Our Recent Trip to Springfield, Illinois

Sorry, I am a bit behind....  but shortly after our South Dakota trip, we decided to try to do a long weekend trip back to the Springfield Illinois area!

We planned to go in the middle of March.  It looked like the town had a St. Patrick's Day Parade planned for the time we would be there...  we could visit the various museums, etc. etc.

Well, as you know, the whole Coronavirus scare really hit that weekend.  Our trip didn't go exactly as we planned.

Still, we went and we got the most out of our couple of days in town.

We drove through Indianapolis, then on to Illinois.  We stopped at the Salt Kettle Illinois visitor center/rest area.  This was a nice stop in a beautiful area.  There were lots of free promotional brochures and magazines on various towns in the state.  I love this sort of thing.  There were a couple of guys there eager to help with travel advice and all too.  They gave me a bag to carry all of the magazines I took!

We stopped for lunch in Bloomington Illinois.  I asked a young lady there about Route 66, asking her where I could pick it up.  She had no idea what I was talking about.

Anyway, we got to Springfield pretty much to find that everything was closing or restricted.  We were still able to do a lot, but this would change quickly.

The St. Patrick's Day parade ended up being cancelled.  Some of the national parks and museum type attractions were open, but we would hear that they would be closing over the next day or two.

We still made the most of our trip!

The Grave of Ann Rutledge, New Salem Park, Illinois

This older, undated postcard shows the grave of Ann Rutledge- a friend, and according to Abe Lincoln's law partner after Abe's death, an early girlfriend of the 16th President's.

Underneath the scan of the postcard, I have some photos from our recent visit to Oakland Cemetery, a few miles from New Salem, Illinois.

Check out the photo taken from roughly the same spot as the postcard!  There are MORE monuments in the photo, but some of the tombstones and the pointed top building are in both!

Lincoln's Monument, Oak Ridge Cemetery, Springfield, Illinois

This postcard was postmarked 1948 and sent to a friend in Dayton Ohio - It shows Lincoln's Monument in Springfield.

Abraham Lincoln's Home, Springfield, Illinois

Another older, undated postcard showing Honest Abe's Springfield Home.

"In the Path of Destruction: Eyewitness Chronicles of Mount St. Helens" by Richard Waitt

Right before I started this blog, my wife and I visited some of our relatives out in Seattle.  It was a great trip. 

Well, we were taken out to visit Mount St. Helens!  AND, at that time, the volcano was smoking!  I have a photo of us in front of Mount St. Helens WITH SMOKE piping out of the top!

Living in Kentucky, volcanoes are so foreign.....  and I am really grateful that I was able to visit this one.  I remember driving toward the volcano (and this was in the mid 00s), but you could still see a lot of the destruction from the eruption in 1980- in fact, we just passed the 40th anniversary of the event!

I am still fascinated with it.  Luckily, I was given the book, "In the Path of Destruction:  Eyewitness Chronicles of Mount St. Helens" by Richard Waitt!

This is a GREAT book, mostly giving quotes from people who witnessed the eruption (and even some who were killed by it).

The author has put together over 300 FULL pages of quotes.  Its a big, thick book, and it is NOT a quick read.  This is one to dive into and really immerse yourself in.

I wouldn't call it a complete volume on the event, but it is a complete enough collection of first hand accounts, all in one nice book for your bookshelf.

Waitt sets up the scene at the beginning of the book before getting in to the accounts.  There are some characters that are forever linked to the event (David Johnston and Harry Truman) that I learned more about here.  My jaw dropped as I also learned about people affected very directly who were MANY miles from Mount St. Helens.

AND, my heart broke as I read about the animals described by those who were there.

I read about families, children, an entire lodge, and a huge section of the US affected by this.

Richard Waitt's book is mammoth in size and content and I really enjoyed slowly reading through it.  It gets my highest possible recommendation.

Abraham Lincoln's Home- Springfield, Ill.

Both of these old postcards were distributed by the Lincoln Souvenir and Gift Shop in Springfield.  The back of both note-

This is the only home Lincoln ever owned and was occupied from 1841 until the family moved to Washington in 1861.  Here three sons were born, Edward, William, and Thomas; and here, Edward died.

The house was built in 1839 by Rev. Charles Dresser, the Episcopal Minister, who married Lincoln and Mary Todd three years later.  Abraham Lincoln bought the house in 1844 for $1500.  Originally a story and a half the full second story was added in 1856 for $1300 and the North front room became Mr. Lincoln's bedroom.

The house contains many of the original Lincoln possessions and is open to the public from 9 A.M. to 5 P.M. daily.

Lincoln's Tomb, Springfield Ill.

I found these two beautiful Lincoln related postcards recently.

Both cards were sent in 1952, showing Abraham Lincoln's final resting place.

Abraham Lincoln Hotel- Springfield, Illinois

It honestly breaks my heart a bit to mention the Abraham Lincoln Hotel in Springfield Illinois.  We stayed there on our first visit to town.  We stayed there at the end of our trip driving to South Dakota, and we stayed there on our most recent trip to town.  WE WILL NEVER STAY THERE AGAIN.  AND, I must withdraw my previous endorsement for the hotel.

The rooms are looking a bit ragged (see my photos).

Also, we were there right as the coronavirus scare was heating up in March.  Businesses were closing left and right.  Everyone was worried about everything.

And we were worried about elderly relatives.  We decided to cut our Springfield trip on this trip down from 3 nights to 2.  We went to the front desk to let them know we would be leaving a day early.

A front desk manager named Jonathan came up to talk to us.  He informed us that there would be a ONE HUNDRED DOLLAR cancellation fee!  We were shocked and a bit offended.  We are Hilton Honors members, we have stayed at this hotel 3 times.  We had spent money in the hotels restaurant.

We argued with the amateurish manager about this.  He kept insisting that he was trying to help us out with the fee (our room rate was around $130).  We felt the hotel was taking advantage of a national crisis.


I pointed out to Jonathan that he was literally standing in front of a satisfaction guaranteed sign.  I told him we were not satisfied.  He had no response.

We walked away from the unprofessional babbling manager.  We called Hilton Honors and the fee ended up being waved...  but this was some stress we did not need at that moment.  I thought about how Jonathan could have handled this so differently, but he did not.

Anyway, we will be staying at another hotel on our next Springfield trip.  Right now, according to tripadvisor, there are 13 other hotels in town rated higher.

Springfield, IL

We arrived in Springfield Illinois kind of early in the evening, so we didn't have time to visit any of the Lincoln related sites.  We had visited several of them before, but it would have been cool to see them again if we had time.

AND, we were pretty tired.  This would be the last night of our trip and we would be leaving for home in the morning.

Still, we had time to walk around downtown a bit and just enjoy the atmosphere.

As we visited the statues of Honest Abe and his family, we could hear a cover band somewhere performing Billy Idol's "Rebel Yell".  I'm not sure if the band had any idea of the irony of playing that song in Abraham Lincoln's Springfield or not.

Walking around this historic town we both agreed that we wanted to get back soon.  Exploring the streets while the Lincoln related museums and businesses were closed was a bit frustrating.

We did notice an American Idol bus parked close to our hotel.  We found out that they were having auditions in town earlier in the day.

AND, when we got back to the hotel where we were staying, we found out that a singer named Marc Martel was performing with a large Queen tribute act right next door.

Lots of people were around before the show, and we made it back to our room by the start of the concert.  I was a bit tempted to look into getting tickets, as I do love Queen.  As I said before though, we were both exhausted.

We were actually able to hear the concert, very clearly from our room though!  It was a bit of a bonus, as we enjoyed the music from the setting of our room!

Sangamon County Court House- Springfield, Illinois

Sent in 1952, the back of the postcard notes-

The Sangamon County Court House was formerly the Illinois State Capitol (from 1840-1876).  The old State House is replete with memories of Abraham Lincoln.  Here in the Supreme Court Chambers he argued approximately two hundred cases and on June 16, 1853 he delivered his famous "House Divided" Speech.  On May 3 and 4, 1865, the body of Lincoln lay here in state.

Random thoughts on Friday

 So, we have gotten in to a habit, as the whole coronavirus thing has limited our socialization.  Our habit involves driving to Richmond once a week.  We stop and get Purdy's Coffee in Richmond.  They have 2 locations and the one with a drive through has kept that part of the business up and running through all of this.

I have said it before...  I love their coffee.  They are doing it right and you can tell!  They know how to make and serve good, fresh coffee!

Their downtown coffee shop is about the most cozy place to set and enjoy coffee around.  It is probably my favorite coffee shop, and I have been to a lot of coffee shops!

Its been nice getting their coffee at their drive through at this time.  It is a real treat right now.  We have been getting our coffee, then driving to Berea and walking around the town and campus.  It is a very pleasant ritual for us.

Oh, and the friendly staff at Purdy's has been writing kind and appreciated messages on our cups lately!  How sweet is that?

So, skip the chain places and support this great little local independent shop!

Looking For Lincoln in Illinois: Lincoln's Springfield by Bryon C. Andreasen

I picked up "Looking for Lincoln in Illinois:  Lincoln's Springfield" by Bryon C. Andreasen when I realized we would be spending a little bit of time there on our road trip.

The book was a very nice, quick, easy read, and it includes a map showing where various places, with a direct connection to our 16th President, are located around town.

Many of the buildings in Springfield where Lincoln hung out are no longer there, but there are markers (and this great book) telling you where they were located.

its definatley a nice one to get before visiting Springfield.

Cozy Dog Drive In- Springfield, IL

We FINALLY made it back to Cozy Drive-In in Springfield Illinois!

When we realized we would be here on our way back from our trip out west, we both wanted to stop here again for some dogs!

Herbert Hoover National Historic Site and Library in West Branch Iowa

We were able to visit the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site AND the separate Library and Museum dedicated to him in West Branch Iowa.

We parked at the National Historic Site.  We went in and talked to a friendly ranger who gave us a map of the area.  We watched about a 15 minute movie at this location (spoiler alert, its a bit of a tear jerker).

We then walked to the childhood home/birth site, school, and church associated with his young life.  AND, still within a short walk, we made it to the Library and Museum!

There was a small fee at the Library and Museum.  We hopped right on to a guided tour.

AND, before leaving the area, we walked to the final resting place of POTUS 31 and his wife Lou Henry.

Hoover is, I think an overlooked president in many ways because he was a REALLY nice human.  Almost saintly.  He did a lot of good work and helped a lot of people.

Unfortunately, we has President during a really back economy...  so he gets remembered for that.

But, he was just a really good human and tried his best.  He had done well for himself before becoming President, and declined a salary (he, Kennedy, and Trump are the only 3 to have done that so far).

This is a great site for people who visit sites though.  Its in a nice, rural area.  West Branch is a very attractive small town.  AND, you can take in most of the sites associated with this president in one nice walk!