Little Rock to Springfield, IL

 

We left Little Rock after a nice breakfast of cinnamon rolls from a local bakery. I brought coffee with us, so we had some freshly brewed coffee as well.

Then we headed north. We had plenty of time, so we stopped at Cahokia along the way.

The museum was closed, but the site was open. It is amazing every time I see it.

The place Doreen found for us in Springfield was just a few short blocks from Lincoln Park, which is adjacent to the Oak Ridge Cemetery, which is where Abraham Lincoln (our greatest President) is buried.

So we walked over to the cemetery, even though we knew the tomb was closed (more later)

It is quite a thing to see:

And here is the front:

There is a brass sculpture of Lincoln's face. The nose is shiny because you are supposed to rub it for luck.

He shows great forbearance 

As we were heading back to try and figure out what we were going to do for supper, we saw that a very spririted and very crowded softball game was going on in the park.

It turns out it was the Illinois House vs Senate annual game!

Which was great for us, because they had free beer and Italian beef sandwiches! 

We got ours wet.

They were delicious!

They shot off fireworks afterwards, which Lulu did not care for.

The next morning before we left, we walked down to visit Lincoln's tomb.

But first we had to stop at the Mel-O-Cream donut shop. One from Doreen's childhood (and our friend Gary's as well)

We got a small box. They were delicious. 

Then on to the cemetery, where we found Roy Bertelli:

We had to wait for the tomb to open, so we had a couple of donuts there in the cemetery.

It was very impressive. Makes you wonder how the world would be different had he not been assassinated. 

About five hours later we were walking on the shores of Lake Michigan.

Houston to Little Rock

 We hit the road early (ish - about 9:30) with a plan to get to Little Rock when it was still light.

Lulu enjoys looking out the window.

Since it was Cinco de Mayo, we had to stop at the Jalapeño Tree in Marshall for lunch. They have a patio where we can bring Lulu, so all was well. You get a lot of food in Marshall, Texas. 

We got to Little Rock in good time. As I have mentioned before, there is indeed a little rock in Little Rock, but this time we were staying on the other side of the river.

This scary bridge has been repurposed as a pedestrian bridge over the Arkansas Rive, so it would have been a pretty easy hike.

But we got to our nice little cabin in Dog Town and were content to stay close by.

The back yard was very relaxing

For both of us!

The next morning we did walk to the bridge to stretch our legs and get ready for the next pull.

We like Little Rock. They have a submarine.

And we, too, were Dogtown Proud.

Next stop, Springfield, Illinois! 

Driving to Milwaukee

 We will be heading north on Monday for the summer.

It will be a two night trip, with the first stop in Little Rock:

Planning on a lunch stop in Marshall, TX (at the world renowned Jalapeño Tree. We will be stopping there because they have a patio where we hope we can take the dog.

The next day we will drive to Springfield, IL. We will most likely have lunch in Poplar Bluff, MO.

Then on Wednesday will meet Doreen's cousin Linc for lunch. After that we will be heading to the Bogk:

I've circled Linc's farm on the map above. (You might notice Little Domi on the map above. We share locations with the Bechles!)

Should be an easy trip!