On Wednesday morning we awoke to gray skies and thunder, but in between storm fronts we finished loading the camper and we set out for our adventure in Springfield, IL.
We left at around 10:00, and thinking that the drive would be about 4 hours, told Olivia that our arrival time would be around 2:00. Little did we realize that the drive was more like 7 hours! You see, the problem was that "Lincoln's New Salem Historic Village and Campground" is as they say...."you can't get there from here!" You know the math fact that "the shortest distance between 2 points is a straight line", well....the "straight line" from Grovertown, IN to New Salem, IL is mostly all 2 lane state highways. There are pro's and con's to state highways....the "pro" is that the drive is very scenic. I was very impressed with all of the beautiful little towns that can be found in western Indiana and in Illinois! The "con" is that with these beautiful little towns comes 45 mph speed limits and either stop signs or stop lights, and these said beautiful little towns are approximately 10-15 miles apart! We did spend a short time on an Interstate. I-55 around Normal/Bloomington. Can we all say....SCARY!! The traffic was crazy! There were cars and semis everywhere and road construction....I was never so glad to get back on those slow state highways after that!!
Another thing about Illinois that surprised me was all of the corn fields!!! I thought Indiana had a lot of corn! It's nothing compared to Illinois. You know the state motto of Illinois? It's "Land of Lincoln" well, I think they should change it to "Land of Corn"! Being as I am allergic to corn pollen....I was eternally thankful for Benedryll!
So, we pulled into the campground around 5:oo, and our camping buddies, the Feece family, pulled in about 5 minutes behind us (though we didn't caravan, and they took a different route than we did). See, I told you..."you can't get there from here!"
The campground was lovely. It was small, but there were plenty of sites to choose from. There were lots of trees and grass. We chose sites that were close enough together that when we raised the awnings on our campers they almost touched. Just as we were setting up, a thunderstorm blew through. It wasn't severe, but it rained enough that it changed our plans for a campfire. Instead of cooking our hot dogs and brats on the fire, we ended up cooking them inside the Feece's camper on their electric grill. (They tasted great anyway!) We spent the evening visiting inside a nice dry camper that had air conditioning! (It was incredibly HOT AND HUMID!!) Another thing we noticed as evening approached....there must have been THOUSANDS of cicadas in that park! When they started "singing", it was unbelievably LOUD!
On Thursday morning, we had pancakes and sausage for breakfast. Then we all went over to the Historic village and toured the sites. During the depression, the state of Illinois hired unemployed people to excavate the site of the original settlement. They dug down to the original foundations and rebuilt the cabins on the original foundation sites. Through historic records and other documents, they were able to figure out where each of the businesses were located, and who the people were that lived in each of the cabins. They had people in "period" costumes that were very knowledgeable of the town of New Salem, and of it's most famous resident, Abraham Lincoln.
After several hours at the village, we went back to our campsites to spend a little time relaxing before time to fix supper. Also, Lisa's cousin Karen and her husband Dave arrived. They live in Joliet, IL and came to spend 2 nights. They slept in the tent that the kids had put up. For supper, we had spaghetti and a very nice salad. After supper, we all piled into the Feece's camper and watched my all-time favorite camping movie, "RV" with Robin Williams. Lisa's cousin had never seen it, and I laughed as if it were the first time I had ever seen it. That movie is timeless, and just as funny every time I watch it!
On Friday morning, we just ate cereal for breakfast, because we wanted to get an early start in Springfield. Our campground was only about 20 minutes from Springfield. We went to the Lincoln Museum. It is probably the nicest museum that I've ever been to. It was all about Lincolns life, from his childhood until his death. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and could have easily spent another day there. The only thing that was aggravating was that we weren't allowed to take pictures of most of the exhibits! Here are a couple that we WERE allowed to take....
We had packed a picnic lunch, and we ate it by a building that used to be a railway station. They refurbished it and converted it into a visitors center. Outside the railway station, there was a monument erected to commemorate a "race riot" that had occurred in downtown Springfield in 1908. Several people were killed. Here is a picture of the railway station, and the monument.
For supper Friday night, we had pork roast that Wayne had cooked in a crock pot all day while we were in Springfield, and roasted vegetables that Karen and Dave did on their portable gas grill. It was delicious! After supper, Wayne built a fire and we had a very nice evening of visiting around the fire. Eventually, (after the sun went down) the fire actually felt nice! LOL Wayne also treated everyone to homemade strawberry shakes! Everyone said they were delicious! Wayne offered to make me a dairy-free one with soy ice cream, but I was still too full from supper!
Saturday morning we had french toast and bacon for breakfast and then headed back to Springfield to take a tour of Lincolns home that he bought after he married Mary Todd. He was living in this house when he was elected president.
The following are a few pictures of the interior.
We also visited Lincoln's tomb. I was deeply touched when I saw his resting place. Abraham Lincoln was a great man who loved the Lord. I think he would be greatly humbled if he knew how much people admired him today. The monument that was built around his grave is truly awe inspiring.
After we got back to the campground, we started supper. We had chicken cooked on the fire, and Karen and Dave made roasted corn-on-the-cob on their gas grill.
We also had some time of R&R!
Isn't my sweetie cute? I love this picture of him!
After supper, Karen and Dave took off back to Joliet, and the rest of the gang headed over to the amphitheater for "Theater In the Park". It is an outdoor amphitheater where a local amateur theatrical group puts on plays and musicals throughout the summer. The musical being performed was Rodgers and Hammersteins, "Carousel". It was very well done, and I enjoyed it immensely. Travis, being a typical pre-teen boy, was sure that he WOULDN'T enjoy it. I told him, "trust me...you'll love it"! At the intermission, Emily asked Travis if he liked it. His response...."The part I like best is all the pretty girls!" Lord help me..... it's starting already!!! LOL
We weren't able to take any pictures during the performance, but here is a picture of the stage before it started and of the small but very talented orchestra.
And of course... the kids needed snacks!
Sunday morning we woke up early to get ready for our looonnnngggg drive home. Travis and Olivia were exhausted and did NOT want to get up!
We had one last breakfast together (leftover french toast and pancakes), and Wayne lead us in a time of worship with prayer and scripture reading. He read from Psalms and then expounded on the verses for a short time.
Then the tear-down and packing began. Scott had decided to try driving all interstates home, thinking it would be quicker. The actual mileage was more, but being on the interstate you can drive faster and there are no stops. We pulled out of the campground around 11:00. We stopped 3 times, once for gas, once for lunch, and once for a potty break for the driver. We pulled in our driveway at 5:30. So, our drive home still took us nearly 7 hours! Go figure!
We had an absolutely fabulous time! Even the dogs had fun!
I am so thankful to God for the opportunity He allowed for us to get away, for the special friends that we were able to spend the time away with, for the funds to pay for the trip, and for safety on the road. At the beginning of the summer I didn't think we would be able to do anything fun this year because of the lack of money, but with God all things are possible!
