In the Land of Lincoln

We visited the Abraham Lincoln National Historic Home and the Memorial Museum in Springfield, Illinois on Saturday.  This is the only home he lived in with his wife Mary Todd and their four sons prior to leaving for Washington DC and the presidency of 1861.  I am an American history buff and I was impressed that the home has been restored and kept to it's original condition. The Springfield home and the visit to the Abraham Lincoln Memorial Museum which is within walking distance to the original home is well worth your time to visit.

Abraham Lincoln's Home in Springfield, IL

Inside the Memorial Museum are two theaters with movies depicting different areas of Lincoln's life.  The rest of the museum is dedicated to his early life, courtship and marriage of Mary, his life as a circuit lawyer, his service to the government in the House of Representatives, his rise to the presidency. There is a separate section of his time in the White House, the Civil War, assassination, funeral and the dedication to keeping his life remembered.  The museum is built in such a way that you feel you are on a journey along with A. Lincoln as you learn about his humble beginnings and the legacy he left as the 16th President of the United States.  Nicely done although at times a bit overwhelming, and some of the displays are too small - hard to read.  

Who is that man on the right?

Lincoln's Tomb

Final resting place of Abraham Lincoln

Today we traveled to his tomb which is located in Oak Ridge Cemetery not far from his home and the state capitol.  He is interred with his wife and 3 of his four sons, the oldest Robert being buried at Arlington National Cemetery.  Very solemn, very respectful.  Abraham Lincoln's tomb is the second most visited cemetery in the United States, the first being Arlington.  Did you know there are no descendants of Abraham Lincoln alive today?  Lincoln's last great-grandson died in 1985.

We have been dealing with unbearable heat since we got here.  The temperatures have been in the mid 90's and the heat index (measuring what it feels like due to the high humidity) has been in the 110 to 114 degrees.  Ugly.  When we wake in the morning with the air conditioner running constantly 24/7, our windows in the RV are fogged up.  Just constant uncomfortable.  The weather is supposed to get cooler by tomorrow afternoon with thunderstorms coming in.  We will stay here until Thursday morning then move to Richmond, Indiana for the night, then on to Columbus, Ohio where we will stay for one week, visiting with Dennis and Meg, then move up to Cleveland area for a month or so.
Just hope this heat stops  - enough!

The kids hunkered down avoiding the heat