Champaign

Despite his military residency ambitions, Lincoln did schedule three interviews within driveable distance from Chicago in case the Air Force did not select him.  First up was Champaign.  Lincoln grew up there, so Tracey and Bennett came along for a mostly nostalgic mini vacation.

They received an unabridged (largely unnecessary) tour of the "city" that spanned over the course of two days and included such riveting sights as Lincoln's old dentist office and a tiny park with an odd tree that fascinated Lincoln as he rode the bus to middle school as a child (apparently, one of his life regrets is never climbing that tree).

Remember when Halloween night was the first chilly day of the season? Well, these two days were the first truly cold wintry days of the season.  We weren't prepared with winter gear, but Lincoln insisted he and Bennett make at least abbreviated stops at some key sites. 

Centennial Hill.  Possibly the point of highest elevation in Champaign County.  Lincoln scaled this hill as a wee lad in order to sled, bike, or run down the slope.

Robeson Park. Walkable distance from Lincoln's childhood house.  This group of boulders were there 20 years ago; that renovated playground in the background was not.

Phinney Branch, or simply 'The Creek', wound its way through Lincoln's neighborhood.  This is one of several bridges crossed by a young Lincoln on foot or by bike.  It was cold, but he and Bennett mustered enough courage to play pooh sticks and look in vain for 'crawdads'.  One of Lincoln's favorite pastime activities was 'creek-walking' to catch minnows and crayfish.

Lincoln's elementary school.  The playgrounds have all been overhauled (this is the Kindergarten one; Lincoln's old classroom were those windows on the right), but Bennett enjoyed them nonetheless.  Tracey, once again, stayed warm in the car.

One of only two original relics on any of the three school playgrounds is the oddly clover-shaped jungle gym pictured here.  No 'Robeson Rocket'.  No abandoned concrete piping (other original piece was the metal-piped fire truck on the school's west playground).

This picture is mainly notable for the blurry baseball field in the far background where Lincoln heroically fractured his thumb standing firm for a tag-out at third base of David Schwerter, a baserunner twice his size, playing farm-league baseball.

The old house- sans crabapple tree.  Only the chocolate molding stands as testament to the bizarre original brownish-lavender color scheme in days of yore (an aesthetic somehow repeated when the family moved to Springfield).  To be fair, this sand-colored siding was actually put up while the family was living in here in the mid to late 90s.  Immediately following this photograph, the garage door opened and we were briefly accosted by the new homeowners' dog before they invited us in for a quick look-see.  Needless to say, the renovations were very nicely done albeit drastically differing from living conditions in Lincoln's childhood.  They even replaced the whole back door/window apparatus that Laura infamously punched through one fateful morning circa 18 yrs ago.  Also, a wooden fence has been erected in the backyard eerily similar to the one we broke down for firewood while living there (hey, times were hard...)


We stayed at the soon-to-be Wyndham Garden hotel where, because they were transitioning from being a Holiday Inn, tragically had their swimming pool closed for renovations.   Bennett was heartbroken, but a greasy philly cheesesteak sandwich he shared with Tracey helped assuage the disappointment.  Lincoln went out to eat at Big Grove Restaurant with a Resident and another candidate (the artisanal chicken and waffles were delicious).

The next morning while Lincoln was at his interview back in Champaign-Urbana (or how it's irritatingly arranged currently, Urbana-Champaign), Bennett and Tracey visited the local children's museum at the old Orpheum Theatre.

There was plenty to do, and Bennett was enthralled for the bulk of the morning.

We decided to go back after picking up Lincoln from his interview after lunch so we could show him all the fun we had...and meet the reptiles!

Bennett's favorite part was watching this lizard mercilessly devour two crickets released in its demonstration tub.

Lake of the Woods County Forest Preserve- site of Cub Scout Day camps, cross country meets, and numerous family activities both with and without the Mahomet-based Albretsens.

We found a few rocks to launch over the sides of the suspension bridge.

Observation tower (still at Lake of the Woods) dead ahead!

Yep, mom participated in this event managing to ascend all 110 stairs to the top.

Remember Centennial Hill? Well, scratch that.  This could probably be the highest elevation in Champaign County.

On the other side of Lake of the Woods is the Museum of the Grand Prairie.  It serves mainly as the county's historical museum detailing 19th-century settlers' lifestyle with a little emphasis on circuit-traveling lawyer Abraham Lincoln.

Getting our Looking for Lincoln rubbings

Sadly, neither of these waysides were created by Historian Grandpa Andreasen

A young Davy Crockett

Taking a ride with creepy Abe Lincoln standing behind us

We decided to stop on our way back north to Chicago at a restaurant in Gibson City where Lincoln's middle school German class once took a field trip.  Lincoln needed to see if his memory of the experience had been embellished...

...Nope!  The decorations haven't changed in 15 years.  Bennett fully approved.

...And the food was superb. Here's the Bavarian pretzel with herb butter.

From top:Tracey ordered Schnitzel a la Holstein, spaetzle noodles, and potato cakes; Bennett selected Schweinebraten with applesauce; Lincoln devoured a Thuringer bratwurst, a Weisswurst, and a slice of Kassler Rippchen with sauerkraut, red cabbage, and garlic mashed potatoes.

We capped the meal off by selecting ein stuck Kuche from the dessert platter.  Once again, Lincoln's memory proved to be startlingly accurate and utterly devoid of exaggeration.