January 13

Over night there was a massive ice storm. We woke up to everything being covered in ice. Some people didn't have power. We were lucky and did, but our yard looks like a war zone. There are tree limbs down everywhere. Last night when I was sleeping, I swear I heard the limbs crack and fall under the weight of the ice. Just glad no big limbs hit the house or my car.

After we had some breakfast and got cleaned up, we scrapped all the ice off my car and headed downtown. Our day basically consisted of the routine Lincoln sites tour. First off we parked by the clocktower, near the same place I parked with Caitlin and Karen. Our first stop was the Lincoln Presidential Museum. This was my second time through the museum and I am still impressed. It's very cool and modern for Springfield. After the many exhibits of Lincoln and the Civil War, we walked towards the old state capital and made a run through there. We didn't stay there long, not really much to do. The shops up and down 6th street kept us busy after that, especially the Prairie Archives and the Cardologist. Fun little shops.

When we got back to the car I decided to quickly show them Lincoln's tomb. We were the only people there, probably due to the nasty weather. Both Steph and Gina got to rub his nose. It's good luck! Inside it was deathly quiet and we starred at his massive stone headstone. Hey, if you do something important...you can get a big tomb too. Earlier that day I mentioned the Frank Lloyd Wright home and Stephanie was pretty interested. The home was free and the tour wasn't too long. The Dana Thomas House is very, very spacious and neatly decorated. My favorite two rooms are the office and the gallery where the 16ft. Christmas tree sits. I wouldn't mind going back at Christmas time to see house all decorated.

Next to kill some time before dinner we tried to go into the current state capital, but we were told to leave because it was closed. Instead I suggested we just go to the top of the Hilton and sit and see the city. Besides, I needed some rest time. The view wasn't as good as last time I was at the top with Karen and Caitlin due to the clouds and rain. It was still cool though.

We were meeting Kelsey at 6 for pizza dinner at Gabatonis. We were a bit early so I showed them some of the big homes near Washington Park. Back at the restaurant, Kelsey pulled in just as we did. We all split a big pizza and a pitcher of pop. Oh my god, the pizza is so amazing there. I love it. I could've eaten more probably.

Afterwards we went to bug Clayton and visit him. Steph and Gina wanted to especially see him. We chilled for a bit, then went downtown for ice cream. The rest of the night was spent riding around Springfield looking for something to do. Of course we didn't find anything, but we all had a good time.

Tomorrow it's back to Urbana and school. It was a good break and I am looking forward to school, but I didn't think I was going to miss home this much. I will definitely miss my own room and bed.