Day 139 - 07/09/2007

I took the kids (including Jacob) to Barnes and Noble for some books to read on the way to Olney. Surprisingly enough, they actually read them and not a single DVD was watched on the three hour drive.

Passing through Charleston, I saw a sign for the Lincoln Log Cabin. Since none of us had seen it (and it was somewhat on the way), we went off the beaten path to check it out. We joked about whether it would actually be Lincoln's log cabin or whether it was just a Lincoln Log cabin. As it turned out, it was neither: It was Thomas Lincoln's log cabin (and a replica at that -- the original had been disassembled and sent to the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago and was...lost). Abraham Lincoln never actually lived there! I guess since we were in Illinois, they figured they could cash in on the Lincoln name and trap unknowing travelers like us. It worked.

We wandered through the exhibit and took in a short movie about the site (where we found out the cabin was a reproduction). I stopped by the cabin before joining D, M, N and Nancy at the gift shop. After getting some souvenirs and pictures, we got back in the van and continued the trip to Olney, arriving shortly before 6p.

It was great to be back in Olney. It's small-town America at it's best and every trip opens my eyes to something I missed on a previous trip. We found out the Richland County Fair was going on this week (which I had never been to), so that was quickly put on the calendar. N is especially looking forward to the tractor pull (as am I!).

After dinner, we got the kids processed and put to bed (it was pretty hard separating them from the video console, but after a few attempts, we were successful).