LAND OF LINCOLN
When I knew I was going to Illinois I wanted to make sure I visited Springfield, Lincoln’s home and location of his tomb. I’ve always been a big fan of Lincoln thus making sure this as a stop was a given and did not disappoint. The National Park where his home is located is nothing to write home about but the thing that stood out was it is more than just his home. It includes the neighborhood and tells how the neighborhood played a role in his life, election, and life after he was elected to office. It was interesting. Of course, a Lincoln stove pipe hat was a must buy at the gift shop prior to leaving.
While in Springfield I wanted to check out Lincoln’s tomb. His tomb is in the Springfield Cometary and when you drive into the cemetery the first thing you see is the Veterans Memorial. What a sight this is. It is something you want to take your time to walk around and really take it in. The monuments themselves are impressive as is the fact that there is a separate monument for each war: starting with the Civil War up to the Vietnam War. They included memorials to Purple Heart recipients and Wounded Veterans. One of the memorials was all the Illinois soldiers killed in WWI. The first American soldier killed in France was James Bethel Gresham of Evansville, Illinois and the memorial is named after him.
I finally got back into the RV and continued to Lincoln’s Tomb. It was very impressive as you are walking up to it. The structure is enormous and the monuments on the outside ones you want to stop and look at before going inside. While I had no expectations going into Lincoln’s Tomb, I left feeling let down. It’s been nine months since I’ve been there and I’m still not sure I can put into words why. While there was information regarding Lincoln and his family, I expected more pomp and ceremony for one of our more famous presidents. I felt like I was in just another mausoleum and that this one was nothing special. I left there and tried to find where his original tomb was, but they were doing construction in the cemetery, so I couldn’t get close to where it was. The cemetery is exceptionally old, and I was able to find some of the older parts of the cemetery. As you can imagine the older it gets the narrower the road gets and the closer the trees get so I eventually had to work my way back out, but it was interesting and some of the headstones made the adventure worthwhile.
Route 66 starts in Illinois! My oldest grandson started driving this past year and his wish is to drive Route 66 starting in Chicago and seeing how far we can go on one of his breaks from school. While I was in Illinois, I ended up on Route 66 and stayed in a little campground along the Route, Camp A While, in Lincoln. It was a nice little campground ran by two brothers and their dog. I’m excited to see what places Tony picks to stay at and stop to see along Route 66.
The last place I want to mention is the Carl Sandburg birthplace in Galesburg. It is in a quiet neighborhood with narrow streets so if you are in an RV think twice about driving there. The other suggestion is to check on hours as they were closed the day I got there. I was able to wander the grounds outside but didn’t get to see inside which was disappointing.
“I don’t know where I’m going, but I’m on my way.” Carl Sandburg
