So today is the second day here in Springfield. I got wisked away Sunday evening for a girl's road trip that ended up being a surprise trip to come see my husband up here for the week. After a seven hour drive we finally arrived yesterday morning around three a.m. We stayed up and I didn't sleep at ALL! So yesterday we went on a walking tour of downtown while my hubby was in his classes at THR University.(He works for Treasure Hunter's Roadshow.) We started out at The Union Station Visitor's Center and got all the info we needed. We left there and went to the Lincoln Memorial Library where they have an excellent civil war exhibit right now called The Boys in Blue. I saw a real picture of some fallen soldiers at The Battle of Corinth. It was gruesome. They also have a sketch exhibit of all of the fallen soldiers that have died from Illinois after Nine Eleven. It brought tears to my eyes to see how many young kids we have lost in the last ten years.The average age of the deaths was around 19.
We left there and ate lunch at Maldaner's restaurant. It was great. The place has been there since 1884. The ambiance is worth the visit with it's metal tile ceiling and low lighting, it could be a great place to take a lunch break or pop the question to your honey. They had an awesome lunch special. We had prime rib with mashed potatoes and gravy and green beans for $6.50. The service was awesome. I can't wait to go back. It totally gets a five star rating.
We left there and went to see Abraham Lincoln's house. It was really interesting to see where that great president lived. I actually touched things that he had touched in his life and it actually felt like I was in a piece of history. The houses here are very historical and beautiful.
After we left there we went to place called Robbie's and got a beer to cool of. The setting there was also nice. It reminded me of one of those old mob movies and I expected Bugsy to come walking through the door at any moment.
Last night we ate at the Mexican restaurant next to the hotel called Los Cabreros. The food was ok but the margaritas were what rocked the night. Afterward I finally got a good nights sleep.
This morning me and my friend Alisha set out on a mission to go to the beach at Lake Springfield. Somehow, we got sucked into some kind of Black Hole. I'm not even joking. We were on one road and then we weren't. Then we were on the other side of the lake. Neither of us could figure out how we got to where we were. We found The Lincoln Nature Center on accident and took a hike down the trails. It was very cool. The exception was the swarm of locusts that have invaded the ares for now. I felt like we were onto something of Biblical proportions there for a minute. After we left there we finally found the beach. It was closed. Figures. We turned down one road and realized we were back on the road we started on like we never left it. Alisha and I have come to the conclusion that we were victims of the Route 66 version of the Bermuda Triangle and it just spit us back out where we started.
So far it has been and adventure. Who knows what lies in store the rest of the week or the rest of the day for that matter.
