Springfield, Illinois
Springfield, Illinois
Columbus Day Weekend 2008
Dennie and I spent the long holiday weekend in our historic state capitol. Sunday morning got off to an exciting start. My niece Carrie had spent the night after our Fall Fling to various orchards and markets in the hinterlands. We had warned her that we wanted to get an early start and would put her on the 7:55 train back to the city. She rolled out of bed under her own steam and we got some coffee and oatmeal into her. As we were heading out the door, she realized she didn’t have her student ID. The three of us frantically searched the house and eventually located it in a cushioned chair in which she’d been relaxing the night before. She and I hopped into the car and made good time to the Chicago Street station only to see her train pulling out. So we sped up the hill to the National Street station where Carrie jumped out of the car, hollered at the conductor and hopped on the train. Whew!
Dennie and I headed south soon after that-the trip takes about four hours with the occasional requisite potty and petrol stops. We drove directly to the Dana-Thomas House, the best preserved and most complete of Frank Lloyd Wright’s early Prairie style houses which was completed in 1904 and has been preserved by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. Our docent was very knowledgeable and the house and furnishings were gorgeous. It’s a beautiful example of Wright’s work in a residential setting and boasts luxurious pieces of stained glass, light fixtures, windows and furniture all designed by the architect. Unfortunately because of state budgetary problems, it is in danger of closing as of November 30.
Our next stop was Washington Park, home to the Thomas Rees Memorial Carillon, conservatory and botanical garden. The carillon with its 67 cast bronze bells is only played once a week on Sunday afternoons so we were fortunate to hear the familiar “Funeral March of a Marionette.” I would have liked to actually view the mini concert since we were told that the carilloneur plays with a light hammering technique. We did take the elevator and circular staircase high up into the tower-Dennie was thrilled to be photographing the pumpkin carving event far below.
Before heading to our hotel south of town, we also scoped out the capitol building, some interesting shops and restaurants on 6th street, and the Lincoln home, museum and village. We stayed at the Baymont Inn, courtesy of the WRMN Radio Shopping Show. It was a friendly, clean, roomy place with an excellent continental breakfast. It also has a computer in the lobby where I was able to check my e-mail and facebook accounts.
Unfortunately we never stumbled onto a decent restaurant during our visit. We later learned that the big commercial district lies along Route 4 on the west side of town. So we made do with dinner at Cracker Barrel which was a big disappointment. Dennie ordered the chicken salad sandwich; what he got was more accurately a celery salad sandwich. I ordered the vegetable plate which sounds healthy enough until I confess that I selected macaroni and cheese, fried apples, fried okra and pinto beans. The okra was a particular disappointment since the breading had no crunch whatsoever. We vowed never to return unless it was only to sample the dessert menu. Of course, we stopped at the McDonald’s next door for an ice cream cone before returning to our hotel to crash with the Sunday papers and our favorite TV shows.
Monday morning we arrived at the State Capitol in time for the 9:00 a.m. tour. Once again the docent was extremely knowledgeable and the building was a beautiful architectural specimen featuring pink marble, stained glass, and iron and brass fixtures. We then spent most of the day at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum. I’ve never visited such a high tech museum with its various shows, historical exhibits and recreations. History is a lot more fascinating now than when I studied it in school.
Later we visited the beautifully restored Union Station across the street. Then we took a tour of the Abraham Lincoln Home where he lived with his family for 16 years before moving to the White House. The whole neighborhood is being preserved by the park district. When we watched a short film in the museum, I realized that I had worked with the actor portraying Stephen Douglas back in my dinner theatre days!
That evening we scoped out the Hen House Restaurant near our hotel. It serves mostly fried food but we decided to stay when I noted that I could order a chicken breast salad. After we received our beverages, the waitress informed me that they were out of chicken breasts! What the??? So I just ordered a dinner salad and something I’d never tried before-stuffed green pepper soup. It was interesting but still a disappointing vacation meal. Later in the evening we strolled back to McDonald’s for our ice cream cone and they were out of ice cream and shakes! What the??? So we were very, very bad and returned to Cracker Barrel for dessert. I’m sure they were terribly unhealthy but I’m happy to report that Dennie’s cherry cobbler and my apple dumpling were delightful!
Tuesday morning we visited Lincoln’s Tomb which was constructed between 1869 and 1874 and is currently undergoing a facelift. We were able to view the interior but couldn’t get close to the statues on the upper level. On our way out of the Oak Ridge Cemetery we saw a big, beautiful fox wandering among the gravestones. We also visited the Old State Capitol which is where Lincoln did much of his professional and political work in Springfield. The downstairs docent was excellent; the upstairs docent was speaking in slo mo; then he was joined by a docent-in-training who wanted to argue various points with him. I threw up my hands, headed to the street, moved the car and plugged more coins into the meter. Before leaving town Dennie was delighted with one of the shops on Sixth Street and added to his collection of Halloween memorabilia.
We made it safely home with time to unpack and do a little yardwork before I headed off to Spanish class.
Springfield, Illinois
Columbus Day Weekend 2008