KLMNO TrSUNDAY, MARCHav 24, 2019 . SECTION eF l EZ EE PHOTOS BY EVA RUSSO FOR THE WASHINGTON POST Philly’s also YOU’RE GOING WHERE? A deep the city of Springfield a∞nity for sisterly love Lincoln still looms large in Illinois’ capital city, but there are other draws — Thai diving including relics from Route 66 and only-in-Springfield fare like the horseshoe BY ANDREA SACHS BY ERIN E. WILLIAMS Comics fans without super BY KATE SILVER Bobbing in the inky Andaman body-heating powers recently Sea miles from the Thai shore- braved a frosty night in Philadel- t’s been almost 10 years since I tried my first horseshoe — a hulking Springfield food line, I watched a crescent moon phia to attend a book club meet- assemblage that involves an open-face sandwich (it could be beef, a buffalo chicken emerge as twilight deepened. I ing at Amalgam Comics & Coffee- turned on my flashlight, peered house. The topic, “The Life of patty, portobello mushroom, fish or other protein or veggie option) topped with a at my husband, Andrew, and Captain Marvel,” was timely. mountain of fries and covered in Welsh rarebit (a.k.a. cheese) sauce. It was as made the most appropriate state- “Captain Marvel” was swooping ment for such circumstances: into movie theaters on March 8, Idecadent, delectable and nap-inducing as it sounds. That was my first time in Illinois’ “Big white rabbits are fluffy.” the same date as International No bunnies were floating with capital city, about 31/2 hours south of our Chicago home, past tallgrass prairies, towering Women’s Day in the same month us; this ridiculous phrase is a as Women’s History Month. grain silos and sprawling cornfields. It was also the first time I met, over those horseshoes, crucial mnemonic for the five The lone white guy in the pre- the beautiful soul who is now my mother-in-law. I’ve been back dozens of times since, steps of a dive buddy safety dominantly female group inter- check. rupted the discussion to share an accompanying my husband to his hometown. ¶ Those frequent visits mean ample Satisfied with each other’s observation. “I am going to as- opportunities to sink our teeth into the aforementioned horseshoe or, if we’re in the mood, buoyancy, weight, releases and sume that I am the only hetero- air, we gave each other the final sexual white male sitting in this a snack at Cozy Dog Drive In, which was once a Route 66 mainstay; to check out the famous okay and descended into the void room,” he said. butter cow at the Illinois State Fair; to pay a visit to the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed beneath our fins. The moon dis- A quick scan of the shelves, appeared, then the lights from couches and cafe proved HWM Dana-Thomas House and to tour the former haunts of Abraham Lincoln, who lived in the boat faded as we dropped correct. In addition to Wonder Springfield for 24 years before becoming president, and about whom the town is into a world where darkness Woman, America, Molly Danger, swallows the coral, fish and sea Perdy, Harriet Tubman (the drag- understandably obsessed. A visit to Springfield is a chance to immerse yourself in history outside flashlight beams. on-slaying one) and Doctor and politics, explore Americana and try a few of the local specialties, which just might The Similan Islands are one of Aphra, the store’s owner, Ariell the world’s most famous diving Johnson, was also in the house. make you feel like you’re at a year-round fair. destinations. The protected wa- SEE PHILADELPHIA ON F5 SEE THAILAND ON F6 SEE SPRINGFIELD ON F3 THE NAVIGATOR TOP: The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library includes a “Ghosts of the Library” production, which GO HERE, NOT THERE What are your rights features a hologram of the 16th president. ABOVE LEFT: The State House Inn has been updated and is This Paris museum is 15 when you’re booked to fly centrally located. ABOVE RIGHT: James Bockmier checks out Springfield Vintage. minutes from the Louvre, on a grounded aircraft? F2 but a world apart. F2 F6 EZ EE THE WASHINGTON POST . SUNDAY, MARCH 24, 2019 Night and day, Thailand’s the one THAILAND FROM F1 ters, in the Andaman Sea about 40 miles from Thailand’s west coast, contain abundant marine life including vibrant reefs and larger pelagic animals that live in the open sea, and we had two days to explore it all. The overnighter was part of an independent trip to the Anda- man, where we used our ad- vanced scuba certification to dive 11 times in three national parks: Mu Ko Lanta, Hat Chao Mai and Mu Ko Similan, the last lying west of resort villages ravaged by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. On a drizzly November morn- ing, Andrew and I departed on a speedboat from a dive shop on Ko Lanta, an Andaman island about 45 miles southeast of Phuket. Four dive staffers and nine other divers joined us on the hour-long ride to Ko Rok Nok, one of Thailand’s top dive sites. The island and its sister isle, Ko Rok Nai, reside within 51-square- mile Mu Ko Lanta National Park. Except for the rangers who stay on Ko Rok Nai, the two islands CHINA are uninhabited. INDIA Pacific From the back of the boat, I Ocean watched Ko Lanta’s jungle-clad hills disappear. Flying fish leaped Indian from our wake and crashed back Ocean Detail INDONESIA into the water. 2,000 MILES AUSTRALIA “Don’t forget to look into the deep blue,” our guide Non said as Bangkok Andaman we pulled on our wet suits, Sea reminding us to watch for the Andaman Islands MYANMAR occasional Manta Ray and whale INDIA shark. “And if you look into a barrel sponge, you might see a Similan National surprise,” he added cryptically. Park THAILAND I had last scuba dived more Nicobar than a year before, so plunging Islands Phuket underwater felt a bit unfamiliar. INDIA But on our first dive, I lasted Banda S Aceh tr about an hour; because of the S a MALAYSIA u it m o warm water and gentle current, I 200 MILES a f t M didn’t consume much air. I lazily r al a ac drifted past colorful sea slugs Indian ca clinging to rocks, clownfish nes- Ocean INDONESIA tled in anemones and lionfish THE WASHINGTON POST patrolling their territories with spikes sticking out like porcu- pines. “The water was so clear, I felt PHOTOS BY ERIN E. WILLIAMS FOR THE WASHINGTON POST If you go like I was flying,” Andrew said as CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: Ko Kradan is a serene, jungled island in WHERE TO STAY we floated on the surface. the Andaman Sea off the coast of Thailand that houses a half-dozen Moonlight Exotic Bay Resort For lunch, we disembarked on small, off-the-grid resorts. A captain steers his dive boat away from 69 Moo 8, Klong Tob, Ko Lanta a powdery white beach at the Ko Waen, an islet in Hat Chao Mai National Park. Dive equipment 011-66-75-662-590 narrow channel that runs be- sits ready on a boat in the Similan Islands. tween Ko Rok Nok and Ko Rok moonlight-resort.com Nai. We ate green curry where Beachfront resort with swimming hermit crabs left crisscrossed pools, a restaurant and bar. tracks in the sand. Massage and yoga are available. Back under on our second around monkeys that refused to guide Note, the captain and three Rooms from about $86. dive, I scanned the open water move from the center of the road. divers from Italy and Germany Sevenseas Resort abutting the reef. A faint shape Thailand has nearly 150 na- picked us up from the beach in emerged, growing more distinct tional parks. In 1990, Mu Ko front of our resort. The group 221 Moo 2, Ko Kradan as it approached. A sea turtle — Lanta National Park became its made room for us in the tradi- 011-66-82-490-2442 one that swam so close that I saw 62nd. In the park’s main head- tional Southeast Asian vessel sevenseasresorts.com each of the scales on its face. quarters building I browsed edu- that resembles a wide gondola From a coral similar to a barrel cational displays, including a dis- with a long, propeller-tipped Boat-accessible resort on a small, sponge, with a three-foot open- concerting collection of plastic shaft. quiet island. Has a swimming ing, my surprise glared at me garbage that had washed up on I counted three dozen islands pool, restaurant, bar and spa. indignantly: a huge moray curled beaches. We lounged on a light- dotting the horizon on our way to Rooms from about $14, including up like a snake. house-crowned beach, walked a Ko Waen, a nearby islet that is breakfast. Our next Mu Ko Lanta Nation- small section of coastal trails that part of Hat Chao Mai National watching a series of tourist-shot sand. The Leaf on the Sands al Park excursion was land- wind through the rainforest and Park, which encompasses nearly cellphone videos that chronicled Hundreds of garden eels rose 40 Moo 6, Kukkak, Takuapa based. Andrew and I rented a watched monkeys enjoying the 90 square miles in Thailand’s the catastrophe that killed about like reeds from the sea floor, motorized scooter to reach park view where the jungle met the southwestern corner. a quarter-million people in sev- snapping backward into their 011-66-76-428-842 headquarters at the southern tip sea.