old capital city

When I first learned that Sam was to be moving to Springfield, I did some research on what kind of city it is. Over and over again on comment boards on the web, people said that Springfield is a horrible city. No one liked it here. In the past two weeks, I have gone from being frustrated with the lack of bike-friendliness and local shops to quite satisfied with my ability to get around and see nice community things.

Yesterday I rode my bike downtown (20 minutes) for the Farmers Market. It is held twice a week, Wednesdays and Saturdays throughout the summer. After wandering through leafy things and grabbing a freshly baked scone, I crossed the street for a tour of the Old Capital building. This magnificently red sandstone building was, of course, the place where Lincoln practiced his law. It was restored in the 1970’s to reflect the time Lincoln was working there. After that, I walked down to the Lincoln Home which is now a four block area of period houses run by the National Park Service. If the day is nice, this is a great way to spend the morning. Downtown Springfield has its share of little pubs and restaurants with a lovely mix of historical buildings and markers.

Tomorrow I think I’m going to go to the Washington Park Botanical Garden.

I am supposed to be looking for jobs, but it is so so nice to be able to wander around the city or sit and read a book for the afternoon.