Lincoln, Lincoln, Everywhere!!!!!

On Thursday morning, we headed into Springfied, Il.  Double J Campground is right off the freeway so everything was really close.  It was easy to find Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum.  They had a large parking deck, but it was almost more to park then to go to the museum.  Guess that is the price of enjoying close access.  We first went to the Visitor Center located in the old Train Depot.  The hostess there was very helpful, given us an overview of all the things we could see and do in Springfield.  She even recommended a restaurant for lunch.

The Presidential Museum and Library opened April 2005.  The museum contains life size dioramas of Lincoln’s boyhood home, areas of the White House, the presidential box at Ford’s Theater, and the settings of key events in Lincoln’s life, as well as pictures, artifacts and other memorabilia.  One of the museum’s permanent exhibits, Campaign of 1860, features late “Meet the Press” anchor Tim Russert.  We went to a special effects theater to see Ghosts of the Library.  Technology was fascinating!! We were also able to see an hour long theatrical performance of Our Destiny.  In Richard Hellesen’s one-act play, comedic actor Harry Hawk and co-owner of Ford’s Theater Harry Ford grapple with whether they could have changed the course of history.  Could John Wilkes Booth have been stopped?  The play revisited April 14, 1865, and the events surrounding the tragic assassination Abraham Lincoln through the eyes of the men who were there when history happened.

We spent about 3 hours in the museum and could have stayed longer but needed to stop for lunch. I purchased a book on Mary Todd Lincoln and her dressmaker, friend Elizabeth Keckly. The title is An Unlikely Friendship.  It gave me a better knowledge of Mary Todd's childhood and help me to understand her as a grown women.  We headed over to the Old Capital Square and had lunch at the Feed Store, recommended by the hostess at the Visitor's Center.  It was very good.  More Lincoln to see tomorrow.  Sorry for the underline on the second section, can't get rid of it;)