Lincoln Pops Up in the Most Unexpected Places

Connie Attractions & Events, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Wisconsin February 24, 2015abraham lincoln sites, historic lincoln sites, lincoln historical sites 4 Comments

You expect to find Abraham Lincoln sites all over Illinois, and I have. Of course, they’re ubiquitous in Springfield, his home for 24 years, including the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum and the Lincoln Home.

And then there’s Vandalia, the state capital prior to Springfield and the oldest existing Illinois capitol building.

Decatur was his first Illinois home, and he lived in West Salem prior to Springfield.

As a lawyer, Lincoln rode all over the 8^th Judicial Circuit, and there are commemorative sites throughout Central Illinois where Lincoln stayed, spoke and worked. The Museum of the Grand Prairie captures Lincoln Travels through the area.

I’ve searched out many of these places, which are often part of the Illinois Looking for Lincoln Heritage Coalition.

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There are plenty of Lincoln sites outside of Illinois, too, like his birthplace and First Lincoln Memorial in Kentucky, his Indiana boyhood home, and of course, his place of honor on Mount Rushmore.

Occasionally, however, Lincoln pops up where you least expect him. We found him recently in Beloit, Wisconsin. Skip and I were browsing the shops in the downtown area when we wandered past this building and noticed the plaque commemorating Lincoln’s 1859 visit.

In what unexpected place have you found a Lincoln site? Let me know in the comments below.

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Beloit International Film Festival: What to Expect

Connie Attractions & Events, Wisconsin February 23, 2015December 30, 20152015 film festival, beloit film festival, beloit film festival 2015, Beloit International Film Festival, beloit international film festival 2015, Beloit Wisconsin, best short film festivals, BIFF, biff film festival, documentary film festivals, film competitions, film fest, film festival 2016, Film festivals, filmfestival, independent film festival, independent film festivals, international film festival, international film festival 2015, international film festival 2016, international film festivals, list of film festivals, short documentary film festivals, short film festivals, upcoming film festivals, us film festivals, usa film festival 3 Comments

The term “film festival” always brought a picture to my mind of a series of artsy films with deep meanings I didn’t understand, mostly in non-English languages with subtitles. When I was invited to the Beloit International Film Festival (BIFF), I thought why not? I’m always up for a new adventure, I was curious, and I saw there was going to be a Grease sing-along on Saturday night.

Special Treats a Tradition at Lou Mitchell’s, Chicago

Connie Food & Drink, Illinois February 20, 2015Lou Mitchell's, Lou Mithcell Chicago, Route 66 Illinois, Route 66 Restaurants 0 Comment

Sometimes it’s the little extras that make a place memorable. Lou Mitchell’s is memorable for several reasons. As you begin Route 66 from the eastern terminus in Chicago, it’s the first diner you reach that has been around since before the route was commissioned. Foods that other restaurants prepare from mixes or purchase ready-made, Lou Mitchell’s makes from scratch. However, the special sweet treats are what most people best remember.

In the Greek tradition of offering a sweet treat as a welcome greeting, you are offered a donut hole as you are seated.

All women and children receive a snack-size box of Milk Duds, as well.

Milk Duds were originally made in Chicago. The candy company owner was a personal friend of Lou Mitchell and a regular restaurant patron. “Uncle Lou” started the tradition of giving all women and children a box of the candies, and both the donut hole and Milk Duds traditions have stuck.

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Lou Mitchell’s doesn’t take short cuts with the food preparation. Their orange and grapefruit juices are both freshly squeezed, and vats of freshly made orange marmalade are on the table.

I ordered a ham and cheese omelet, and Skip ordered eggs Benedict. Both came with hash browns that were really American fries sliced remarkably thin. If fried just a little more, they’d be potato chips. My omelet was so large I could only eat half of it.

Skip claims his eggs Benedict was the best he’d ever tasted. It’s not surprising, since the hollandaise sauce is made fresh every morning from scratch.

I knew about the donut hole and Milk Duds traditions before we visited the restaurant. We were surprised, though, with the treat at the end of the meal: a tiny cup of ice cream. Yep, ice cream for dessert even after breakfast.

150131_Lou_Mitchell-3910 Lou Mitchell’s, located at 565 W Jackson Boulevard in Chicago, has been in business since 1923. They’re open every day for breakfast and lunch except the seven major holidays. Check the web site for the hours and menu.

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Other articles that may interest you:

Have you been to Chicago’s Field Museum Lately?

Isle a la Cache Museum: Discover the Fur Trade on the Island of the Hiding Place

Dell Rhea’s Chicken Basket: A Route 66 Icon

A Nostalgic Stay at the Route 66 Rail Haven Motel in Springfield, Missouri

Connie Missouri February 18, 2015April 2, 2018Best Western Rail Haven, Rail Haven Motel, Route 66 motels, Springfield Missouri, Springfield Missouri motels, Springfield MO 0 Comment

It was 1938, the heyday of The Mother Road, when brothers Elwyn and Lawrence Lippman built eight sandstone cottages on their grandfather’s apple orchard along Route 66 in Springfield, Missouri, and accented the property with a rail fence. By 1946 the motel had grown to 28 rooms. In the early 1950s it became part of the newly formed Best Western chain of motels. The property went through many upgrades from the mid-1950s to the early 1970s, including changing from cottages to a strip motel. However, by the early 1990s, the Rail Haven had started to slip. Read more

Mount Rushmore at Sunrise: A Spectacular Show

Connie Attractions & Events, South Dakota February 16, 2015November 22, 2015 0 Comment

I finally made it to Mount Rushmore. For 40 years I’d wanted to see the likenesses of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt carved into the mountain’s granite, or “the heads,” as my daughter referred to them. For one reason and then another, I never made it there until last fall. It was well worth the wait, and getting up before dawn to see the sunrise was a small price to pay for the spectacular show our presidents put on for us.

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Our group arrived at dawn, just as the skies were beginning to lighten from black to gray, a late September chill in the air. Only a few others besides our group were there that early, before the rush of tourists, allowing us to position ourselves for the best photo shots of the monument.

As the sun began to come up, the stone took on a peach cast against the powder blue sky.

The coloring became more vibrant as the sun peeked higher above the horizon …

… until the mountain was seemingly on fire and the sky a bright azure.

As the sun rose higher, the faces softened.

With the breathtaking sunrise over, it was time to explore a little more. The Presidential Trail allows you to get up closer to the monument and presents some great angles, including from between trees and rocks.

Later I noticed another great view from the windows in the café.

I know it isn’t every day that the sky is as blue as it was on that September morning, not a cloud in the sky. I’m just glad that after waiting over 40 years to see “the heads,” we were blessed with perfect weather and a perfect sunrise.

Mount Rushmore is located in Keystone, South Dakota, about a half hour southwest of Rapid City. Check the web site for directions, operating hours and other details.

Disclosure: My visit to Mount Rushmore was hosted by the South Dakota Department of Tourism. However, all opinions in this article are my own.

Other posts you may enjoy:

Prehistoric History Uncovered at Mammoth Site of Hot Springs, South Dakota

Exploring Native American Heritage in South Dakota

The Journey Museum, Rapid City: Black Hills History and Culture

Chapel in the Hills, Rapid City: Norwegian Serenity

Oklahoma’s Charlie’s Chicken and Barbeque Offers Rotisserie Chicken as Alternative to Fried

Connie Food & Drink February 13, 2015February 26, 2015Charlie's Chicken, Charlie's Chicken and Barbeque, Miami Oklahoma restaurants, Restaurants on Route 66, Waistline Watching Traveler 0 Comment

Driving Route 66 through Miami, Oklahoma, looking for someplace to eat a late dinner, we stumbled across Charlie’s Chicken and Barbeque.

Barbecue is my favorite cuisine, but we’d already eaten several barbecue meals on the trip. Chicken would hit the spot. However, I’d been doing real well in keeping my calorie count down, and I really didn’t want to blow it with fried chicken. I was pleasantly surprised to find that Charlie’s Chicken and Barbeque offers rotisserie chicken as an alternative to fried.

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White meat is leaner than dark meat, but dark meat is my taste preference, so I went with the two-piece dark meat rotisserie dinner served with two sides and a dinner roll. Skip ordered the same but with white meat. I ordered mashed potatoes without gravy and corn on the cob for my two sides; Skip, who is not counting calories, had mashed potatoes with gravy and baked beans.

Removing the skin from my chicken reduced the calories by about a third. I found the corn and roll both sweet and tasty enough without added butter. The chicken dinner satisfied my taste buds while keeping my calorie consumption within my target range.

Charlie’s Chicken is a regional Oklahoma franchise chain. Not all of them offer barbecue. Sides range from the healthier, like green beans, to not-as-healthy but tempting mac ‘n cheese and fried potato wedges. The Charlie’s Chicken and Barbeque that we visited is located at 2400 N Main Street in Miami, Oklahoma. Visit their Facebook page for further details.

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Removing the skin from chicken cuts fat and calories tremendously no matter how the chicken is prepared, but even more so with fried. However, some complain the skin is the best part. When I have fried chicken I eat just a little of the breading to satisfy my taste buds and leave the rest.
If you have a big preference of a less healthy item over a healthier option, like my preference of dark meat over white, go for it but make up for it by ordering healthier sides.
Taste your sides before adding butter and salt. You may find they taste fine as they are.

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