Stamp-a-palooza

After a year with *zero* visits to any national park unit, I was determined to log at least one in 2021, even if it was a repeat visit. Since March 2020, all buildings within Lincoln Home National Historic Site had been closed to the public due to COVID. But just before we came back to Illinois, the park announced its re-opening! Yay!

And since the visitor center would be open, that also meant that I could collect extra passport cancellations towards my annual National Park Travelers Club award. Woohoo!

Faced with the choice between getting up early to go to Springfield and schlepping around to get stamps *OR* sleeping in and staying behind to eat more of PoPo's cooking, it was a no-brainer for M and J. So, R was the sucker lucky guy who got to come along on my stamp quest.

First stamp, Lincoln Tomb State Historic Site.  Last time we were here was in 2015.

Then we headed over to Lincoln Home NHS. We opted not to take the house tour, but after getting my stamps, we walked around the site which encompasses the neighborhood surrounding the Lincoln Home.

 

Just a few blocks over is the Lincoln Depot, from which then President-elect Abraham Lincoln departed Springfield for Washington, DC on February 11, 1861.

"...I bid you an affectionate farewell." -A. Lincoln

Our next stop was the Springfield Visitors Center, which is housed in the building where Lincoln and his law partner William Herndon kept their office. 

Across the street from the visitor center is the Old State Capitol building, currently closed due to an ongoing restoration project.

There is a stamp in there somewhere... *sob*

A quick stop at the front desk of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library yielded these stamps...

Doesn't count for the award, but a pretty cool stamp nonetheless!

Channeling McKayla Maroney

Our last stop in Springfield was the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum. We were able to get free admission by showing proof of vaccination - a savings of $30! I was pretty excited to hear that the museum had put the Emancipation Proclamation on display just this morning. Of the 48 printed copies signed by President Lincoln and Secretary of State William Seward, this is one of only 27 known to be left in existence.

The original Emancipation Proclamation was destroyed in the 1871 Chicago Fire

The weight of the presidency during the Civil War aged Lincoln

Instead of driving straight back to my parents', we took a slight detour to Bloomington-Normal to visit the McLean County Museum of History. I came for the stamp (free admission on Tuesdays), but found myself pleasantly surprised by the quality of the exhibits. Definitely worth an hour or so of your time!

Chatting with Abe

Besides the cost of gas and $0.35 for a parking meter in Springfield, a late lunch from Avanti's was our only expenditure for the day. A lot of fun for a really cheap date!

Gondolas - yum!