Whizzing across the States (8-10 July)

For the past few days we have been moving right along, covering quite a distance by car and some small distances in between by bicycle. Our first day took us from Somerset in Pennsylvania across the border into West Virginia, where we rode along the Heritage Trail (Virginia River) at Wheeling. We then drove on through Ohio as far as Engelwood. This positioned us nicely to drive to Indianapolis next morning and cycle along the Greenways route and the beautiful canals of the city (see above). Leaving Indianapolis, we then drove all the way to Springfield in Illinois where we spent the following morning on a three hour bike ride along the Lake. Phew!!

After our bike ride in Springfield, we spent the afternoon in the fascinating Lincoln Presidential Museum which I had visited on 11 June. I was glad that Emil could also experience the wealth of information and technical innovations found at this modern museum. Learning about Lincoln was a valuable completion of what we had learned at the Battle of Gettysburg Museum, seeing as it was Lincoln's Presidency that proclaimed the freedom of the slaves and precipitated the Civil War.

Lincoln and his wife Mary at the Ford Theatre. General Lee has surrendered, the Civil War is practically over and the couple are enjoying a rare moment of tenderness, just before John Wilkes Booth steps into the box and shoots the President.

 

In the evening we had a special treat - actually the reason we returned to Springfield instead of heading north as planned: we met up with Annmarie Stahel. Annmarie studied flute in Basel at the time Glori was studying lute. They became close friends and we also got to know her and her family. She returned to the States in 1993 and we lost touch with her. At Emil's suggestion, Glori tried to locate her online and discovered her accidentally as a successful Duathlon competitor. We spent a fascinating evening with her catching up on nearly 30 years of personal past history and updating each other on kids and grandkids!

Annemarie's charming little home in Jacksonville

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