Day 1295: Abe Lincoln

I've been mentioning in blog posts for days that you don't need to travel far from home to find some really spectacular sights, and for me, Abraham Lincoln's home in Springfield, Illinois is one of those sights! Over the past few months, we've had more than one discussion about Springfield and the Lincoln Tomb, so when we realized we could swing an extra day on our trip, it wasn't hard to come up with where we would go! 

Springfield, Illinois is actually a wonderful city, and I enjoyed our time there thoroughly. We pulled in Sunday evening and stayed at a local house nearby the tomb so we could get an early start the next day, which was a great idea. Even on a Monday morning, there was a whole crowd of visitors at the National Park Service Visitor Center for the home. Tickets to tour the house, which is the only home Lincoln ever owned, are free thanks to his son Robert, who sold the house to the Park Service for a dollar with the promise that no one would ever be charged to see it. 

Much of the home is original, with the main floor featuring the original doors and banister, among select furniture throughout the house that the Lincoln's added over time. If you look closely at one of the below pictures, you can see Lincoln's original desk in the corner! They also have a great visitor center and various other historic buildings bought out in the area, all a part of the National Historic Site that celebrates Lincoln's path to the Washington D.C.

Nearby, you can also visit the Lincoln Museum and National Library, both of which we were unable to see due to time restraints, as well as the Lincoln Tomb, where Abraham Lincoln himself is buried along with much of his family. The tomb is beautiful, and while pretty much the only thing to do there is pay your respects, it's still an extremely important location for all of us. I'm a fan of Abraham Lincoln myself; he's my favorite president, so visiting seemed extra special to me. Here I was, standing only feet from someone I look up to, and that, if nothing else, was worth the stop in Springfield. 

Although, I guess touring Lincoln's house with Lincoln himself was pretty great too. This man works as an Abe Lincoln impersonator and just happened to be touring the house the same time we were. What a spectacular way to end our trip! 

Have a magical day!

Day 108: Lincoln

Today I spent a good amount of time watching the new movie, Lincoln. It isn't exactly a short movie, and I have to say right away I don't recommend watching it when you're tired (I fell asleep...not because the movie was bad, but because I was stupid and was watching it while laying in bed). It is a great movie though, and it really shows a different side to one of our nation's greatest Presidents.

If you know Disney, you'd know right away that Walt's favorite president was, in fact, Lincoln. When he was young, he would go around his school dressed in a top hat and recite the Gettysburg Address for younger students each and every year, and when the World's Fair came around in 1964-65, and Illinois approached him with the idea of creating an attraction, Lincoln certainly came into play.

Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln premiered at the World's Fair, and Lincoln himself was the first fully functional audio-animatronic human figure, in which he talked and gestured to the audience. Throughout the years, different forms of the attraction have been showcased at Disneyland. While originally there were some technical difficulties, they were all eventually worked out, so Lincoln no longer fall into spasms in the middle of the show.

I have to say that the current show at Disneyland really reminded me a lot of another show that's currently open in another Disney Park. I'm not sure about you, but Two Brothers and Golden Dream seem to be from somewhere in Epcot...just saying.

Either way, I really enjoyed the show, and I loved the movie as well (or at least what I saw of it. I plan on rewatching it this weekend). Lincoln is probably my favorite president as well, and whether that's because of Disney or not, I have no idea. I've always had a strange fascination with the Civil War, so that probably plays a part too (although the reason I find interest in the Civil War is because of Disney...this all connects back somehow). I've kind of gotten my brother involved too, as last year he created a scrapbook for his Social Studies class as if it was really from the Civil War. We told a similar story to that told in both Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln and The American Adventure, with two brothers, and I personally helped out by writing out his letters with a quill pen. He wrote the words on the letters, I just transcribed them.

And so, I highly suggest you see the film Lincoln, directed by Steven Spielberg, and, as always, John Williams did the music, so that's a plus as well. It's very well made and reminds us all that Lincoln was more than just a president...he was a father, a husband and most importantly, one of us.

Here's today's Disney History: 1954: Actor, comedian and musician Rick Moranis, the voice of Tuke in Disney's animated 2003 Brother Bear, is born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Disney fans will also know him as Wayne Szalinski in the comedy feature, Honey, I shrunk the Kids and the 3-D park attraction film, Honey, I Shrunk the Audience.

Have a magical day!