I went to Cairo IL this summer and it was amusing.
They have dozens of 1950s buildings but little else. The view of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers converging also is nice. But the town is almost completely abandoned. It’s like a ghost town.
You should consider hopping over to western Kentucky and visit the birthplace of Jefferson Davis. Lincoln’s birthplace is a little farther up the road, but the Bourbon Trail has lots of drinking stops. Also, in Bowling Green, KY you can visit the Corvette factory and up the road is the Patton tank museum and Mammoth Caves Nat’l Park. If you are a baseball guy, go to the Louisville Slugger factory in Indiana just outside Louisville, KY.
The Illinois State Military Museum is a cool little museum to stop at. Its in Springfield and I believe its free
The Air Combat Museum is also a neat little place to visit in Springfield. I think they accept donations without an official charge
All the museums and sites in Springfield are in safe areas
Indiana has a bunch of covered bridges scattered throughout the countryside. Search for a list of them, they are all over central Indiana.
The Lincoln Boyhood National Park
https://www.nps.gov/libo/index.htm
Brown County State Park
https://www.in.gov/dnr/state-parks/parks-lakes/brown-county-state-park/
Indianapolis Motor Speedway...
Inside the track is
The Most XLNT Display of Race Cars.
Reagan’s boyhood home in Dixon, IL. I went three times. Charming little house.
SPEND $0 here. Any money you spend here and the taxes paid as a result go mostly towards:
- Illinois Politician Corruption;
- Funding state abortion clinics & "planned parenthood";
- Funding Illinois' corrupt State worker pensions
If you can avoid it at all costs, don't even traverse the state. If you have to traverse the state, buy all the gas & whatever else you need BEFORE entering HELLINOIS.
Gas prices here are among the highest in the nation due to the confiscatory (I'd call them RAPE) gas taxes and sales taxes on top of all the other taxes on gas here.
Best advice: DO NOT ENTER HELLINOIS.
Signed,
A resident of HELLINOIS.
You should consider Vincennes, Indiana. It has many historical sites such as the George Rogers Clark Memorial (the largest Federal Memorial outside of Washington, DC), The Red Skelton Museum. The military museum there is very large for such a small community.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vincennes,_Indiana
Central and southern Ill-i-noise.
How central IL? We lived in Champaign for a bunch of years.
Southern IL is quite different from northern IL. Like a different state. I took our oldest to SIU Carbondale for school, and on a whim decided to take my time and take back roads back to NWIL. Until you get to Springfield, it's quite rural.
I want to address this comment head-on: NOWHERE in HELLINOIS is "safe".
Since Governor JB Prickster and the Democrat Dominated State Legislature eliminated cash bail, repeat offenders, including VIOLENT repeat offenders are not locked up. They're let out on their own recognizance to continue their life of crime against the rest of the law-abiding citizenry.
I say the following words very seriously as a result: Unless you carry & have valid credentials to do so in this shit-hole state that's trying to ban more than 100 "assault weapons" for which ongoing legal battles are underway, DO NOT stop in this state under any circumstances. PERIOD. FULL STOP.
Even "just passing through" I'd make damn' sure I have my weapon at my side and ready if needed.
How serious am I when I say these words? I'm a conceal/carry weapons holder in this state. I go absolutely NOWHERE without mine.
If you feel you must visit springfield, Lincoln's home (when I went through it ten years ago) was well worth it, as was Lincoln's tomb.
Beyond that, Springfield literally has nothing to offer. The Lincoln Library in downtown Springfield is NOT worth it. It's an over-glorified public library.
So if you feel you *must* go to Springfield, you now know what to see, and what to do to protect yourself.
Beyond that, get the hell out of this state as quick as possible.
Go visit Metropolis, IL and take a picture with the giant Superman.
Brown County State Park, Nashville, IN , West Baden Springs Hotel and French Lick Springs Hotel and Lake Monroe.
Check out on trip advisor.
I suggest a visit to the West Baden Springs Hotel in French Lick, Indiana. Breathtaking architectural wonder.
In Southern Indiana, try Nashville. It’s a cute little Artsy-Fartsy town.
Cave-In-Rock Ill.
Tuscola and Arcola Illinois are east of Springfield on I 57 halfway between Springfield and the Indiana border. It is Amish country, (not the bad Amish).
