Abraham Lincoln

Sunday July 12

I need to back up.  Got so excited about baseball, I forgot about the Land of Lincoln, Illinois.
Drove into Springfield arriving around 8:30 into the Capitol. The entire city was eerily quiet. There were only a few cars my entire route into town and I began to wonder if aliens had kidnapped everyone until I realized it was Sunday and, of course, everyone was in Church!

Gypsy had brought me to the exact address of Lincoln's home in a wonderfully restored 4 square block historic area.  Parking the car I looked up and there was the Capitol building a few blocks away.   Love surprises!

This historic neighborhood has been restored to  the 1844 -1861 time period when the Lincolns were in residence.

The Lincoln home looks very much like the big 200 yr old Dutch Colonial home we grew up in just East of here in Richmond, Ind.

Until I was 6 and Dad plumbed the place, we even had an outhouse, just like the Lincolns.

These 17 years prior to Lincoln becoming our 16th president were pretty idyllic with 4 growing boys, a beautiful home, Abe's law practice, his one term in Congress, and Mary entertaining often and well.

Lincoln loved kids and would often wrestle with his sons in a separate family room of the home. I'm sure he did but his is a face I can't imagine laughing and having fun with his family. Some informal photos of the family would have been nice for history.

Abe's room

They had achieved the status symbol of separate bedrooms.

Mary's room

Mary made many friends in the neighborhood, including Julia Sprigg, a widow who lived here across the street from the Lincolns and whose daughter often babysat for the Lincoln boys.

Being typical boys full of energy they were a handful for their mother so Abe insisted she have a hired girl to help with the boys and the housework and cooking.   The Lincolns went thru a dozen hired girls.

The restoration of this Lincoln neighborhood didn't take place until the 1960s, so when we visited as kids only the Lincoln home had a historic marker and the others were still privately owned and occupied.

Before leaving Springfield my toes needed some attention so booked a pedi at a local place.  It turned out to be the most expensive pedi I've had to date:  $55.  I wonder if they saw my California plates and decided we are all rich.  In Silicon Valley I only pay $30 at my Asian salon.

In the RV Park I did some laundry, then when it was dark went outside to photograph lightning bugs but instead saw the most beautiful sunset....

And no, I did not play with the color on these photos.............