Ernie Meets the Springfield Crew

Ernie got to experience one of the amazing mornings that Springfield, IL is known for. Every single day the sun comes up there. Amazing.

Sleeping with my baby in my old room was a surreal experience.

We planned an Ernesto meet-and-greet for Springfield friends and family at Rotary Park. I was a bit stressed leading up to this event. I didn't know if anyone would show up, but it turned out just about everyone I know in town showed up. That was nice. I was also concerned that everyone would want to hold him and we were a bit freaked out about germs. He hasn't had contact with that many people and we were concerned about him touching 400 dirty hands plus sitting on the dirty planes breathing in St. Louis farts for 10 hours. We left him in his car seat most of the time to discourage too much handling of him and that seemed to work pretty well.

My mom was really cute because as soon as we got Ernie loaded into the stroller she grabbed it and pushed it over to everyone, like she wanted to show him off.

I have a big family which is nice but I always feel a bit guilty because that means I have about 4 minutes to speak to each person.

I brought Lydia to the home of authentic central Illinois cuisine: Steak 'n Shake. They even had horseshoes advertised on the menu which I was excited about. I didn't order one but I was excited that they were there.

We did some night time strolling around downtown Springfield and took in some sights. There was a historical marker noting that Obama gave his presidential candidacy speech at the Old State Capitol. Historical markers about events that I personally attended makes me feel pretty old, actually.

One of the presents that was in Ern's pile today was this scrunchy book that he likes to kick a whole lot.

Chicago - Springfield - St. Louis, What More Do You Need?

Fun was had in Chicago but as it was a sad, normal weekend it was already time to go home.

There was luckily some time for cat games.

I hit up the Milito's Mobil for gas on the way home.

I had never been to this heavenly gas station but I did email them once when I was doing some genealogy for my Italian citizenship claim. Anyway I asked if they had any swag for sale and they said no but then asked for my address.

And sent me this handsome Milito's Car Wash hoodie!

On the way back down to St. Louis I stopped in Springfield at Motorheads Bar & Grill to eat lunch with my parents. All the best restaurants are inside abandoned roadside Pizza Huts.

They called their menu an owner's manual. How witty.

The wittiness continued with car themed names for foods. You'll hate yourself way less when you proudly tell your server you want the High Octanes. Only you and he need to know you really just ordered a basket of battered cheddar jalepeño corn nuggets.

This place was actually really cool. Not only did they have a lot of cool retro signs up everywhere but many of them were Springfield specific.

I must've been feeling nostalgic because I bought the most Springfield thing on the menu.

"Horseshoes

Bronco (Horseshoe) 11.99. Mustang(Pony) 8.99

Served on Texas toast and smothered in delicious cheese sauce. Choose from: french fries, homemade chips or tater tots. Choose from: hamburger, ham, turkey, grilled or breaded chicken, pulled pork, italian beef, or bacon buffalo chicken or pork tenderloin (breaded or grilled), add 1.00 (Diet horseshoe NO BREAD!)"

It was a good weekend.

A Breakfast Horseshoe at Charlie Parker's

Lydia and I were in Springfield, Illinois, state capital and favorite city of Abraham Lincoln, for a family get-together. I wanted to take her someplace to eat that she couldn't get in the big city.

Not only is Charlie Parker's an awesome diner but it's housed in a World War 2 surplus Quonset hut. Surprisingly these have nothing to do with Kwanza.

One big decision that Springfieldians hate making is which piece of food to put in our mouth next. So we just mix it all together in a big pile called a horseshoe. Problem solved. Real America!

My uncle Dennis is a rum aficionado so I brought a bottle of that white lightning rum I recently imported from Grenada. It was a big hit.