My Trip

I don't know what's gotten into me. It is still so hard to share my musings and type them out with my furry paws as I am simply exhausted - a case of the vapors or some such thing. However, a delightful thunderstorm this weekend seemed to refresh everyone's spirits.

So now I can finally go over our trip to Springfield, IL a few weeks ago. Everyone knows Illinois as the land of Lincoln, as Lincoln spent the majority of his adult years here - specifically in Springfield. And, Springfield is the capital of Illinois, which as you may know is a very political state. (The largely Blue Cook County, which includes Chicago and the outlying areas, dominates the rest of the state which is more conservative.)

Everywhere you go there's Lincoln. You go to a bank - there's a bank register with his recordkeeping. Go to a church, they have his family pew roped off. You start to expect to see one of his turds under glass when you go to the bathroom!

The city has built a multi-million dollar museum in the heart of the small downtown, and refurbished the old train station across the street, where my roommate took this dramatic picture.



I love this sculpture for its sense of movement. It's a beautiful depiction of Lincoln literally pushing against the winds of change - some were bad and he had to resist, others good and he let them breeze by.

The winds of change are certainly helping Springfield, which was more about the big-box stores on the outskirts of town than the distinctive and charming buildings in the heart of the city. Now, with the museum a daily attraction for people all over the state - and country - that's changed quite a bit. Which is good to see. I'm against urban sprawl - aren't you?