Day Two: Springfield, Illinois to Green Bay, Wisconsin

We did great getting up, dressed, eating breakfast at the hotel and leaving on time.  Then, 30 minutes after we left the hotel, almost to downtown, Scott’s phone rings.  It was the hotel letting us know that housekeeping had found an ipad in the windowsill of our room!!  Soooooo, an hour later after returning to the hotel for said ipad, a lecture, a new technology checklist on mom’s phone of a complete inventory of all electronic devices present on the road trip, we made it to the family home of Abraham and Mary Todd.  It was pouring rain ( and cold!) which I’m pretty sure worked in our favor.  We walked in and asked for 5 tickets for the tour and was told we could be on the one that started in 15 minutes. 

This is the second time we have been here.  We decided to do it again since everyone is older and has done a bit more studying of Lincoln.  The first time we were here was on the 2008 Milder Family Road Trip….

 Everyone is just a tiny bit bigger....

I like this room in the Lincoln house because this is the room where the Republican delegation met with Lincoln to try and convince him to run for president.  Can you imagine if he had said no??

In the Lincoln bedroom Mandy asked why there was a "teapot" under Abe's bed...

I explained about the chamber pot and she wanted to know "what the girls did."  Fortunately this was answered in the next room with Mary Todd's commode.  Oh the things we learn on our road trips!!

In the kitchen she asked what that big pipe was coming out of the oven.  The park ranger heard her and explained that it was a stovepipe and then told her to look where the pipe met the wall and asked if it looked like something Lincoln wore on his head!!

Several items in the house are original pieces owned by the Lincoln's, but this one is my favorite.  It's Lincoln's writing desk.

After this everyone was starving.  Last time we were here we stumbled across a local place that Scott wanted to go to again.  Maid Rite is a loose meat burger.  It’s seasoned ground beef with onions and mustard on a bun. I had what they called a horseshoe..it’s French fries with cheese and the ground beef.  All of it is awesome.  They also make their own root beer.  AND….this is America’s first drive thru!!  No joke!   On the National Register.

 After lunch we went to pay our respects to President Lincoln, Mary Todd, Eddie, Willie and Tad.  You drive through this lovely old neighborhood, certain that you have taken a wrong turn somewhere and then all of a sudden there are gates to a cemetery.  Towards the back you see this...

You park in a small little lot nearby and walk up to the monument....

There is a door in the base, unmarked, where you can go inside.  It's all beautiful marble inside and air-conditioned.  Lincoln is buried behind this marker.  Mary Todd and their sons are entombed in the wall opposite this...

We've been to the burial sites of several U.S. presidents and this is one of my favorites.  Less touristy,  less crowded...more of a sense that this is indeed his final resting place.

Then it was time to head to Wisconsin.  State #48!!

 Which you know means a stop at the visitor center!!

Thanks to the TripAdvisor app, I had read that the #1 place to eat in Madison, Wisconsin is the Babcock Hall Dairy Store.  It’s on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus and is run by the diary students.  They make the ice cream at the school. 

We went in and all got our ice cream and they sent us upstairs to view the big room where they separate the milk and cream and make ice cream and cheese.  Very Cool.

 Next we had to find the capitol building.  It does NOT disappoint.  If you’ve followed us on this blog for other trips, you know I firmly believe that the state capitol should be impressive and I will call out those states where it’s pathetic…Hawaii & North Dakota.  Anyway, Wisconsin did it right!

  

 The drive from Madison to Green Bay is full of beautiful landscape and farms…

 We stopped in Oshkosh for dinner and wound up at Ardy & Ed's drive-in.  It's been in this spot serving the same menu since 1948.  It's directly across the street from Lake Winnebago.  It has homemade root beer, hamburgers, hot dogs and shakes, plays 50's music and has roller skating carhops!!!

 Just after we ordered, this classic pulled up and parked next to us.  I felt like I had time-traveled!!

They also had cheese curds, which we had to try.  This is a midwestern thing evidently.  It's fried cheddar cheese and really good!

After dinner we went across the street to check out the lake.  Wow.  It was almost sunset and the lake is breathtaking.  The lakes up here make the lakes at home look like nice little ponds.

 I'll admit I have never felt the urge to live on a lake or have a lake house, but if it was a lake like Lake Winnebago I'd have to change my mind!

 Thomas got some great shots while walking by the lake.  These next three are his...

We got to the hotel about 9:30 and it was dark, but I think Lambeau Field is next door!  Gonna check that out in the morning and then head towards Milwaukee!

Wisconsin Blessings,

Leslie