Springfield, IL: Land of Lincoln

Summer is quickly coming to end, and Casey still has lots of vacation time left at work. I think he is secretly saving it all for hunting season, but just to make sure I don't catch on, he took a day off work for a day trip to Springfield, Illinois. Casey and I took a weekend anniversary trip there a few years ago and loved it! There's plenty to fill a weekend with, but since it's only a two hour drive or less from Saint Louis, it makes for a fun day trip as well.

I don't think you have to be a history buff to appreciate all the Abraham Lincoln sites Springfield has to offer. But if Lincoln doesn't excite you, Man Vs. Food has been there too, so you can enjoy some great food after you learn something.

We started at visit at the Lincoln Tomb in Oak Ridge Cemetery.  I am just in awe of this place, inside and out.

At the outside of the tomb is a sculpture of Lincoln's face. It was a tradition for soldiers going off to war to rub the nose of the original sculpture for good luck.

People still do it today.

After the tomb, we ate lunch at D'Arcy's Pint. Someone had recommended this place to Casey and I a couple years ago, but we skipped it after finding out there was a 2 1/2 hour wait. Adam from Man vs. Food had been there though, so it was on my list to try this trip. We didn't have to wait 2 1/2 hours this time, but I can see why people do wait that long. This place was fantastic! They are famous for their Horse Shoe, a Springfield tradition that resembles an open face sandwich topped with french fries and a white cheese sauce. We tried the deluxe (with hamburger, bacon and onions) and the buffalo chicken. They were both good, though it was easier to eat the ground hamburger than mess with a chicken patty.

After lunch we headed to the museum part of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. This place is awesome. They have a couple theatre productions with amazing effects, and then you journey through Lincoln's life and the Civil War with amazing effects and life-like wax sculptures.

The kids loved playing in Mary Lincoln's Attic, the kid's area of the museum.

We ended our Springfield trip with a visit to the historic Route 66 roadside attraction Cozy Dog Drive In. It's the home of the first cozy dog or the questionable home of the first corn dog, but either way Brenton says it's definitely the best corn dog he's ever had. It's a greasy spoon kind of place, but it's got great Route 66 memorabilia and the kids enjoyed it.

We had a great trip to Springfield! We had great food, great company and lots of great places to visit.

We didn't go this trip, but I can also recommend the Lincoln Home.

The Donut Stop

The Donut Stop has been on my to do list for over a year. Considering my sweet tooth, I really don't know why it took me so long to go there. In 2010 Bon Appetit named The Donut Stop one of the Top 10 Places for Donuts in the US. That's a good enough reason for me to visit! Recently, the local paper did an article on "to-die-for" donuts in Saint Louis and I decided it was time to skip the grocery stores and head out for some donut goodness.

There's nothing fancy about The Donut Stop. No seats, just a counter and lots of yummy looking donuts. The prices aren't fancy either, I felt like I got a good deal. I only paid between 50 - 80 cents for most of the donuts.

The boys were fishing, so Hailey and I enjoyed this adventure all by ourselves. We also enjoyed most of those donuts all by ourselves.

All the pictures were taken on my cell phone, so they don't do the donuts justice.

So yummy! In fact, we took the boys back the next weekend. Definitely worth the trip!