Wagon to Watermelon - What Do They Have to Do With Lincoln?

Day 19 - November 18, 2015 (Great Lakes Region Trip)

We were ready for a new day of adventures. Our research had charted our course to more interesting places, many having to do with Abraham Lincoln. Our goal was to reach Indianapolis by nightfall, and gain as much knowledge as possible. 

Upon waking up and packing, we ate from the breakfast buffet at Crowne Plaza. Our tummies were full and the car packed. We took some pictures of the hotel since we would arrive at night or forget in the morning.

We set off on Historic Route 66, heading north to I-55. There were some interesting sights that we captured.

Not used to seeing smoke stacks in FL

Pink elephant in parking lot

Beauty products and cell phones together

Dept. of Corrections transporting prisoners

Row of silos, standing all in a row

Once on I-55, we made our way to Lincoln, IL, a distance of about 33 miles. Our destination was the Railspliter's Covered Wagon (World's Largest Wagon and Big Abraham Lincoln), a Roadside America attraction for silly people like us who like to find the world's largest items. The wagon used to be covered, but the covering was no longer there. This sight was located in front of the Best Western hotel. Lincoln was sitting in the driver's seat, happily reading his book, Law. That was appropriate since he taught himself law.

We drove just a few miles, crossing Lincoln Parkway, until we reached Lincoln Station. 

This train station held a significant place in history for many reasons. The first reason is memorialized by a watermelon. Lincoln, IL was the very first city to be named after Abraham Lincoln. In 1853, Lincoln was asked to christen the city that bared his name. The young Springfield lawyer brought a watermelon and used the juice from it to do the honors. Afterwards, the townspeople shared watermelon from the cartload Lincoln had brought to celebrate. It is also known as the Lincoln Watermelon Monument.

Lincoln Station is also remembered as the place where President-Elect Lincoln spoke on his way to Chicago. 

However, the reason why so many people of the town found this station to be so significant was that this was one of the stops of the Lincoln Funeral Train on its way to Springfield. People were able to pay their respects on grounds that held a special bond between the town and the President. We could just imagine the feelings of the people that sad day in 1865.

Today, Lincoln Station is a functioning Amtrak station and city park, serving as a gathering area for the town.

Still in Lincoln, we went to the Logan County Courthouse. Abraham Lincoln helped make Lincoln, IL become the county seat. The Courthouse with its beautiful dome was very majestic and sat in the middle of a full city block. There was a "Looking for Lincoln" statue was located outside as a tribute to their favorite namesake.

Across the street from the Courthouse was the U. S. Post Office. It was a beautiful building with all of its ornate features.

Diagonally across from the Courthouse was a very unique building, City Hall. While it was just a typical three story building, what was extremely out of place was the phone booth on the roof. The Lincoln Fire Department is located at the end of City Hall building. The story goes that around 1951/52, the newest unmarried firefight was sent to the roof to look out for bad weather/tornado activity. The practice continued until the early 1980s when weather radar improved and the lookout was no longer needed. The phone booth remained as a symbol of times past. Although we did not stop at the fire station, apparently many visitors do stop to ask questions. One comment that firefighters reportedly like to make is that Superman frequently stops there to change his clothes. This was a fun stop to make in a city with so much history.

Getting back on I-55, we headed to Bloomington, IL where we got on I-74. As we headed towards Indiana, we saw some landmarks and beautiful fall colors along the way.

We stopped for gas in Ogden, IL and were able to get a closeup look at a wind turbine. There was also a tree next door that was a beautiful shade of red and orange.

Continuing on I-72, the weather was turning nasty. The wind was very strong, causing Dean to fight to keep the van on the road. 

It wasn't long after leaving Ogden that we crossed over into Indiana. Indianapolis would only be about an hour further.

As we drove into Indianapolis, we drove past the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. We didn't stop because it was raining, but also because we knew we would have a chance to come visit tomorrow. The city showed tribute to motorcar racing everywhere we went.

We finally arrived at our hotel. After checking in, we headed to our room. We stayed at Candlewood Suites, which we had not had much experience with before. The room was nice and looked comfortable. Time would tell if that was the case.

Our family from Indiana had told us not to miss two of their favorite eating spots in Indianapolis. So we headed out to Iaria's. We passed a unique old Steak and Shake building on the way. The weather was not real nice and neither was the outside of the building when we arrived. We wondered what our family had gotten us into. Robin jumped out of the car as the parking lot was empty. We had 30 minutes before it opened for dinner. So we sat and watched the weather roll in.

We went inside and once again was surprised. The entrance was on the side of the building and it was not very big. We were seated and were the only ones in the restaurant for about 15 minutes. Then different groups of people came in and they all sat at the same table. We were really confused. We had already ordered and were trying to figure out the scenario. Other people started arriving and went to their own tables. By this time, our food had arrived. Dean got spaghetti with meat sauce and meatballs (his usual for an Italian restaurant). Robin ordered lasagna. The waitress who delivered our food was one of the people at the never-ending table. So, of course, Robin asked (just like her mother, Corny, would have done). She explained that she was one of the owners and the big table had been all different family members. They came to eat together, which apparently was a common event. Iaria's is now run by the fourth generation of family.  We were fascinated at the dedication of this operation and how they were already having their children learn different aspects of the business as they grew into the roles.

Don't judge a book by its cover. The food was absolutely outstanding. Dean is very picky about his spaghetti and he couldn't get enough. He actually ate some of Robin's, too. He was so stuffed by the time we left that he could hardly move. He kept saying, "I need to stop, but it is so good!" Our crazy Indiana family did not steer us wrong. Don't miss this restaurant in Indianapolis. Make sure everyone is hungry before they go.

Knowing we would shouldn't go to bed anytime soon, we decided to go to a movie. We saw Bridge of Spies. We did enjoy it, but were also thankful for the time to get our minds off of our stuffed bellies.

After the movie, we headed back to our hotel. We watched tv for a little while longer before we called it a night. 

We had another day of learning about Abraham Lincoln, seeing places he had visited, learning about a phone booth fit for Superman, and finding a must visit place to eat. It had been an awesome day!  Off to learn about President Benjamin Harrison tomorrow,