Location: Nauvoo State Park, Nauvoo, IL
Well you'd be hard pressed to find a more American day than today. We were in downtown Springfield, IL bright and early this morning and caught the first tour of Abraham Lincoln's home with Mary Todd. This is where he lived when practicing law, running unsuccessfully for the Senate and engaging in the Lincoln-Douglas debates. This was the last home he lived in until leaving for the White House. The last time I visited here was on my 8th grade overnight field trip. For those of you counting that was a mere 42 years ago. Then it was just a State Park and much humbler than it is now. Ned and I thoroughly enjoyed touring his home, walking thru the historic district and taking in the movie about his life in Springfield. We then branched out and took a walking tour into the other parts of town seeing the State Capitol, the Old State Capitol and making a brief visit to the Presidential Museum and Library. When we reached the Old State Capitol there were Union Soldiers holding several vignettes of the Civil War, i.e. playing music, showing what they ate, shooting off cannons, make-shift hospital, giving talks, etc. Can I just say that after spending a week in the South and having the Civil War repeatedly referred to as the "War of Northern Aggression" or the "War of Southern Succession" that it sure felt like I was finally no longer the enemy. It felt so great to be able to celebrate Abraham Lincoln's greatness. Honest Abe is a persona non grata in certain parts of the South. We learned so much more about Abe as a father, husband and politician. My only regret was that we didn't schedule more time to check out all that Springfield had to offer. We both vowed to come back and spend more time at the Presidential Library, see his grave and visit Frank Lloyd Wright's Dana House.
We also had lunch with one of my oldest friends, Teri Kramer, from St. Mary's Elementary School. It was so fun to catch up and reminisce about the old days. The two of us were the schools biggest tomboys. Funny how not much has changed! So, good to see you Teri. Hope to catch up with you again on our next tour across the U.S.
Knowing we still had a lot to do, we skedaddled across the prairies of Illinois, crossed over the Mighty Mississippi once again and dropped down into Hannibal, Mo. the home of Mark Twain aka Samuel Clemens. Compared to the professionalism and gravitas of Springfield, this town was much more hokey. Everything was named either Huck this or Beck Thatcher that. Yep, right down to "Get your Mark Twain Fried Chicken here." Of course, we took the Mark Twain boyhood home tour, which included entry into several buildings; Huckleberry Finn's home, Becky's house, Judge Clemen's office and a museum and gallery. The museum was actually pretty fun and definitely aimed toward the kids. There were separate vignettes accompanied by audio excerpts of Mark Twain's books. So, we entered caves, went on a raft expedition, rode in a stage coach, and drove a steamboat. My favorite part was seeing all the original Norman Rockwell paintings done for a special 1930's illustrated edition of Tom Sawyer.
We walked up on the levy to check out the Mississippi and saw the flooding across the railroad tracks and along the frontage road. Amazing. It was kinda sad to see the local park submerged in water with the pink plastic slide looking like it should be in a kiddie pool.
The Mark Twain River boat was coming into dock so that definitely topped off our Americana experience. As an added bonus, the Nina and Pinta were temporarily docked nearby. They are a replica of the ships that Columbus sailed in 1492. They were doing a expedition sailing up the Mississippi River, but were waylaid due to the flooding. Who knows, maybe we'll see them farther up the river later on.
After a really long day and a couple more detours on the GRR, we finally pulled into Nauvoo, IL. This is a town known for its religious and historic significance. First settled by Native Americans, then Joseph Smith established it as a settlement for Mormons, and then finally the Icarians established an Utopian Community here. Joseph Smith is buried here and there's a gigantic temple majestically overlooking the Mississippi. Ironically, the majority of the population here today is Catholic. We arrived in time for "Sunset on the Mississippi" which looked like Mormons dressed as pioneers doing square dancing and some other programs. (Neise sound familiar?)
Basically, I'm a noodle tonight. My brain is full of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln, Mark Twain, River boats and Mormons. It was definitely a crash course on Americana.
