Springfield, IL

Springfield, IL... home to Abraham Lincoln.

While there are many sights around town related to Lincoln's history, we visited only one - the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. The museum was unbelievably well curated, touching, powerful, and I could just keep going on. This is the assassinated President who led the way for civil rights and ended slavery.  I mean, he wrote the Gettysburg Address (the museum has an original copy, and reading it took me right back to the high school classroom where I once had to recite the whole address from memory). Beyond the history of Lincoln and his time in office, there are also wonderful displays of period clothing and memorabilia - china sets, invitations to parties, medicine ledgers, and more. Photos were not allowed in the exhibits.

We later walked around the downtown area for a bit, where you can find a few quirky shops and some great older architecture. There was even a living history exhibit set up at the Old State Capitol building.

Springfield also happens to be located on Route 66, and we decided food would be the best way to experience this historic route.  Before heading out of town on said Route 66, we had a lunch of root beers and burgers at Maid-Rite, the first ever drive-thru, and then hit up Cozy Dog Drive-In for a corn dog snack. 

-Amanda