April 2024 started great and ended terribly. Kate, Scotty, Janet and I took a trip to southern Illinois to see the total eclipse of the sun. That was amazing.
We drove to Dubuque, Iowa and spent the night, then drove to St. Louis, Missouri. From there we drove to a cemetery just outside of Carbondale, Illinois and set up to watch our second total eclipse (we drove to the middle of nowhere Missouri in 2017 to see that one).
In between we visited the grave of one the greatest cornet players in the history of jazz, Bix Beiderbeck. It was chilly and rainy, but that didn't stop us from exploring the very historic Oakdale Memorial Gardens in Davenport, Iowa. This is another place I would love to see in the summertime.
Our next stop on our way to St. Louis was Oak Ridge Cemetery in Springfield,, Illinois, where President Abraham Lincoln is buried. History fairly drips from the branch of every tree there. I remember that it was raining when we arrived, but it quickly cleared up, giving us the opportunity to explore the grounds. Seeing Lincoln's Tomb is a memory I will cherish for the rest of my life.
We spent the night in St. Louis, and then on April 8th -- Kate's birthday -- we drove to the North County Line Cemetery in Carbondale, Illinois, a very small plot with only ~160 graves, and waited for the Main Event.
I didn't take any pictures during the eclipse because I wanted to be totally in the moment. It was as amazing as the first one. In fact, it was even better. We got 4 minutes and 8 seconds of totality on April 8th -- a great birthday present for my lovely wife!
We drove back to St. Louis, had a great birthday dinner, and then headed back home, staying one more night in Iowa City, Iowa, which was just lovely and, again, is a place I'd love to visit again sometime.