Honest Abe

---

A quick jaunt down to Springfield, IL to the Lincoln Library and Museum, which is quite a production. 2009 is the bicentennial of Lincoln's birth and the museum has been spruced up to celebrate. They have done a wonderful job, using the newest technologies, to truly bring to life this monumental man. My guess is that Disney and Lucasfilm had a hand in some of the exhibits and productions. There was a wonderful short film about the library that used 3D holograms fabulously - I was sure the fellow was real in the beginning. In some ways this museum, while very well done, didn't seem to be as fascinating...perhaps because we felt we already knew so much about him.

We then took a wonderful tour of Lincoln's home in Springfield, the only home he every owned. It has been beautifully restored by the National Park Service, and serves as the centerpiece of a four square block area of Springfied that has been restored to be as it was in Lincoln's time. It was almost eerie to go through the house, and stand in the room in which he received the news that he had been nominated for president.

Off on the road to Iowa - we had hoped to make it to Iowa City to have dinner with an old friend from my years growing up in River Edge - and whose brother was my first serious boyfriend - but we badly miscalculated the time we would spend in Springfield so sadly had to cancel - next time, Margaret. We finally pulled in about 10 p.m. to Walcott, Iowa, just outside Davenport - us and the truckers at the Comfort Inn.

---