This morning we headed straight east toward Illinois and stopped in Hannibal, Missouri. It's a rather neat place to visit - we saw Mark Twain's boyhood house and then walked up to the Mark Twain Memorial Lighthouse. We didn't know that you could drive to where I was standing to take this picture - instead, we climbed MANY steps to get this far and then climbed the rest of the way up. It was a beautiful day for exercise!
When we walked down all of those steps, we decided to walk around Historic Downtown. We found Hickory Stick Quilt and Gift Shop - Wow!
We walked in the door and I knew I was going to love this store! The display quilts were awesome - I was given permission to take photos and I'll share my three favorites.
This store covers 3 buildings and has lots of fabric - all displayed nicely.
The lady working was super nice and I just wanted to buy and buy and buy! I will definitely return to Hickory Stick whenever we are in the area.
On to the Historic Site - it was just a few miles down the road.
We had a beautiful fall day with temperatures in the 80s! Ray had never been there before and it's been 30 years since I was there. It was interesting to see again.
I didn't remember the shingles on the roofs of the buildings - one side is shingled and the other side has shingles that are higher than the first. They are just left sticking up in the air. Can you see the shingles on the building above?
The fireplaces were also interesting. They were build out of logs just like the log cabin with the chinking.
I enjoyed seeing the old quilts in some of the cabins.
When we walked down all of those steps, we decided to walk around Historic Downtown. We found Hickory Stick Quilt and Gift Shop - Wow!
We walked in the door and I knew I was going to love this store! The display quilts were awesome - I was given permission to take photos and I'll share my three favorites.
This store covers 3 buildings and has lots of fabric - all displayed nicely.
The lady working was super nice and I just wanted to buy and buy and buy! I will definitely return to Hickory Stick whenever we are in the area.
Yes, I did get a few more treasures - I'll share after we get home. We'd better keep me out of quilt shops if we plan to eat next week!
On with the journey... Next stop - New Salem, Illinois. Oops, New Salem, Illinois is NOT Lincoln's New Salem State Historic Site. That was only 6 miles out of our way. New Salem is a tiny village with no place to eat. So the GPS was programmed again and we were on the lookout for food. About an hour and a half later at 1:30, we found Morning Star Mercantile and Cafe in Salisbury - they served lunch until 2. Whew! It was a unique place and we enjoyed a really good lunch.
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| Morning Star Mercantile and Cafe |
We had a beautiful fall day with temperatures in the 80s! Ray had never been there before and it's been 30 years since I was there. It was interesting to see again.
I didn't remember the shingles on the roofs of the buildings - one side is shingled and the other side has shingles that are higher than the first. They are just left sticking up in the air. Can you see the shingles on the building above?
I enjoyed seeing the old quilts in some of the cabins.
There was a Saw and Grist Mill - I guess I didn't take a picture of it. We had to hike down MANY steps, across a bridge over a road, and down more steps to get to it. Who would have guessed we could have driven to it?! Of course we had to hike back up all of those steps. Did I mention it was a beautiful day for exercise?
Tonight we are in Lincoln, Illinois, and tomorrow we will head north. Who knows what else we'll find on the way home.
I'm so glad that you found Hickory Stick. The grands swim at a meet in Hannibal every February, and we always drive up early so I can stop in at Hickory Stick. I'm already looking forward to our visit there this coming February.
ReplyDeleteWe haven't been to New Salem (the historic site) in at least 40 years, maybe more. I want to make a road trip to see the quilts in the Illinois State Museum (now that I know it's not closed thanks to the State budget crisis) and I think a trip to New Salem might have to be added to the itinerary.