April 19,2022
We did some research last night, downloaded a couple of apps, looked online, etc. Looked at the weather and we decided to do some walking today and tomorrow we’d drive around due to rain.
We started out by driving on Route 66 to downtown Springfield. We found a place to park. Parking is free in Springfield. We walked to a park that is a part of the Lincoln Museum. Next to the park is Union Station. It is a train station that was restored to the way it was in the 1860s. Unfortunately it was locked. We walked around the park and I had a chance to sit down with Honest Abe and talk to him about his platform.
We had purchased tickets online last night for the Lincoln Museum. It is an awesome experience. You enter into an atrium and then walk down a hallway into another large atrium. It’s actually a hub. The volunteers will greet you and explain the set up and show times for the movies. Journey I is the log home taking you from birth to the 1860 election and show casing important events in Lincoln’s life. There is so much to learn. The one point I found extremely interesting is that it is believed that at a young age Lincoln saw a slave auction and this formed his opposition to slavery.
Journey 2 was the White House years which included the Civil War. There were a lot of things I learned. Lincoln was the only Republican candidate. The party had just been formed. For the 1860 election there were 3 Democrats which really split the votes. Lincoln won the electoral vote but not the popular vote. One of those candidates was none other than Stephen Douglas, whom had defeated Lincoln just 2 years prior for a Senate seat.
There were 2 great movies. One was the Ghosts of the Library and the other was Lincoln’s Eyes. The movies were actually shorts. There was a special exhibit in the Illinois Gallery titled Stories of Survival: Object, Images, Memory. There was also an exhibit area called Treasure’s Gallery. Great lessons in history and you get to see a lot.
We left the Museum and crossed the street to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library. Admission is free. It was interesting but did not take us long to go through. I recommend the visit.
We were pretty tired from walking so we only did a drive by on the Lincoln Home National Historic Site. Couldn’t get any pictures.
By this time it was late afternoon and we had not eaten anything yet. We decided to check out a Route 66 restaurant. The Motorhead Bar and Grill. Their signature dish is called a Horseshoe Sandwich. It’s a piece of Texas Toast with choice of meat on it, then covered in tater tots, fries, or chips, and then covered in cheese sauce. Had to try one. It’s also a museum with lots of toys, motorcycles, cars, etc. on display.
