Friday, April 16, 2010

Greetings from Sheridan, IL!

This week, Alonso visited Angie in Illinois.




Alonso sits on a monument erected in memory of the 15 victims of the Indian Creek Massacre on May 21, 1832; the site is about 10 minutes from his hosts' home. Here is a link to the story; mutilations, massacres and scalpings, oh my!: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Creek_massacre



Earlville, IL, where Alonso's host works, is home to a good old-fashioned drive-in movie theater, the Route 34 Drive-In! It was way too early to take in a flick, and Alonso was quite disappointed that he missed the opportunity to have popcorn with real butter there.


Alonso in seated by the statue of American frontier marshal James Butler Hickok, better known as Wild Bill Hickok. Troy Grove, Illinois was the birthplace of Hickok.


Alonso at the Hegeler Carus mansion, a showstopper in LaSalle, Illinois. The Hegeler and Carus family fortunes were founded on zinc and publishing.


Welcome to Starved Rock State Park! Starved Rock is named for an 18th century legend.The Ottawa tribe drove a band of Illinois tribe Native Americans onto the cliff, and they died of thirst and starvation.


Alonso went "Where Lincoln Walked" in Ottawa, Illinois. Here he is at Washington Park, by the statues of Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas. The park was the site of the first Lincoln-Douglas debate on August 21, 1858.


Alonso sits on a large Lincoln stovepipe hat in a permanent art display in Ottawa, Illinois. Alonso's host painted the hat in 2008 as part of the "Hats Off To Abe & Steve" summer-long event commemorating the 150th anniversary of the first Lincoln-Douglas debate in Ottawa.


Ottawa, Illinois will be home to the world's tallest Lincoln Log structure (seen in the background). The structure was created on March 20, 2010 and is currently being certified by the Guinness Book of World Records!


Alonso thought he saw some little green friends! But alas, they were just stickers in the window of a wireless store.



Aw man, come on! Alonso just had to pose with this silly sign at an Ottawa coffee shop/provisions store.

Thanks again to Angie for hosting Alonso! Make sure to check out her Etsy:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/LonesomeRoadStudio

(New feature: Alonso's travel map!)

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