Monday, July 20, 2015

7/20/15: Looking for Lincoln

Dear Friends and Family,

We were originally supposed to go to Montreal for the weekend to see our friends. But, when they called to tell us that their daughter had a fever of 104, we decided to cancel the weekend. P was crushed because she was really looking forward to seeing her friend. So crushed we bought her a Lgeo set and took her out to dinner to try and make up for the lost fun. So crushed that she didn't want to go to either birthday party we originally declined for the weekend. So crushed she almost cried. So crushed we looked up other weekend trip options and found one in Springfield, The Land of Lincoln.

P's been reading a lot about Lincoln and the Civil War because we pretty much let her read what she wants even if we have to deal with the consequences. So, we've already had long talks about slavery, war, tuberculosis, typhoid, assassination, civil rights, and everything else that comes with learning about these topics. So, we thought a trip to Springfield would be a great way to see more Lincoln related things.

Our first stop was Lincoln's home. This wasn't the log cabin where he was born. It's the house he bought with Mary after they got married. We watched a movie learning a lot about Lincoln's pre-presidency life both as a lawyer, a politician, a father, and a husband. We walked through the house and saw his parlor and his bedroom and learned a little about life in the late 1800s. We really enjoyed it.

Our second stop was Lincoln's presidential library and museum. The library isn't open on weekends, but the museum is. We saw two more movies there - one about Lincoln's presidential years and the Civil War and the other about the library and why presidential libraries exist. We also got to walk through two dioramas - one of the log cabin and one of the White House. The first movie was a little scary for P. But, she enjoyed seeing all of the dresses at the White House Blue Room recreation. This was also a good place to buy souvenirs.

Our last stop was Lincoln's tomb. We were all a little hot and a little tired by then so it's a good thing that the tomb is a pretty low key stop. We saw several miniatures of statues of Lincoln including one P knows from Lincoln Park. And, we saw his final resting place.

After that, it was a quick trip home. Sunday, we all slept in. I got a text from a mom who I am Facebook friends with. She noticed that our trip had been cancelled and wanted to know if P still wanted to come to her daughter's birthday party. We jumped on the chance. P had a lot of fun. We had an afternoon play date as well. P enjoyed the weekend after all and soon it was time for bed.


Cheers!
mouse

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