Abraham, Mary Todd and son family outside the “White House.” Enjoy:



That evening, we hit the city’s “finest” restaurant, Maldiners to celebrate our anniversary. The food was excellent, though the spot we were seated at was right near the kitchen and workers were running around the area like crazy the entire time. We got some wine and headed back to the B&B where we ended up watching, I kid you not, this hilarious local elementary school’s spelling bee on a community television channel. Some of the kids were sooooo bad. Makes you fear the future. At least we slept well that night.

I’ll wrap up this series of posts later today or tomorrow, then we can get back to all the parenting stuff you’ve come to enjoy.

Thanks for following along with all my posts on our trip to Springfield, Ill. This is part three, and I may have two or three more coming up.

The first morning, Sarah and I decided to head over to Lincoln’s Tomb. We figured there would be a little display and a statue, but this was really an impressive resting place. We were both pleasantly surprised.

The granite structure, featuring several bronze statues and a tall pillar called an obelisk. It’s all much larger in person than you would imagine. The next two pictures will give you a sense of the outside.





Inside, I was asked to remove my baseball cap as a sign of respect (not a problem), and we then headed down a dark tunnel to the back side of the tomb. There, we viewed Lincoln’s actual grave site. It was quite impressive, and you can’t help but feel moved while in that room. On the opposite wall were chambers that held the bodies of Lincoln’s wife Mary Todd, and three of their four sons, Edward, William and Thomas. The eldest son, Robert T. Lincoln, is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.



There are numerous small bronze statues located throughout the building. I asked a guard about the one near the entrance/exit. I was told that it was the actual artist model created for the famous Lincoln Monument found in Washington, D.C. Here’s a picture:



Behind the building, there’s a path that heads down a hillside. At the bottom is the Oak Ridge Cemetery public receiving vault, the scene of Lincoln’s funeral. His body was held in this facility until the fancy tomb was completed some several years later.



Hard to see in this picture, but there are chambers inside the open-air building. See here:



Before leaving, we had to rub the nose on the bronze reproduction of Gutzon Borglum’s marble head of Lincoln (the real one is located in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.). It’s said that rubbing the nose is good luck. From the discoloration, you can tell that many people have done the same thing:





Afterward, we walked around the cemetery for an hour, looking at graves from Civil War veterans and others. Was pretty cool. Then we headed back to the bed and breakfast to clean up. Next, it was on to more touristy activities. I’ll have more here soon.

The first historic place we visited during our stay in Springfield, Ill., was the Lincoln Home National Historic Site. It’s pretty cool. The government purchased a couple blocks, and all the old houses are standing. You can go into a few of them and get a feel for what it was like in the mid-1800s.

We took the tour of the Lincoln home, of course. He lived there up until becoming president. Was interesting to see what kind of living conditions his family was subjected to. And also neat to see some of the actual items from the home.

Below are some of the pictures we took during the tour. It was a rainy morning, so we didn’t use the camera much outdoors.

First, here’s a recreation of the most famous photo of the Lincoln home (see the card Sarah is holding on the bottom left; I blurred the home intentionally, so you know!):




And this is Lincoln’s actual desk (must have been tough to use at 6-foot-4, eh?):



And this is the outhouse (there were three pots in here – probably some interesting sitting time with Abraham and his boys, don’t you think?):

Late last week, Sarah and I got our first extended Oliver-free break in quite some time. My parents came into town to watch the boy, and the wife and I headed to Springfield, Ill. (not to be confused with the hometown of my parents, the Springfield down I-44 in southwest Missouri). It was definitely the Land of Lincoln, as it was the hometown and is the current resting place of our 16th president.

We had a wonderful time, and I plan to write about what we did each day. For now, I’ll tell you about the place we stayed: The Rippon-Kinsella House Bed & Breakfast. Built in 1871, this bed and breakfast was full of charm … and antiques. Yes, proprietor Roger Schmitz is a former antique dealer (“I was terrible,” he told us, with a chuckle, the first morning while we ate breakfast. “I tried to keep the good stuff and sell the crap.”).

Despite the creaky bed, we had a blast there. The inside and outside of the home has so much to look at. Taking photos was a blast. Below are a few to give you a flavor of the place. First, the sign:



Sarah, standing on the wraparound porch (built at least a decade after the building):



Another shot of the porch, on which we tried to spend and afternoon reading but had to give up due to mosquitoes:



The creaky bed:



Our private bathroom:



A cool ship from The Captain’s Room, in which we did not stay:



There were old radios everywhere, including this one: