Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, Springfield, IL

Adi and Dhruv visit Lincoln's town! Springfield is like that: the minute you get off the interstate, all you see are signs pointing to Lincoln this and Lincoln that...and why not! It is impressive how Springfield has maintained such an incredible tribute to America's tallest President (6f 4"). We (the two of us and Pune buddy Nagraj, who is working on his PhD at UIUC) drove from Urbana and entered Springfield, parked and got into the Abraham Lincoln Predidential Library and Museum around 2pm. In the next 3 hours or so, we took in two gripping documentaries (Lincoln's Eyes and Ghosts in the Library) that had the best special effects we had ever seen. Holographic 3D tricks-of-light, smoke, fake fire, shaking chairs, screens of varying depths...wow! Imagine all this for a President's museum. And as we walked through the chronlogical recreation of Abe's life from his time as a kid in Pigeon Creek, IN to his assasination at the Ford Theater on Good Friday, 1865 while watching "Our American Cousin" and a recreation of a tomb...fantastic portrayal of an embattled personality.

Two days later, the History Channel premiered it's 3 hour Lincoln documentary focusing on the mental battle he fought at almost every stage of his life. What was remarkable to me was the fact that he did so much at such a late age and was quite a late bloomer in many ways. Granted, it was the 19th century, but I think there's a moral for all of us who think that our directions in life are set and all we have to do is walk down them...Lincoln was almost 40 when he had given up on his political ambitions. But in the next 5 years he would resolve to take it up: slavery gave him an agenda, he did the rest. Inspiring stuff. And oh yes, that's the two of us in front of Abe's Springfield home.

University of Illinois, Urbana, IL

And yes, after returning to Urbana, Nagraj gave us a quick tour of the campus (UIUC). It was dark, cold and windy so better pictures and more meaningful experiences must wait for another day. Till then this crummy picture of the Alma Mater and the two of us should suffice as proof of our visit!

Conseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN

A second visit for a game at Conseco, another blowout. The Pacers routed the Nets last time we went to watch them. This time it was the Sonics. And we were minus J.O. and J.T. As I have always believed, Freddie Jones showed he is capable of a lot more than he normally gets the chance to demonstrate. With more responsibility on his shoulders than usual, he made 26 as the Pacers got 115 points and kept the high scoring Sonics down to 96. The crowd attendance was a lot lower (14000) than normal, but I enjoyed this game a lot more than I did the one against the Nets. $10 may well be worth it for a distant ticket to a game. Adi's mum also managed to grab a freebie: a free Haircut at Great Clips! Go Pacers indeed!

Devon Ave, Chicago, IL

A Chicago trip without Devon Avenue is like...umm. Quite okay actually, when you think about it. After all, who wants to fight unruly traffic, horrendous parking opportunities and a host of desis just to buy some Desi stuff (that you get at your local Asian store anyway) or eat a dosa...we did. 2 cars, 6 of us. But what made it worth it was the largest dosa we have eaten (well...we shared of course). The Royal Family Dosa at the Mysore Restaurant was worth writing home (or on the web) about, hence this blog entry. Feast your eyes on what we dug into (along with Mysore coffee) on New Year's Day in Chicago...There was also a sign on the road reading "We Sell Used Police Cars". It happens only in India may not be true after all. Atleast not as long there is Devon Avenue. Some of India's strangest yet identifying (and sometimes endearing) idiosyncracies are embodied on Devon Ave. Worth a trip for any desi...assuming you don't mind spending 20 minutes searching for a parking spot!

Navy Pier, Chicago, IL

$22 for parking on a weekend. Repeat: $22 for parking on a weekend. I have probably paid half of that for parking in all of the last 7 months that I have been driving in the US!

Was it worth it? Contrary to my expectations, it may have been. Here is what we saw and did at Navy Pier (all this in addition to all the stuff you see at your average big city mall): we witnessed a clown playing electric guitar on a stage, strolled through a huge 100-exhibit Stained glass museum, walked around in the dreamlandish Winterfest, built a sweet little boxer at Build-a-Bear workshop (ahem...another $22) and walked through the rainforest-like deck onto the Ferris wheel and the dock for cruise ships.

A great day. 22 bucks is still too steep. You wouldn't know it by the crowds though and that, I guess, makes it justified.