Day 2, Day 2 - Vacation post

 We left St. Louis and headed east.  We stopped along the way at Thomas Lincoln's farm.  Here is Collin as Honest Abe and Katie measuring her feet against Abe's.

 This is a beautiful, not very well known National Park in Indiana.  It cost only $5 for the day to explore and hike and learn about Abraham Lincoln as a boy.

 After a movie and quick trip through the museum we are off to find the farm.

 Abraham Lincoln's mother died at a young age of "milk poisoning"!!  That means the cow ate some sort of grass that tainted the cow's milk.  It sounds like this was a long drawn out death and very painful.  Several in the little community here all had it and all died.

 Our Chubba Chubba Choo Choo had to have his picture taken on the train tracks.

 

 We visited the reproduction of Thomas Lincoln's house, a one-room house that had bed, table, fireplace and the upstairs loft where the boys slept.

 Katie and Collin both decided that the upstairs they sleep in is a little more comfortable and had such a hard time imagining kids not being afraid when they slept up there.

 Mom and Dad Lincoln's bed along with trundle bed for the sister.  Going to really try not to complain about my old queen size mattress anymore.

 The smoke house.  Also hard to imagine a time where there weren't grocery stores and just getting meat whenever you wanted, but killing the animal you were going to eat later.

 We took a hike down to the Lincoln's well.  And it was a hike!!  Makes me also appreciate WATER and the fact that I can have it anytime I want and anywhere I want.

 After a picnic lunch on the Thomas Lincoln farm we headed into Kentucky.

 I know I'll mess up this historical moment, but I believe Matt wrote a portion of his dissertation on the Cane Ridge meeting house.  Is that right my love?  Anyway, he/we wanted to see it.  And while we did get to see it, apparently we spent too long at the Lincoln farm and did NOT take into account a time change so we arrived just at closing.  Matt got to go in and see briefly while the custodian was cleaning.  I stayed in the van with the kiddos.

We've made several travel notes about this day.  Thomas Lincoln's farm is worth seeing again.  We want to stop in Santa Claus, Holiday Indiana and go to Holiday World, a little theme park dedicated to holidays.  And re-see the Cane Ridge meeting house.  We traveled on from Cane Ridge, Kentucky all the way to Hurricane, Virginia to spend the night.  On this night our right windshield wiper on the van started acting up.  (more on this story later.)