Springfield, Illinois- August 23, 2014

This trip was a spur of the moment decision! It was way too nice of a day to spend cooped up at work, so I *may* have called in sick at the shop for this day trip. We drove almost 3.5 hours to Springfield, IL for the day. We started at President Abraham Lincoln's home, which is now ran by the National Park Service. For a free guided tour, we were very excited about this tour! Lincoln's home is 80% original from the time he lived there. There are many of his artifacts throughout the house.

After this tour, we went to The Lincoln Museum. We learned about Lincoln's rise in politics, his unlikely win for the presidency, and his troubled time in office dominated by the Civil War. This museum was very educational and had wonderful exhibits.

We ended the day at Oak Ridge Cemetery to visit Lincoln's tomb. We learned about the graverobbers that tried to steal his body before the monument was built. The walk in the monument was handicap accessible and a nice relief from the outdoor heat. This was our first presidential tomb of this size, so it has definitely stood out in our memories!

We thought this was the perfect day trip for us! It was educational, presidential, and just a nice way to get away from the every day hustle and bustle. We are thinking about repeating this trip with Evan's mom this year to commemorate the 10 years since our visit.