50 in 50: A Surprise Around Every Corner

I’ve said it many times over the last 34 years during our travels to America that there is something to discover around every corner of this enormous country. This trip has again provided some surprises and one of the most interesting came on our visit to Springfield, Illinois on our Wedding Anniversary.

We had planned on a quiet day in Jacksonville where we were staying but it was so quiet and lacking in a decent coffee shop that we decided to venture 30 miles down the road and what did we discover? Well it was the home for 23 years of the 16th US President and possibly the most famous of all, Abraham Lincoln!

A visit to the Springfield museum followed by a guided tour of the Lincoln family home was fascinating and although brief provided a valuable incite into the man who started life in poverty in Kentucky but through his own efforts rose to the highest position in the country.

Lincoln was elected in 1861 and led the Union side through the American Civil War, defending the nation as a constitutional union but perhaps his greatest success was the abolition of slavery. His was a remarkable story of success but also of personal tragedy not least of which was his assassination by John Wilkes Booth in April 1865. The visit left me wanting to learn so much more about his character and his life.

The visit to the Lincoln home led on to us seeking out the State Capitol where we benefitted from our own personal guide. The current Capitol is actually the sixth to serve as Illinois’s centre of government and can only be classed as stunning in its scale and opulence. In truth we were going to give the internal visit a miss but we got talking to a group of construction workers at the front of the building who convinced us to go inside! We were so glad they did and thanked them profusely convinced that they all held first class history degrees as well as construction qualifications! They were such a revelation.

So our Golden Anniversary day turned into a huge success with the exception of finding somewhere offering fine dining to round off the day It didn’t actually matter because we had enjoyed a very filling breakfast and a light lunch which you can see in one of the photos! The “Walmart Picnic” has now become a firm favourite

12th September 2023 was truly a day to remember.