Hannibal

After driving BACK across the state, we arrived in Hannibal, Missouri: Mark Twain country! We were just in time to board the riverboat for a late-afternoon cruise.

It was a quiet, lazy, summer day and we settled in for tales of Mark Twain, Hannibal, and the mighty Mississippi river.

The river and surroundings are so beautiful. We learned about a whole different way of life on the river that is so foreign to us.

Did I mention the heat and humidity? Yes, they were still there. Oppressive. We found a little spot of shade to sit in.

But wouldn't you know our little spot of shade was right beneath the boat's foghorn. We were glad they gave us warning to plug our ears!

OK. These pictures crack me up. Oh, Papa!

Scene from the Titanic.

It was a pleasant ride, but we were ready to go see more of the Mark Twain sites.

You can visit most of the locations mentioned in Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. This is Becky Thatcher's home.

And right across the street is where Tom Sawyer lived.

This is the famous fence from Tom's whitewashing escapade.

Touring the inside of the home was interesting. I loved the statues of Mark Twain and quotes in each room.

On the way to the museum, we met Becky and Tom walking down the street.

At the museum, we listened to an actor tell about Mark Twain's life. We also explored exhibits that took us through Injun Joe's cave, Huckleberry Finn's raft, and other scenes from Twain novels.

While Spencer and Noah and I ducked into an antique shop to look around, the rest of the family stumbled upon a frog jumping race. Jacob got to touch the "celebrated jumping frog," another Mark Twain reference. A great day in Hannibal!