Springfield Illinois - From One State Capital to Another

At takeoff - looking east - this is Tallahassee - the most obvious building is the Department of Education. The red roof buildings are FSU.

Looking north from our hotel room in Springfield is the St Josephs Hospital.

I love going along with Lulu on her adventures. For 6 days we will be in lovely downtown Springfield. Lulu is consulting for the state while I get to tour their lovely "Lincoln All Week - All The Time."

At 1 PM - we left our Leaf in the parking lot at Tallahassee International Airport - please no smirking.  After a bit of delay in Dallas - we arrived in the dark at Abraham Lincoln Airport at 8 PM. The limo picked us up and took us to the President Abraham Lincoln Hotel - which is right in the center of the Lincoln Museum - Lincoln Home - Lincoln Library - and Lincoln Tomb. Throughout the week - I will be adding Lincoln's to that list. 

This morning we were greeted by freezing rain - and the schools are closed. Lulu's first meeting is at 4 PM - so she wants to visit Lincoln's home right away. Although Lincoln was born in Kentucky - spent much of his boyhood in Indiana - most of his professional career as a lawyer was spent right here in downtown Springfield. He must have been very smart to build his beautiful home right in the middle of a park that covers 4 city blocks. The kids must have had a lot of nice places to play. 

From his house you can see the Old State Capitol where he spent time as a legislature and also argued in front of the State Supreme Court there. 

We are staying on the 11th floor of a 12 story building. Our room looks north - the Old State Capitol is a block west of us. I-55 is two blocks eats of us. Lincoln's house is a block south of us. We are prepared to do a little walking. 

Back home in Tallahassee today - the legislature opens their session. They will be meeting until May 1st. Although they pass many laws - their main objective is to pass a budget. They do that and they can go home. The legislature and governor in Florida are Republican - thanks to gerrymandering. The majority of registered voters are Democrats. 

The motto here in Springfield seems to be - "We are better than New Jersey." The motto in Tallahassee seems to be - "We are ranked 50th in the amount we spend pre capita for education - at least we are not last."