For anyone interested in presidential history, A. Lincoln, or simply U.S. history, Springfield should be high on your list of stops.

The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum and Library opened in 2005, and it was a great day at a great place. There were two superb video presentations, a gallery of objects that belonged to the Lincolns, a large area with voice presentations and displays of how Lincoln was depicted in the media of the day, a picture gallery of the Civil War along with a multi-media presentation on the Civil War that showed the whole war in four minutes which was just long enough for the kids to be pay really close attention. There was information on his assassination and long goodbye which included ten funerals in ten different cities. And much more including the necessary store.

We also visited his home, the only one he owned, in a neighborhood which is preserved just as it was as is his house. There was a great visitor center operated by the National Park Service which made me wonder if graduates when applying for employment with the NPS can designate whether they would like to work at a historical site or a natural site. The people working at a historical site might not want to hike into the Grand Canyon everyday looking for fat hikers nor perhaps would the Grand Canyon worker want to talk about the parlor of a president's house.

Also visited his tomb in Oak Ridge Cemetary where he is buried with his wife and three of his four sons. One is buried in Arlington cemetery, and he is the only one to live to adulthood.

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Obviously, we visited the Chatham Jaycess Sweet Corn Festival.