four states. one day.

indiana

bright and early this morning my mum and i left the home of our wonderful cousins. heading out of lexington we stopped at keeneland, the horse racetrack for the city, located just a little west of town. while it was empty, seeing as how the races only run there in april and october, they still train horses on the track in the early morning. we hung around long enough to see a few horses go around the track, the jockeys wearing jeans--and although the horses were certainly not going fast enough to set any new records, it was still pretty neat to see.

from lexington we headed northwest to indianapolis for a (very) brief side-trip. after driving for a few hours in countryside which looked like the picture up top, we finally arrived. it was a bigger city than either of us thought! we drove around for a few minutes trying to find the elusive war monument downtown, which is supposedly a big obelisk in the middle of town, but our search proved futile. not to be discouraged, we headed out to the racetrack, for cars this time, to see it and go to the indianapolis hall of fame. for a small museum, and for the five dollars we paid between us (with a triple a discount), it was definitely worth it. we got to see all sorts of old-fashioned cars, including the one pictured, which is a really, really old car that dates back to 1886. i'm not even sure it counts as a car--imagine driving in that. we saw everything from that to the car that danica patrick drove in her first race up here at indy, in which she placed fourth. i also got to sit in a model car, which was cool. they're really small, and hard to get in and out of: i felt like i barely fit. they also had the trophy that they give out to indy 500 winners, along with a whole bunch of other trophys, medals, and everthing else you can win in racing.
when we were done with the racetrack we headed west towards springfield, illinois. it took a few hours of driving, and it rained on us pretty hard, but we got there eventually. on our way, we stopped in montezuma, indiana at davey's restaurant for a bite to eat at one of those places where there is one waitress and one cook (it was his birthday, too). really good onion rings--we both had enough friend foods for a while. we got to springfield, the capital of illinois just barely before 5, so we had enough time to dash in the visitor's center and grab a map. we walked around town, angling toward the house that lincoln lived in before he headed to the white house. they have done a great job preserving the block he lived on, so you can really get a feel for what it was like in 1860. lincoln's house is pictued to the right, from the angle it is most frequently photographed. and the rest of springfield has been lovingly restored in this recent era of appreciating the past. even the old train depot he gave his farewell address from and the old capital building are almost prestine. i really enjoyed it--we grabbed lemonade (for me) and double chocolate mint gelato (for mum), and then hit the road again.

we rolled out of springfield about 6.30, heading for hannibal, missouri--we did gain an hour crossing into illinois, so don't be too shocked by the time we made. but first we had a couple of hours driving through the 'prairie state,' pictured below. i came to the conclusion that rural/small town indiana was nicer than its illinois counterpart, but that illinois does cities better.
by the time we crossed the mississippi into missouri, the sun was setting, creating the beautiful scene below. hannibal is north of st. louis, nestled on the hills bordering the great american river, and was called home by that of american authors, mark twain. we only decided to come to hannibal--or stop in springfield or indianapolis, for that matter--today while we were driving, and i really couldn't be happier that we did. we rolled into hannibal to the sounds of a local band playing oldies as well as new music on a street in the middle of town. since there was still enough daylight, i walked around town a little, enjoying the music and the old town. they sure are proud of their most famous son here. half the town revolves around twain--restaurants, stores, tour boats, hotels. it really is great small town, nice and quaint without being kitschy. now we are checked into our hotel, and have wandered back into town to a local wine bar with wifi. the concert just finished, so the bar is flooded with patrons over the age of 50, all of them enjoying the company of friends and family before they call it a night. what a way for my mum and i to finish our first day on the road together. tomorrow: missouri, iowa and wisconsin, and of course more driving.