Honest Abe, Bonnie & Clyde, and the Choctaw Nation

I've always admired Abraham Lincoln, so I thoroughly enjoyed our visit to Springfield, Illinois.  The home in which he and his family lived was lovely.  We were impressed that several blocks of the immediate neighborhood were restored along with the Lincoln home; one could really get a sense of what life was like in the mid 1800's.

Mr. Lincoln left on his trip to Washington, D.C. from this train depot when he became this country's 16th President in 1860.

Abraham didn't return to Springfield until 5 years later, when his funeral train made its way back.  His tomb is a peaceful, beautiful place.  His wife, Mary, and 3 of their 4 sons are also buried here. 

The Lincoln's oldest son, Robert, lived well into his 80's...I hadn't remembered that. He died in 1926 and is buried in Arlington Memorial Cemetery in Washington, D.C. with his wife, Mary.

On a lighter note, and with no disrespect, I thought that this tomb for a long-ago governor of the state of Illinois looked as if it could have been built for Fred Flintstone...whaddya think?!

After Illinois, we tarried awhile in Joplin, Missouri - folks do that, you know.  Bonnie Parker & Clyde Barrow stayed in a garage apartment in Joplin for several weeks in the 1930's before leaving town in a hurry...amid a flurry of bullets, I believe.  Joplin was quite memorable for us, as well.  We fed the catfish at the campground - and we clearly hadn't been the first to do so; they were big!

Later that evening, we had quite a bit of excitement as we stood in the storm shelter/laundry room with a tornado touching down a few miles away.  We had buckets of rain and a bit of hail (I think...Dennis wasn't as sure as I), but it was those sudden moments of absolute stillness that most grabbed my attention.  We met a nice, single father with his 2 young sons that night.  His boys were sound asleep the whole time we talked; I think they missed the whole storm!  We are very thankful (as is the virtually-undamaged Joplin) that they weren't hit as hard as Ohio and Michigan were just yesterday - our prayers are with all of those folks.

The morning after our Joplin tornado was also quite dramatic.  Dennis was outside busy doing some such thing under our camper's slide outs when he stood up, too soon, and really bonked his head.  Long story short, my dear sweet one popped his head clean open and now has 8 staples for a crown!  He is fine; none the worse for wear, which is amazing in and of itself.  I swear, I married one tough fella!  ...and no, I am not going to post pictures on this topic; you'll just have to use your imagination.

Finally, a little braggin' about me, a Dean Martin-themed one-cent slot machine, and the Choctaw Casino that paid me $31 and some change after a brief stop in Durant, Oklahoma. 

Hey, that's the kind of big news I like!

See you later, everyone...and (to coin a phrase from 'Hill Street Blues,' "Let's be careful out there!"  =]