Abraham Lincoln sites - President's Day

 Anyone who knows me, knows I L-O-V-E Abraham Lincoln.  My students know just how obsessed I am considering my classroom was covered with his picture, witty remarks and wisdom.  I have a continually growing set of books and movies dedicated to him and his role as our 16th president.

And since I love to travel and visit historic sites you can bet your bottom dollar I seize any opportunities to see sites relating to Lincoln.  Hoping to add the monument and museum in Springfield Illinois to my list. These sites are extremely popular, and I hope families get the chance to see these monuments dedicated to one of the most loved presidents that's served our great country.

"History is not history unless it is the truth."

"Bad promises are better broken than kept."

"Broken eggs cannot be mended."

"My father taught me to work, but not to love it.  I never did like to work, and I don't deny it. I'd rather read, tell stories, crack jokes, talk and laugh - anything but work."

"Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt."

Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park - Kentucky

On our family RV trip we planned to make a stop at Lincoln's birthplace.  Since I was doing most of the event planning this was definitely going to be stop on our loop.  What added to the experience was the fact that we almost missed the whole thing!  If you've ever dealt with time zone change then you know the line isn't a straight line, but in fact curves in and out. So the closing time for the historic park was actually an hour earlier, and by the time we realized it, we were booking that RV down those side roads faster then was probably safe and flew into the park just in time.

Picked up this miniature bust of Lincoln as a small token of our visit. Makes a perfect item for my teacher desk.

Battle of Gettysburg - Pennsylvania

One of Abraham Lincoln's most famous speeches was his Gettysburg Address in 1863 after the three day July battle.  Lincoln delivered his classic speech at the dedication of a national cemetery at Gettysburg to commemorate all the lives on both the union and confederacy side that had been sacrificed.  It was one of the greatest expressions of democracy in American history.   

Even back when my family visited the battle site in my early school years I still remember that feeling when driving through the park and stopping at the Minnesota memorial.  My love of learning about the Civil War has only continued to grow. In college I was lucky to have taken a class just on the Civil War my freshman year.  I was completely in my element in that class.  I was able to read so many great books on the subject and we even memorized the Lincoln's Gettysburg Address.

I hope that I'll be able to venture over to the site again next time I'm in Ohio, since I know that it would certainly mean even more to me today.

Mount Rushmore - South Dakota

One of my favorite monuments honoring our past presidents, carved into the side of the Black Hills of South Dakota is Mount Rushmore.  This National Memorial is visited by nearly 3 million people a year who wish to marvel at the astounding man-made creation carved into nature’s creation.  When you stand at the base of this gigantic memorial it is hard not to be amazed.

"The purpose of the memorial is to communicate the founding, expansion, preservation, and unification of the United States with colossal statues of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt."
Gutzon Borglum

Clearly I was not the only one to think that these were the best of the best in regards to our presidential leaders.  Even back in grade school when I visited this memorial on a family vacation I was captivated.  I'm looking forward to returning with my own family one day.  And since some of my students have been, I always love teaching about Mount Rushmore's construction in my U.S. History class.

 Lincoln Memorial - Washington D.C.

Before starting my history teaching job, my husband and I took a spontaneous trip to D.C. over the summer.  I haven't been to D.C. since I visited in sixth grade with my family, so I've been dying for another opportunity.  It was great to tour all the memorials again, especially with a friend that's a D.C. native.  Make sure you have your walking shoes if you visit, cause boy did we get our exercise over those 3 days.

Although I value all the memorials, my most anticipated was of course the Lincoln Memorial!!!