The land of Lincoln and the Amish

Our final stops on our way home from Tennessee included Mt. Vernon. Actually, we kinda had to stop there to dodge the ugly weather that was rolling through. I guess all of our weather fairies were taking a break at that point. It turned out perfectly because that way, we got to stop in and see the 5th District Appellate Courthouse. Yes, it is as small as it seems. It's really very cute. In the late 1840's, an extension of the IL Supreme Court was built - which is now the appellate court. This courthouse is where Abraham Lincoln argued and won an important tax case. Another fun fact: The town was named after George Washington's plantation.

From there, on to Arcola and Arthur, IL. This is the country's fourth largest Amish community. There's an Amish Community Interpretive Center in Arcola, along with a few cute shops, the Raggedy Ann and Andy museum (they hold an annual festival) and the world's only "hippie memorial." Arthur is a little more spread out, because it mostly consists of big Amish farms. We stopped in at Beechy's store and shopped with the Amish on fresh pie day. Shoefly pie is really good! And, if you've never seen a horse and buggy go - they haul.