Fried

After only 5hrs in Springfield, I've decided that it should be renamed Springfried. The chamber of commerce says that this city is noted for it's food. But when the signature meal is something called a horseshoe, and it would kill a horse, they need a new claim to fame. The horseshoe is a giant plate full of two patties of pork or beef, surrounded by fries, covered with cheese. Then there is the toaster biscuit,, which is a biscuit with bacon, ham, or sausage, with potatoes covering it, smothered in cheese and gravy. It is said that the corn dog on a stick became famous here, it's now called a cozy dog here in town. I'm not surprised that Michelle moved from here to Denver, being a vegetarian in Springfield would be like being an Eskimo that doesn't eat fish.

We stopped in at New Salem today on the way from Petersburg to Springfield. New Salem is the village that Abe lived in before he dabbled in politics. After 3 hrs there we have heard all about Lincoln's youth. It was only 23 mile ride to Springfield, but highway 97 was nerve wracking, with no shoulder and plenty of traffic, some of it highly obnoxious. Then we had to turn south on highway 4 to get to the Marriott, and it was even more nerve wracking. It started raining about 3 miles from the hotel, which added to the ambiance. It doesn't look like Springfield will be the next Amsterdam, there are no concessions for bikes, like maybe a shoulder, path, walk light, crosswalk, or courtesy. What they have lots of here is cars and calories.

There was a major race riot here in 1908, resulting in the murder of a couple of people and the forming of the NAACP. It was started on Lincoln's birthday in 1909, then on that day in 2007 Barack announced his presidential bid here in Springfield. It's the state capitol, so many of the jobs in town are associated with the state government. It's also the place where the Donner party started their journey toward California. I do believe they probably left for better food, choosing human meat over a horseshoe sandwich or a cozy dog. I thought it was interesting to learn that up until 1800, when Philadelphia surpassed 40,000 people, the largest city ever in North America was in this vicinity. It was called Cahokia, and began in 650 a.d. and lasted until 1400. All through the middle ages in Europe these Indian type people were doing their thing here next to Springfield. It's now a UNESCO world heritage site, with the burial mounds the main attraction.

We are going to stay here in Springfield tomorrow and not touch big O, just to give the legs and, yes, the butt, a rest. The food here is not the only thing fried, our legs are too. We plan to go downtown and visit the Lincoln library and museum, as well as the Dana-Thomas house, a perfectly preserved 18th century house. We will try to find something green to eat, because scurvy is becoming a real possibility.