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Great Lakes Trip 2019 Day 15

President Ulysses S. Grant Birthplace
Moscow OH

This is the birthplace of Ulysses S. Grant, the 18th president of the US. He was the first president elected who was born in Ohio. He was also the youngest president up until that time – he was 46 when he was inaugurated. Prior to his presidency, Grant was the victorious Commanding General in the Civil War.

Moscow overlooks the Ohio River, about 25 miles east of Cincinnati.

Boyhood Home of Ulysses S. Grant
Georgetown OH

Grant lived in Georgetown until he went off to West Point.

Grant attended this school in Georgetown. As with the birthplace and boyhood home, we were there too early in the morning to go inside – they were all closed.

I was able to get this picture of the schoolroom, which is typical of schools in the 1820s and 1830s.

We travelled through deep countryside in Ohio.

Ohio Statehouse
Columbus OH

This is the rear entrance of the capitol. I totally blew this one. The “dome” such as it is, is not visible from this side. It is, however, perfectly visible on the other side, but I forgot to go around the block. If we would have driven around the block, we would have seen this…

This Ohio maps has a different tile for each county.

Abraham Lincoln bust atop a memorial of the Battle of Vicksburg.

Columbus OH

Almost heaven, and almost home. Here is a West Virginia countryside farm scene.

The End!

We made it home Thursday night. It is hard to believe we were gone two weeks and packed so many things into each day. We saw so much of the beauty of God’s creation, and so much history! America is such a great country! This trip we crossed twelve presidents off the list! And five state capitols!

And all five Great Lakes!

We hope you have enjoyed seeing what we have been up to the last couple weeks!

Great Lakes Trip 2019 Day 14

Ark Encounter
Williamstown KY

We looked forward to visiting this museum.

This is a reproduction of Noah’s Ark, built to the specifications as God gave Noah in Genesis. Of course, the exact shape and look are artistic representations, since the Bible does not give enough descriptions to understand what the ark actually looked like. But the dimensions are faithful to biblical directions, which are 300 cubits long by 50 cubits wide, or 450 feet long by 75 feet wide. It is massive in person!

Again, all the displays are artistic representations of the insides of the ark. Whatever is specifically in the Bible is incorporated into the displays.

Noah and his family worshipping God inside the ark.

This museum does not shy away from the dinosaurs, in fact in my opinion focuses on them too much. They do propose that dinosaurs were on the ark with Noah.

This is a representation of feeding the animals.

There were many good explanations of how biblical perspectives are correct.

The sheer size inside the ark is incredible.

This contraption is used to twist strands into rope.

We are at ‘The Door”, which is intended to be both a representation of the door that God shut in Noah’s family behind, but also that Jesus Christ is the door to our salvation. There is a very strong emphasis on Christ and the Gospel throughout the museum.

The rainbow and God’s covenant with Noah.

William Howard Taft Boyhood Home
Cincinnati OH

This was the boyhood home of William Howard Taft, 27th president of the US. President Taft was President Theodore Roosevelt’s hand-picked successor in 1908, and served as president from 1909-1913. Taft lived in this house until he went off to college at age 18. Taft was one of three presidents born within two years of each other. Theodore Roosevelt in 1858, Taft in 1857, and Woodrow Wilson in 1856.

Taft’s family was very active in public life. His father Afonso Taft, was Secretary of War, then Attorney General in President Lincoln’s cabinet. President Taft’s son, would become Senate majority leader as well as a serious candidate for the Republican presidential nomination three times.

Most of the furnishings in the house are not original to the Taft family, but period pieces. However, the desk in the upper left did belong to Alfonso Taft, President Taft’s father.

William Howard Taft at age 3 in 1860. The practice at the time was that children who were not “potty trained” would wear a dress-like gown. Also, boys would have their hair parted on the side, and girls parted in the middle.

Taft did not play the piano, but he did enjoy music, and he was quite a fine dancer despite his very large size – he was 300 pounds! And when he moved into the White House a special bathtub had to be installed to accommodate his size!

As president, Taft was a fierce trust-buster, trying to break through large corporate monopolies.

In 1912, former president Theodore Roosevelt decided he was not satisfied with President Taft’s performance, so Roosevelt challenged Taft for the Republican nomination. Taft barely won the nomination, but an angry Roosevelt ran as a third party in the general election, thus splitting the Republican vote and allowing Woodrow Wilson to win the presidency. Roosevelt was the most successful third-party candidate in history, finishing in second place with 88 electoral votes. Combined, Roosevelt and Taft won over 50 percent of the vote.

President Taft was the only president to go on later and serve on the US Supreme Court. In fact, Taft became Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

Creation Museum
Petersburg KY

The Creation Museum is related to the Ark Encounter. It focuses more on the six days of creation as described in the Bible.

The grounds of the museum are very nice.

Like the Ark Encounter, the Creation Museum puts a lot of focus on dinosaurs.

The museum tries to stay faithful to the Bible.

Explaining how and why the Bible and Human Reason come to different conclusions about creation (and science).

God created the heavens and the earth. Like the Ark Encounter, the Creation Museum uses artistic license to produce displays of biblical events.

Adam and Eve. As we went by each display, the biblical text for the scene was read over the speakers.

God clothes Adam and Eve to cover their nakedness.

Man toils the field by the sweat of his brow.

Methuselah, the oldest man in the Bible, lived 969 years.

As the flood waters rose, the people were desperate for salvation. Notice on the top right of the rock, two men fighting

The rainbow, which signified God’s promise that He would never again destroy the world by flood.

Actual fossilized skull of a allosuarus, one of the most complete allosuarus skulls ever found.

The museum is full of promoting the Gospel, Jesus is God, Lord of all.

God’s sovereignty is Jesus Christ’s sovereignty.

Cincinnati OH

Paul Brown Stadium, home of the Cincinnati Bengals.

We had dinner at Hofbräuhaus in Newport KY, across the river form Cincinnati. It is a German beer hall, very loud!

Live entertainment. They sing German songs in German! Pretty cool!

Heidelberger Rahm Spätzle (with pulled chicken)

Schwarzwälder Kirsch Torte (black forest cake). All the food was delicious!

Great Lakes Trip 2019 Day 13

Indianapolis IN

Crown Hill Cemetery

Grave of Benjamin Harrison, 23rd president of the United States

Indianapolis Motor Speedway, AKA The Brickyard
Home of the Indianapolis 500

We toured this iconic landmark in Indianapolis. This is the location of the famous Indianapolis 500 race which is usually held over Memorial Day weekend every year. It also is the home of the Brickyard 400, a NASCAR race that is held the weekend after Labor Day.

The monuments here are of race cars, not people!

We took a ride on a tour bus for a lap on the actual track. It was pretty cool. This view is looking back at the third turn.

This view is looking at the fourth turn.

The “Pagoda” which has suites for race viewing.

Winners podium. Tradition is that the winner of the race drinks milk (for an endorsement of the dairy industry). Before the race, all the drivers select which milk they want – whole, 2%, 1%, skim – but it has to be white milk, not chocolate or strawberry, and it has to be cow’s milk, not almond milk or other non-dairy milk.

This is the “yard of bricks”. The original track was made of millions of bricks. Over time, the bricks were paved over to smooth the track. They kept three feet of bricks for the finish line. A tradition has developed that the winner of the Indianapolis 500 runs out to the track and kisses the bricks, so…

The museum contains many, many cars, mostly winners of past races. There is also an entire section of Mario Andretti’s cars. Here is his 1979 Lotus. Zoom in on the picture to read the details.

Andretti won the 1978 World Driving Championship driving this Lotus Type 79-4.

This car is similar, although perhaps a little larger, to the race cars Mary Jean’s father used to race. He designed and built his cars and their engines.

There are many cars here. It is quite impressive.

The man in the blue car in this painting resembles Mary Jean’s father.

Home of President Benjamin Harrison

This is the home of Benjamin Harrison, 23rd president of the United States. He was the only president whose grandfather was also president. His grandfather, William Henry Harrison, was our 9th president (and also shortest-serving – 32 days).

President Harrison served one term from 1889-1893. He was defeated for reelection in 1892 by President Grover Cleveland, whom Harrison had succeeded. (Cleveland was the only man to serve non-consecutive terms). Harrison suspended his campaign a week before the election in 1892 because First Lady Caroline Harrison died on October 25, 1892. He simply didn’t want to continue in office. He lived for another nine years after leaving the presidency.

First Lady Caroline Harrison was a very active woman, a leader in women’s rights and advancement in the late 1800s.

Informal parlor. The portrait above the fireplace is Harrison’s grandfather, President William Henry Harrison, 9th president of the US.

Reginaphone Music Box/Phonograph. The docent played a few seconds of this hand-crank machine! I recorded about 20 seconds of it.

This is a souvenir President Harrison received when the country celebrated the 100th anniversary of George Washington’s inaugural in 1789. It is called a centennial stick. There is a carved head of each of the presidents up until Harrison stacked on top of each other.

The kitchen is furnished with period pieces. This is a Hoosier Cabinet with many interesting drawers and cubbyholes. The high chair actually belonged to the Harrisons. Children would eat in the kitchen with the servants until they learned table manners.

This stove is similar to the model the Harrisons used.

This is Benjamin Harrison the Fifth’s (President Benjamin Harrison’s great-grandfather and a signer of the Declaration of Independence) actual crib from the 1700s!

Benjamin Harrison’s bed. This is the bed he died in. So this house contains his actual baby crib, AND his deathbed!

Indiana State Capitol

Bust of President Benjamin Harrison, the only president from Indiana.

House of Representatives chamber. Zoom in to see how beautiful the chandelier is.

Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the Indianapolis Colts

Grave of President William Henry Harrison
North Bend OH

President William Henry Harrison, 9th president of the United States. He was a native of Virginia, and he was a hero for battling the Indians in the Northwest Territory (Ohio, Indiana, Illinois). He earned a nickname “Old Tippecanoe” for his exploits. He served at territorial governor of Indiana prior to winning the presidency in 1840. His inaugural address was the longest, and he delivered it outside in a terrible storm and developed pneumonia. He died 32 days after he was inaugurated. First Lady Anna Harrison was too sick to travel to Washington, so she never made it to the White House. Only Anna Harrison and Martha Washington were First Ladies that never lived in the White House (it didn’t exist when George Washington was president).

The graves of President William Henry Harrison and Frist Lady Anna Harrison.

Near the grave of President William Henry Harrison in North Bend OH is the birthplace of his grandson, President Benjamin Harrison. He was born on a farm on this site, but the farm no longer exists.

A bend in the Ohio River at North Bend OH.

Great American Ballpark
Cincinnati OH

We stayed in a hotel across the river from Cincinnati in Covington KY, so we took this boat across the river to see the Reds-Phillies game at The Great American Ballpark.

Beautiful stadium. Too bad the Reds are not good this year. The attendance this night was very low.

The Reds best player Joey Votto.
Can you see the ball in these pictures?

Bryce Harper with this hit drove in his 100th RBI of the season.

Statue of Johnny Bench outside the stadium

Johnny Bench, the greatest catcher in history.

Red’s 1975 World Series Championship trophy

Tom Seaver. so now I have seen Seaver’s Baseball Hall of Fame plaque, his Mets Hall of Fame plaque, and now his Reds Hall of Fame plaque.

Whenever a Reds pitcher strikes out a batter, these steamboat smokestacks blast three shots of flames.

Great Lakes Trip 2019 Day 12

Illinois State Capitol, Springfield IL

This is the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield.

The dome, as well as much of the beautiful walls and ceilings inside, were given a cleaning about 15 years ago. Otherwise, it would all be pretty dingy from 150 years of soot and grime buildup.

The trees prevented a clear shot of the entire front of the building.

One of the scenes that circle the bottom of the dome.

Inside the rotunda, a statue of Ulysses S. Grant, who once lived in Illinois.

Statue of Lincoln’s famous debate opponent, Stephen A. Douglas

This painting is funny because it is wrong on many levels. This is entitled “Treaty with Indians, George Rogers Clark”. Clark never negotiated a treaty with the Indians although he did meet with them over several years. At the time Clark was meeting with Indians, he was in his mid-20s; in this painting he is a balding older man. The Indians in the painting are dressed and painted like Plains Indians from much further west, and they did not live in teepees; they would not have been in Illinois. Even though it has so many errors, it has been kept because it is considered a fine work of art. Oh, and it is painted directly on the wall, so the only way to remove it would be to paint over it!

The architecture throughout was just exquisite.

The chamber had several chandeliers like this one.

Another section of the Senate chamber ceiling

This room used to be the Illinois Supreme Court. It is now used for committee meetings.

Ceiling panel in the old Supreme Court room

Another ceiling panel in the old Supreme Court room

The center panel in the old Supreme Court room

The combination of all the architectural features in the capitol cannot be captured in mere pictures, even though I posted a few of them here. It is really a feast for the eyes. More than that, it has a European feel to it. That is because when it was being planned, the leaders of Illinois government were certain that Illinois would be a significant international commerce hub, so they wanted the Europeans to understand they were dealing with sophisticated people.

Abraham Lincoln’s Home

The home Abraham Lincoln lived in. He bought a single-story house for he and his wife Mary to live in and raise their children. A few years later, they added a second floor, which seemed to duplicate her father’s house in Kentucky, the one she grew up in. She was very well-off, and her engagement to the hardscrabble, lower-class Lincoln caused problems within her family.

The parlor, where the Lincolns entertained guests. After Lincoln was elected president in 1860, they had photos taken of each room in the house, so these rooms are arranged just like the Lincolns had. Many of the items in the house actually belonged to the Lincolns.

These window treatments were the Lincolns.

Mary Lincoln’s White Cake recipe was all the rage.

This is the family room, where the Lincolns relaxed.

In the adjoining room, Mary Lincoln’s bed. Notice the fancy wallpaper is the same in both rooms.

The rear of the house, just like when the Lincolns lived here.

Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum

Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library
President Lincoln was our 16th president.

Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum. I knew Lincoln was tall, but…
This 31 foot tall sculpture is entitled “Return Visit”. The original life-size version is located in Gettysburg. The sculpture shows Lincoln presenting the “contemporary common man” with the Gettysburg address. The artist is J. Seward Johnson.

There are many scenes demonstrating Lincoln’s whole life. Here he is outside the log cabin he grew up in.

Studying in his law office while his children play

The late Tim Russert did a mockup of the election of 1860, as it could have been if we had TV back then. He did a profile of all four candidates. It was pretty cool.

Lincoln campaigning from the back of a train

We posed with the First Family. So Lincoln really was 6’4′!
In addition to the President and First Lady, there were children, Todd who was 17 when the Lincolns moved into the White House, Willie, who was 10, and Tad, who was 7.

First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln, surrounded by replica outfits worn by several of her social rivals in Washington DC.

Son Willie died of Typhoid fever in the White House in 1862 when he was 11. This scene shows Mary at Willie’s bedside while the president walks into the room.

Lincoln discussing the Emancipation Proclamation with his cabinet.

The Emancipation Proclamation was not universally popular – in the North! Technically, the proclamation freed the slaves only in the South.

As you would expect, there are many displays centering on the Civil War.
This video was four minutes long, and it ran a casualty count on the bottom right as the Civil War progressed. The many battles would be displayed as their place on the timeline arrived. Here is the casualty count as of the Battle of Fredericksburg in December 1862.

President Lincoln lying in state at the Old Illinois State Capitol Hall of Representatives

This cast was made by Gutzon Borglum, who created Mount Rushmore. This bust was done in preparation for the marble version that was completed in 1908 and is now on display in the Rotunda of the US Capitol.

Progression of Lincoln’s face from election to shortly before his assassination.

One block from the Museum is the location of Lincoln & Herndon law office. It is not open to the public.

Outside the law office is a sculpture of the Lincoln family. Little Willie is waving to Todd as e is apparently going off to school.

Lincoln Monument

This is where President Abraham Lincoln is buried. He is buried underground. The inside at ground level contains several busts and statues of Lincoln, but it was closed on this day. That was a disappointment.

The bust outside the monument, where you are supposed to rub his nose for good luck.

This was pretty neat. On either side of the USA shield are Nebraska and Virginia!

Illinois countryside on our way to Indianapolis.

Great Lakes Trip 2019 Day 11

Dixon IL

Wings of Peace and Freedom, donated to the city of Dixon by Nick Taney, an immigrant to the US from Bulgaria, in gratitude for President Reagan’s part in ending the Cold War with the Soviet Union.

Interestingly, Dixon was home to several people who made significant contributions to American life. Charles Walgreen, the founder of Walgreen’s Drug Store. The Walgreen family still owns the estate in Dixon.

John Deere developed the steel plow in Dixon.
Also, film director/actor Orson Welles was born just a few miles from Dixon.

Ronald Reagan was a lifeguard here for several years in the 1920s. He was credited for saving 77 lives in the Rock River here during those years.

This is a statue of Abraham Lincoln in military uniform. Lincoln served in the military during the Blackhawk War in the early 1830s. He never saw any combat, but he was stationed here in Dixon during that time.

After church, we ate lunch at Flynnie’s Diner, which was very good!

President Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home, Dixon IL

Ronald Reagan was the 40th president of the United States. He was president from 1981-1989. He is one of my favorite presidents. After four years of President Carter’s “malaise”, President Reagan ushered in a time of positive outlook, and a great turnaround of a sour economy and a depleted military. He spoke of the US as the “shining city on the hill”. I could talk about this president for hours, since I grew as a young adult and got married during his presidency.