Monday, June 13, 2011

Impromptu Trip to the 1830's

We had no plans for the weekend other than doing some yard and garden work but a spur of the moment idea yesterday had us heading about an hour south to visit the tomb of Abraham Lincoln. The remainder of the afternoon was spent at Lincoln's New Salem and we came home happy and exhausted and very inspired by our little daytrip.

I just love trips like this - somehow, they seem more intimate and fun than trips that have been long in the planning. There is no time to have to plan things out, stress over getting things done. You just go. You just do it. It usually works out pretty well.

We were blessed with an absolutely beautiful day. Of course, to get more "into" the feeling of the trip we dressed  in our historic attire. I was the only one with an outfit made purposely for the late 1820's/early 1830's period but we all had fun and the guys looked very handsome, I thought. :)

The boys were often stopped and people exclaimed over how cute they looked. The boys were curious about simply everything and had a grand time peering into the cabins, seeing the smithy at work over his fire, watching the shoe maker, seeing the ladies dye yarn and, of course, looking at the animals. And gathering sticks, rocks and "flowers" (clover) which entertained them the entire time they were there as well as the drive home since they insisted on bringing their collections home with them. . .

The last time we were here was three years ago and as it was very early spring at the time, the village seemed rather dead. David was not impressed. This time, he was intrigued by all the demonstrations and of course fell completely in love with the various gardens. Being quite a good gardener in his own right, he noted ideas for future garden plans and different plants and herbs we should incorporate into ours.

And me? I was just thrilled to be here! I was 12 years old when I visited New Salem for the first time and ever since then have harbored a secret little dream to walk the curving, tree-shaded pathways of this sweet village in a historic dress. Yesterday, that 13-year old dream came to fruition and I was just as happy and excited as I would have been when I was 12 years old. :) A girl never gets too old for dress up, now, does she?

We met some really lovely people who volunteer here and were asked some rather bizarre questions by the visiting public. One really stood out to me - a gentleman approached David and asked him "Sir, if I may ask, how old is your wife?" He then proceeded to ask about marriage customs of the day, and wondered if I was telling the truth when I told him that yes, I really was married at age 19 and yes, I am really 25!

It was quite a nice break from modern life to get away to this quiet little town for a bit. I hope more trips to this destination will be in our near future - I think they might!

I have more photos at my facebook album, here: Lincoln's Tomb and New Salem 

Love,
Sarah

6 comments:

  1. It seams to have been a very nice daytrip! The late 1820´s/early 1830´s suits you very well, you look beautifull in that dress.

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  2. The place looks awesome and so peaceful! I think you are looking younger as the years go by. :) You don't look a day over 20! :)

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  3. What a lovely trip! You have me itching to scout out some of our local historic sites. My daughter would love to do something like that.

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  4. Looks like a blast! The park is SO much better when it's full of interpreters. I love those spontaneous trips -- glad you had fun :)

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  5. loved this post!!!
    i think visiting this place would be fantastic. I'd enjoy this place.

    You all look great!
    God bless,
    d from homehaven

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  6. Looks like such a fun day! I mentioned this post to DH and he had fond memories of visiting as a child in the '70s. I imagine there's a lot more to see there now. We visited Lincoln's house in Springfield while we were in school at Urbana - wish we had made the trip to New Salem too. Maybe in retirement as we have moved to the East Coast. But thanks for posting your lovely pictures.

    Too funny about the gentleman who wondered if you were old enough to be married with children. My children are 7 years apart and several times complete strangers have assumed my oldest is too old to be mine and I must be my husband's 2nd wife. I don't know what people are thinking to think anything good can come from assuming a woman's age, lol.

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Thank you for your lovely thoughts!