The forecast was for light rain most of the day. Instead of going to Lincoln's New Salem we took a nostalgic drive on Route 66. We caught the historic route in Springfield and headed north to Williamsville, then to Elkhart where we found a geocache in the local veterans' memorial. The red truck in the background was running with no one in it the whole time we were searching for the cache.
From Elkhart, it was a short drive to Broadwell where you see the sign for Pig Hip. The restaurant is no longer around, but the sign is in good repair.
Lincoln was our next stop. The Mill used to be painted blue and featured Dutch food as well as grilled cheese sandwiches and fried schnitzel. Now, it is being refurbished by its new owners. Opening date is unknown.
Also in Lincoln is Abe in the world's largest covered wagon--recognized as such by Guinness World book of Records. This is a recent addition to Route 66 as it was finished after 2000.
The next town on our route was Atlanta. We made a stop at J. H. Hawes Grain Elevator and Museum. We were looking for a geocache when a man drove up and offered to open the museum for us. He was the official tour guide and didn't usually open the museum on off days. He was knowledgeable about the mill and everything in since he had worked in it when he was a young man. The brick building houses the engine to run the machinery in the mill. They were never located in the same building due to the flammability of grain dust. The rail car is situated to show how it would have been loaded. If you look closely you can see the chute that would have delivered the grain to the car.
This wagon is in the unloading position inside the grain elevator. There was a 'see-saw' in the floor to lower the back wheels after the wagon back of the wagon was removed. Once the wagon was tipped, the grain would flow into the elevator.
From Atlanta we drove to Bloomington/Normal. Normal is the town where the original Steak 'n' Shake was opened. Now that building is a pizza place. In Bloomington, we made a stop at the Beer Nuts Factory and Company Store. In the store there was an island where you could sample all the products they make. I really liked the pecans. Bob like the hot bar mix.
We purchased a few items and then returned to Atlanta. Bob and I wanted to eat in Palms Grill Cafe. In its heyday, it was also the Greyhound Bus Station. If you wanted the bus to stop, you flipped a switch in the restaurant to light the bus sign below the cafe sign.
The diner has been restored to its 1934 appearance. Bob ordered fish and chips while I got the big fish sandwich. There was more food than we should have eaten. Bob's even came with fried pickles.
Across the street from Palms Grill Cafe was the Bunyon statue. This used to stand in front of Bunyon's Restaurant in Cicero, but was moved to Atlanta. We had our picture taken by one of two German travelers living their dream--riding BMW touring bikes on Route 66 from Chicago to L. A.
We returned to Springfield and caught the pink elephant with martini and Cozy Dog Drive-In.
Cozy Dog is the place where hot dogs on a stick (aka corn dogs) were invented during World War II.
Saturday was forecast to be a sunny, warm day so we took a trip to Lincoln's New Salem. This a village recreated to show where Lincoln lived as a young man. He lived in New Salem for about 6 years. The village only survived for about 12 years. We looked through the museum an then walked around the old village. There were several volunteers working as living historians. The cooper's shop is the only original building in the village. The others were recreated using artifacts from archaeological digs and papers surviving from the era.
The sleeping quarters were crowded, depending on how many children a family had. I especially enjoyed the church/schoolhouse which had children's toys from that time period displayed. The stores sold brandy, rum and whiskey even though most people followed the temperance movement.
We enjoyed our visit to Lincoln's New Salem.
As we were leaving, Bob spotted a flyer for Fall Festival in the town of Petersburg. We decided to stop in and see what it was all about. It was a typical fall festival with street vendors, crafts, pumpkins, gourds, and food trucks. There was a microbrewery, Hand of Fate, in the town so we went in to sample their wares. The brewmaster recommended a pizza place in a neighboring town as being a good place to eat. So we set off for Athens (pronounced with a long A) to get pizza before heading back to Sol. The brewmaster was correct, the Boar's Nest had excellent pizza. They also sold 'shoes' in sizes from pony to Clydesdale!
Sunday we spent the day shopping and doing things in Sol. We took our afternoon walk through Lincoln Park and around the fairgrounds.
Monday we rode our bikes on Lost Bridge Trail between Springfield and Rochester. It was a great trail and we even found a couple of geocaches.
In Rochester we happened on the Stevens house which Abe Lincoln had a hand in helping the widow with financial papers when he was a circuit riding lawyer.
We enjoyed our stay in Springfield, but it was time to move on to Iowa. Sol's date with the factory is nearing and we have friends to visit before Sol gets fixed. Tuesday we will move to Coralville, Iowa and a Corps of Engineer Campground.
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