Hannibal Missouri

 


June 1 2023


Today’s journey was north along the Mississippi river to Hannibal, home of the fictional American icon, Tom Sawyer. There were only a couple areas where we actually got to see more than just a glimpse of the river, but it was an enjoyable ride through the country.

As of June 1st.


Actually, we’re not in Hannibal tonight, we are in a Corp of Engineers campground on Mark Twain Lake about thirty miles west of town. We prefer the peaceful solitude here over the commercial tourist camps closer to town. Weather permitting, tomorrow we will venture into town and go for a paddlewheel boat tour on the Mississippi River. We will also stop at the 1926 bronze statue of Tom and Huck for photo op. Other than that, it will be a drive by visit unless we see something that interests us.

The Mark Twain


It rained here for about an hour; it seems to have stopped. Hard to tell our RV is backed under a canopy of forest trees and it drips for a while after it stops raining. The campground is in the Ray Brehen’s Recreation area. 

Site 38


June 2 2023 Friday


The sun was shining this morning so we stuck to the schedule and drove to Hannibal. We arrived a little early for the Paddlewheel boat ride, so we parked and walked the hill by the 1926 Tom and Huck statue. I ran up several long stretches of steps, which gave credence to my step climbing routine I’ve been doing on this trip. Less than a month to my climbing challenge.

Step training!



Louis and Clark meet Tom and Huck


The boat, The Mark Twain is a downsized replica of a Mississippi River cruising paddle boat. It was metal not wood, powered by two 300 horse power diesel engines pushing 30 inch propellers. The paddle wheel on the stern is just for show.

Onboard the Mark Twain


On the Mississippi River


It was a short one hour cruise out on the Mississippi with commentary from the captain about factual landmarks and fictional Tom Sawyer lore. We had two bus loads of 10-12 year olds on the tour. I think the bulk of them stayed in the air conditioned cabin. A few groups of hyper boys ran around the deck and up and down the steps. Of course there were a few little budding girls going in and out of the cabin usually in twos, I assume trying to get the attention of the boys.

Downtown Hannibal.

We drove away from the town tourist area and ate lunch at a locals restaurant called the Country Kitchen. It is a breakfast and lunch only place, Millie had breakfast, I had lunch. The food was fairly good, regular diner food.

On the riverfront at Mark Twain's statue.





It rained yesterday evening so we never got out looking around the campground. We did watch two movies, the last movie of the Jason Bourne trilogy and Last Chance Harvey. Jason Bourne was good, Last Chance Harvey was chick flick, it was ok.



Tomorrow we go north to Iowa!


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