Pontiac, Illinois.

Tags

Capitol Building, Illinois, Lincoln Tomb, Memorial Day, Museum, Pontiac, Road Trip, Springfield, Supreme Court, Travel, USA

Well, Lincoln Tomb turned out to be open after all and it made the visit that extra bit special. Of course I ended up leaving town about thirty minutes later than I’d planned but I seem to have made that up now. Actually, I think by time I finish my rest stop and hit the road, I’ll be breaking even.

So Springfield turned out to be a little gem. The Capitol building was an incredible design, especially for such a young building. I mean it’s old, but nothing here is that old, right? The surrounding buildings which were more recent, were also wonderfully designed and included the museum, Supreme Court of Illinois and a few others. The city itself was completely empty, spare a couple of people going to Lincoln’s home (something I opted out of) and a handful of cars on the road.

Lincoln’s tomb itself is in the main cemetery and is my first visit inside a tomb, let alone such a famously named one. A few other members of the family are also laid to rest here but ‘Honest Abe’ has the main spotlight in the center-rear. As I headed out of the tomb, Memorial day proceedings were happening further down the road, just out of view at the bottom of the cemetery and I emerged, just in time to hear the remains of a gun salute and taps being played, followed by silence and names of the dead from the (current?) war. Perfect timing that really left its mark.

Not much changes in these parts by the looks of it and despite some of the houses being in need of repair, the scene is set not too far from what I’ve seen in the movies, with the whole picket fence and chirping birds aplenty. The people seem happy enough and that’s all that matters really, isn’t it.

Well, I’ll get a couple shots here of ‘historic’ (that tag is on every town) Pontiac, and get back on the last hour and a half of open road. I’m going to miss these long straight roads actually; they’ve done their job and my mind is a calmer place.

Motel6, Springfield, Illinois – Part deux.

Tags

Illinois, Memorial Day, Road Trip, Springfield, Travel, USA

It’s almost nice to have a little lie-in this morning but because of the weather I’m still a little drained, although I can’t keep still. The WiFi was worth the money, as I used it last night while sleeping, to download this week’s episode of Dr Who and watched it in bed upon waking.

A quick check on-line shows me that the Lincoln Tomb itself is closed on holidays and of course today being Memorial Day, means it’s not open. I’m still going down there to get some pics though but again turning a negative into a positive, it means I’ll get to Chicago earlier and be able to spend more active time there.

Right then, need to finish getting ready, then head out for food and fuel.

Motel6, Springfield, Illinois.

Tags

Illinois, Road Trip, Springfield, Travel, USA

Finally made it to the motel which is in Springfield, Illinois and is home of the Lincoln tomb and various commemorative buildings to the great man. I’ll be checking that out tomorrow morning but for now, I’m running a bath and have a 40 that I ran over to the gas station to acquire.

I paid for 24hr WiFi, so I can try and get some of these postings up, put my work hours in, and finalise a couple of items before heading out tomorrow. Speaking of tomorrow, I don’t need to be up until 9am for what is the last day. Hell, I hate thinking tomorrow is the last day already.