Lincoln Land

We've just spent two wonderful days in Springfield, IL. It's not our first trip here. Just the first since the Lincoln Museum and Library have opened. We're glad we made this impromptu decision.

We're staying in a wonderful RV park about 1 1/2 miles south of Springfield. (Double J RV Park for those of our friends who are campers.) It's a first class facility, well run, and a pleasure to stay in. We're in the midst of a real heat wave - 95 degrees...and it's NOT a dry heat. We have taken every advantage of the swimming pool here.

We found this lovely covered bridge in a county park right near the RV park. All the homes in the surrounding area would qualify as "upscale." Lake Springfield is right here with beautiful lake homes all around it. A young deer wandered through the park as we were taking photos. Just beautifully tranquil.

Right in the middle of downtown Springfield is the Lincoln historical area. The old train station is now the Visitors Center. The new museum (4 years new) and library are right across the street, and the old Court House is a 5 minute walk away.

The museum is built around a circular core with galleries and theatres all the way around. Look who we ran into right in front of the White House!

Most of the exhibits are done with these wax figures and you can always get right up close to them. I couldn't take photos in the galleries or theatres. It's all very state of the art and it would be impossible not to learn about Lincoln's presidency and what he faced and the decisions he made. We were both impressed that all sides were presented.

The Emancipation Proclaimation was a very clever political document....it didn't even come close to ending slavery, but it started the ball rolling. When I was a docent at the Lincoln Museum in Fort Wayne, I made it a goal to teach children that the Civil War wasn't about ending slavery, but about preserving the Union. And I always spoke about the cost of that war in terms of human life. This museum has an exhibit showing the progression of the war. It lasts just 5 minutes - with a ticker showing the number of lives lost on both sides. I always think what a debacle this war was...and all about preserving the status quo. You may not agree with me. It's just my take on it.

Ed, being the historian he is, was very interested in what General Grant had to say as General McCellan listened too. They were standing on the front porch of the White House. John Wilkes Booth is just to the left outside the gate. On the the other side are Sojourner Truth and Frederick Douglas.

Lincoln's early life is covered in the log cabin. There sits young Lincoln and old Ed. It takes us right up to his election as president.

There are two multimedia theatres. "Through Lincoln's Eyes" and "Ghosts of the Past." Both presentations are wonderful, but the ghosts are amazing. Technology is a good thing...

This is where the Lincolns lived. It's all decked out for Abe's return after winning the presidential election. The National Park Service has purchased all the homes on the street and uses them as offices and historical sites. The neighborhood looks as it did when the Lincoln's lived there.

Just 1/4 mile away is the Lincoln/Herndon Law Office and across the street from the office is the old Court House.

This building is preserved and restored to look exactly as it did when Lincoln worked in Springfield. The offices are on the first floor and the Senate and House are on the second floor. Lots of volunteers give tours and when you walk in the door you are given a copy of the last check written to Lincoln for 3 months work - $292.

This is my favorite room. It's the House of Representatives where Lincoln made one of his most famous speeches in which he said, "A house divided against itself cannot survive."

Our last stop today was the burial site in the local cemetary. It's a large towering building that holds Abe, Mary, and 3 of their 4 children. Their son Robert is buried in Arlington National Cemetary.

Lincoln rests under 15 feet of concrete. Grave robbers took the body after his funeral and the nation has protected him since. It's very solemn.

We've had a wonderful time in Springfield - again. We're off to Fort Wayne tomorrow.

The Great Bicycle Saga

Aahhh, Wisconsin. It's really a beautiful state when you overlook the weather this year. We went there because of our wonderful friends, Sandy and Bob Ohm. We met in Croatia on one of our tours and have managed to be together in a variety of countries and states since. Sometimes you just click...and we did. Might be the hair color...

Madison, being the state capitol, required a visit to the Capitol Building. It's been beautifully restored to the time of opulance in which it was built. This is the State Senate. Ed and Bob were very busy arm wrestling over some important matter - like why they were sitting in the senators seats when the sign told them not to!!!

We visited all the government chambers. The whole building is decorated in marble, mosiacs, gold leaf. It's very stately.

There's a bronze badger just outside of the governors office. All the Capitol staff tell you to be sure and rub the badger's nose. He looked pretty pleased to have me rub his nose with mine. He IS the state animal, you know.

We contacted our cousin Jack Axel who told us his son Paul was spending the summer in Madison.


Paul met us for lunch at one of the restaurants near the Capitol. His folks should be very proud. He's a charming young man - and we enjoyed every minute of our time with him.

Paul's mom, Robin, had surgery on Monday. Robin - We hope you are doing well and on the mend.

Ed went to the Wisconsin Veterans Museum while I visited the local library to use their wi-fi. He was pretty unhappy with me when I deleted all the photos he took. He had to go back and retake his pictures. s o r r y...

Ed described the museum as "small but outstanding" because of the dioramas and collection of artifacts.

Bob is a musician and we wanted to hear his group. They were playing at a wedding so we became bonafide WEDDING CRASHERS!!! It was one of our weeks highlights to experience Bob at work. We also enjoyed the sloshed wedding guests and dancefloor shenanigans...use your imagination. Sandy and I enjoyed watching a middle age lady in black that Sandy dubbed "the Drama Queen" as she coquetted her way around the floor with a variety of partners. Wonder if she regretted it in the morning...

Madison hosts a HUGE Farmer's Market all the way around the Capitol Building on Saturday's all summer long. We couldn't believe how many people come to shop and listen to the music. There are groups playing everywhere - mostly students - and any kind of music you can imagine - from classical to washboard.

Ed took this photo of Bob taking a photo of Sandy and me.

Every street artist should have a chamber group to inspire his artistic sense...

We took a little side trip one day and drove to

Prairie du Chein, which sits on the Western

edge of the state along the Missippi River.


We ran into a mountain man gathering that is an annual event attended by tons of people. They were selling pelts, knives, teepees, coonskin caps, and anything else the average mountain man might need.

There were also people dressed like the guy below. He said it's what he wears every day.

,

And so on to the Great Bicyle Saga:

We left home with our bikes on the back of the Jeep. That turned out to be a less than stellar idea, so we moved them inside the Jeep. That meant Finnegan, the wonder dog, had to sit on my lap whenever we took him with us. Now Finn has grown a bit. My lap has not. We gave our bikes to Bob and Sandy (they will eventually move them to their Arizona house) and went shopping for folding bikes.

Madison is a biking town. There are trails everywhere and lakes Mendota and Minona to ride around.

We found some very reasonable bikes at Camping World. Here they are:

They fit perfectly in the back of the Jeep when folded. And they are full size 6 speeds when unfolded.

Ideal for our current lifestyle - and Finn has the back seat all to himself again.

We took the bikes out for a test run on the one day that it didn't rain. The sun was out and the ride was beautiful. The four of us rode about 10 miles. It was wonderful and the bikes performed perfectly. I'd love to post a photo, but four semi-intelligent middle agers did not manage to bring even ONE CAMERA along. I suppose the memory really is the first thing to go...

We had planned to leave for Fort Wayne but in keeping with our intention to remain spontaneous, we made a change. We headed for Springfield, IL to see the Lincoln Museum. We've visited Springfield before, but not since the museum was built.

So...away we go...

I.O.W.A ooohhh Iowa.

Greetings from the world of lush greenery, gorgeous trees, warm and friendly people, mosquitos, humidity, rain, and overcast skies. We really enjoyed being in Iowa, but we'd like to believe that this year has been especially bad for weather...





This the Deaton family: Mike, Jana, and Brette. They are Finnegan's human birth family and all around great people. We loved visiting with them!






The Deaton's live in Nevada, Iowa (that's with a long "a" and not a bit related to the state that hosts Las Vegas.) This is Iowa farm country. Here's a shot of downtown Nevada:

Finnegan got a bath and haircut (doesn't he look gorgeous!?!?!) and we got to eat at the most wonderful restaurant!!! right in Nevada!

It seems to be a place without a name...and it's all Iowa homecooking. Everything fresh and homemade, and a wait staff that comes with an Iowa sense of humor. Example: when the bread basket was put on the table in front of Ed, he was told, "Now that's not just for you...!" It was so good, we went back for breakfast before we left town.

Brette offered to take Finn in for daycare one day so we drove 30 miles into Des Moines to see the sights. We visited the Iowa History Museum where we took in a wonderful exhibit on the Iowa caucaus. Finally! We both have an understanding of how it works. The Deaton's have been part of the caucaus for many years serving in all capacities.

The "young" lady above was my highlight of the history museum. Agnes is 78 years old! (O.K. - so I lusted after her flawless skin...) She's a college graduate and 3 day volunteer at the history center. We talked for a loooong time about how times have changed during our lives - especially hers. She was an education on her own.

Next stop - the Iowa State Captiol Building. A real beauty. We took the walking tour because it was the only way to get into the library - the real highlight of the tour.

Have a look at this incredible room. Three stories high and almost all original. It was built in the first decade of the 20th century.

We left Des Moines and headed to the next presidential library on our very loose agenda. Here's a hint:

Now Hoover was not the most illustrious of our presidents, but he was a very interesting man. His museum is among the oldest and least impressive, but very very interesting.

The National Park Service oversees the whole area that encompasses the 180 acre Hoover Historic Site. It was purchased by local contributors for our benefit.

This is Hoover's birth home. It seemed spacious to us, but we live in a bus...

He was quite the dapper young man in his day, Secretary of Commerce, philanthropist, businessman, mining engineer. His Feed the Children program after WWI was instrumental in helping Europe recover from the war.

There was just this little event that marked his presidency...

All in all, we enjoyed Iowa. Ed especially found it interesting.

(Sandy Ohm says we should call this "Houston, we have a problem."

And now to Wisconsin.

P.S. We miss hearing from you all. Though I don't have internet access everyday, I do manage to pick up email at least. I've reset this blog to accept comments and our email works just fine.

National WWI Museum in Kansas City

While Susan remained behind in the motorhome, I drove into Kansas City to see the National World War I Museum. It is quite a place.

There's a 30 story high memorial tower beside this entrance and an additional memorial building on the plaza above the entry. This museum began shortly after the war when citizens of Kansas City built a memorial to remember the fallen Kansans. The museum has grown in size over the years.

The collection is a multimedia presentation of the events leading up to the war and the history of the war itself. It covers the war from the beginning before the United States entered the war until the armistice in November 1918.

There are exhibits of uniforms, equipment, light weapons, cannons, aircraft, and dioramas of the living and fighting conditions on the western front. I cannot imagine how these people functioned and lived under such horrendous conditions in the trenches and dugouts on the western front. They died by the millions on both sides.

It was a very powerful and sobering experience to go through the museum.



The is a pair of cannons. They were pulled by horses and manhandled by the soldiers in the mud and muck.

I think the cannons on the right are German and Austrian; and the cannon and mortar below are French and British.

The flying machine DH2 was used early in the war by the British Flying Corp. They were easy meat for the German fighter pilots.

The tank is the famous French Rennault. It was used by the allies, especially the American forces and made famous by (then) Captain George Patton.

The collection of WWI propaganda and recruiting material from both sides is outstanding!

The most humbling room for me is the memorial to the fallen Kansans. The artwork is allegorical and beautifully executed murals. The personal artifacts attest that we are honoring real people.

This is a great museum. I recommend it highly for anyone interested in the Great War. It is as good as any I've seen including the Imperial War Museum in London.

Water water everywhere falling from the sky

We're spending the later afternoon in. It's POURING outside. It's also thundering. Then the sun comes out. Then it starts all over again. Kansas City streets are flooded, there are tornado warnings flashing on the tv, and it's downright cold out there. There's a small sign on the office door in the RV park we're in that says something about where their "tornado shelter" is located. I probably should have read it...but I'm from New Mexico and I don't think about tornados. Winds, yes; tornados, no.

We're located in the historical part of Independence, MO. The neighborhood around us is full of beautiful Victorian homes, many restored, and many with signs stating their lineage. The Truman Library and Museum and Truman home are within walking distance.

We began our day with a visit to the National Frontier Trails Museum. This was one of the starting points for the Santa Fe, California, and Oregon Trails. It's a wonderful museum that explains what it took to do the 19th Century version of "hitting the road." These were visionary, brave, courageous people who traveled the trail for a variety of reasons - everything from starting businesses and finding gold to drawing and painting pictures. The railroads ended the trails, but more than 400,000 people migrated via the trails.

Did I recognize this location? You betcha I did. There's the cathedral and the Palace of the Governors in Santa Fe. But where is the band shell...? and the tourist shops...?

Ed met a friend today. And he was all smiles.

We visited the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum. We each had own personal reaction.

For Ed, it was very special. Truman was instrumental in the birth of the State of Israel. He made the decision to recognize Israel on the day it was announced that the Jewish state had been established. It was a politically difficult decision on Truman's part. The concern: Arab oil. (Does anything ever change?)

For me, who never enjoyed studying history, so much ties together in visiting these institutions. I know all the events and now the reasons and surrounding events make so much more sense. Truman made so many huge decisions during his presidency - the bomb ending WWII, the war in Korea, the Cold War, McCarthy-ism. Though we say times were simpler...maybe we're just more open today. Looking at the exhibits of life - I relived so much of my childhood. (Damn! I'm REALLY old.)

This beautiful mural by Thomas Hart Benton is in the lobby of the Library.

As with most Benton murals, it requires a lot of looking......there's so much in it.

The Oval Office that Harry worked in. So much simpler than Bill Clinton's. Catch the tv on the right. No flat screen here.

Last stop was the Truman home. It's a National Park Historic Site. We walked through the first floor. Everything inside is original. They lived simply. The Missour-ites are very proud that Harry and Bess returned to their home when he finished his seven years in the White House.

We're planning to leave for Iowa in the morning. Weather might delay us for a day.

B*r*a*n*s*o*n

This lovely photo is of Table Rock Dam in Branson, MO. This is really a beautiful area. 5 lakes. Rolling terrain. Lush greenery. A population of only 6,000. (It balloons to about 1 million in the summer season.) An endless supply of time-share opportunities - both RV and condo. Convention centers. Tourist attractions. Restaurants. Did I mention theaters??? And very high prices to remain entertained. All this and the opportunities to get discounts at every turn. All you have to do is sell your soul for 90 minutes....sit through a little bit of high pressure sales...and Branson is your for the taking! More about that later...





This another view of Table Rock Lake. There is a huge paddle boat (on which you can enjoy a meal and show for $45/per person) that is claimed to be the largest still in operation. It's even staffed with lovely ladies in hoop skirts.


We're staying in a very nice RV park near the lake. Just across the road and on the lake is a state park. We took Finnegan for a 2.5 mile walk on a beautfiul paved trail along the lake. I continued my training, he barked and lunged. Ed pretended he didn't know us...

This is part of that walk. The trail ran along the shore.

More of the trail. (Hey, Lady! Where'd you get them thar legs???)

My two favorite boys.

And now for the rest of the story: Just about 30 miles outside of Branson we stopped at one of the many Visitor Centers to pick up some info on Branson and all it's goodies. There we were offered $5 tickets to shows of our choosing. (Tickets normally cost about $30-$35.) We plunked down our $20 and signed our souls to a vacation club for 90 minutes.

We picked out the Twelve Irish Tenors (most just had distant Irish relatives) - everything from Nessan Dorma to We Are the Champions; and Six - 6 brothers who do a wonderfully entertaining 2 hour show using nothing but their voices to create the sounds of almost anything you can dream up. Very high energy in both shows. They perform on an empty stage and use lights and mist to create mood. The music for the tenors was organ and pre-recorded. The owners of the campground provided van transportation to and from the theaters. Since traffic is almost always at a standstill on the main highway through town, we were grateful to exit the theater to find our ride just outside the door. They know the backroads and were able to bypass the traffic jams.

We dragged ourselves out of bed on Sunday morning, put on our most interested faces, and paid our debt. It's amazing what some people will spend $10,384 on - you read that right! We're free again!!!

Ed is off exploring the town - easy translation: looking for book stores; and I'm hanging out at home, baking bread in the crockpot, and paying attention to Finn who is deep into his bucket of dog toys.

This is an interesting city. It completely lacks any sort of sophistication...but it can be fun.

All is good with us. We'll leave tomorrow morning and head for Independence, MO.