Blogs from Springfield, Illinois, United States, North America - page 2

Our original plan was to leave Jellystone and stay the night in Springfield, IL. That would give us a chance to do all the things I wanted to do and see all the things I wanted to see... But, as is becoming a common thread in all of my blogs, it was way too hot! In fact, the headline that ran in the State Journal-Register was "Springfield sweats through hottest day in more than 40 years"... The last time the temperature was that hot (104 degrees Farenheit/40 degrees Celsius) was July 13, 1966!! (url=http://www.sj-r.com/archive/x537696878/For-Springfield-could-be-hottest-day-in-more-than-50-yearshttp://www.sj-r.com/archive/x537696878/For-Springfield-could-be-hottest-day-in-more-than-50-years) We arrived around 4:30pm, I think, and it was so hot, there was no way we could even set up camp, so we decided to stop and see one or two of the sights I felt I would regret not... read more

August 10, 2012 The Illinois State Fair was first held in 1853. Admission was a quarter. Being life-long Hoosiers we finally decided to cross the border and give it a visit. It was an overcast morning as we arrived at the fairgrounds in Springfield. My being a few years older than Karen saved us $4. Like the Indiana fairgrounds, the one here also contains a dirt racing track. Today was Harness Racing Day. Overall, the Illinois State Fair seems a lot smaller than Indiana's. You will find, though, an over abundance of food vendors. They were everywhere! We walked through the Exhibitor's Building, which also on the mezzanine level acted as a check-in station for some 4-H projects. You won't find the slew of projects to view as you do in Indiana. The Illinois system for ... read more

Theis town has a slight obsession with Abraham Lincoln, the bearded president with a hat. Statues abound and there is also the Lincoln presidential library museum to view, inclusive of incredibly patriotic, some may say cheesy films. Reading between the lines, he sounds like a politician, all be it a very charismatic one! Anyway, his (apparently somewhat dubious) role inabolishing slavery and uniting the nation afforded him a rather grand memorial. He now rests below several feet of concrete and according to the tour guide his embalmed body looks rather same as the day he died and will do so for at least 300 more years? Having dutifully taken in some history and culture we pressed on to Grafton, a small town on the banks of the Mississippi. Forgot to mention it was a day of ... read more

A few friends have asked that I make sure that I keep them up to date with the trip along the way and I'm already misplacing email addresses on scraps of paper that I received before moving back to Illinois. So I figured that doing a blog would be the best way to let those people follow my trip without me having to worry about forgetting someone on a list of email addresses. By the way, this is the weather outside as I write this post... makes me look forward to starting the trip as soon as possible.... read more

Na onze eerste nacht in de camper ging het richting de wereldberoemde Niagara Falls. Omdat de bewijzering naar de Falls verschrikkelijk was (een terugkerend fenomeen in de VS), hebben we een tweetal uur zitten klungelen om de juiste plek te vinden. De Falls op zich waren onvoorstelbaar. De Nederlandse taal schiet woorden tekort om deze prachtige speling van moeder natuur te beschrijven. De Niagara Falls omvat twee gedeeltes; de American Falls aan US en de Horseshoe Falls aan Canadese zijde. De Horseshoe Falls zijn het bekendere gedeelte, en zo’n 3 à 4x groter dan zijn Amerikaanse tegenhanger. Een frontside view vanop een boot drong zich op, en the price was right om een tochtje te doen. Tot nu toe was dit misschien wel het meest memorabele moment. Naast foto’s zijn er vooral veel mental pictures opgeslagen ... read more