Respects to Abraham Lincoln and crossing the Mississippi River
Joan and I woke early in the morning and let the kids sleep for awhile. Having portable beds is a great benefit. Even James who is usually up by 6 am, at the latest, went back to sleep and slept until 9 am. After we had two hours of driving under our belts we woke them up for breakfast and continued our journey west. As we were driving Allison saw a bald eagle fly overhead. We stopped at an Illinois welcome center for photos and tourist info.
From there we ventured on to Springfield, Illinois. We toured President Lincoln's home and visited his tomb. The kids are working on Junior Ranger programs and collecting the ranger pins. The boys even got temporary tattoos here. Some of the furniture and artifacts in the Lincoln home actually belonged to the Lincoln family. Other pieces are re-creations. We saw one of the biggest caterpillars we have ever seen. The kids asked a few park rangers what kind it was, before one identified it as a luna moth caterpillar.
Lincoln's Tomb was next on our list. It was surprising to see just how shiny Lincoln's nose was on the statue. People were rubbing his nose for luck. Each of the kids did the same.
As we were driving along, Joan was amazed by the flatness and vastness of this part of the country. The picture does not do it justice. We decided to stop early enough to give the kids a chance to play outdoors tonight. Unfortunately, the pool was closed but they did run around and have some fun as I worked and Joan fixed dinner and did some laundry. It took some convincing for Georgie and James to stop chasing the poor rabbit. We are looking forward to seeing what Saturday will bring.
