In the fall of 2020, not having been too far from home for many months due to the scary Corona-19 virus crisis of that year, we chose to take a short, three day trip to Hannibal MO.
For this limited visit, we chose to bring our own foods so as to not expose ourselves to the interior of the local restaurants.
For us, the best choice for a hotel, was the Best Western which is , literally, a two to three minute walk to the Mark Twain boyhood home, the Mississippi River, where the ferry is, and the historic downtown area. The hotels' offering of a free breakfast during a virus crisis meant a, less than exciting, selection of cold boxed cereals, some little sealed sweet things they called pastries. “Lemon delight”, “donut sticks” - yummy - NOT. The coffee was good though.
On the day we left Hannibal, we broke our own rules, went to Becky Thatcher’s Diner for a wonderful breakfast. Great food and service. The only concern I had was that the nice server was not masked.
During our stay we visited Mark Twain’s boyhood home. Twains home is the centerpiece of Hannibal. This little neighborhood is known to be the inspiration behind his work. Almost an entire block is now a registered National Historic Landmark.
The house Twain grew up in is represented in his books as the home of Tom Sawyer. You can imagine the events of the novel taking place as you walk through. A cool, or maybe creepy thing, depending on your point of view, is that many of the rooms include statues of Twain as an adult, sort of in action. An adult Twain statue in a little boys bedroom, seemed rather strange. Okay, so it is a bit odd, but along with these statues there are panels that give some of his most profound, or humorous quotes. He was known for both, and I enjoyed reading some of them.
I am fascinated by period homes, finding them a source of wonder about not only the times they represent, but also about my own lifestyle. What type of person would I have been living in those times?
The stone building next to the Twain home includes a gift shop with a wide variety of items. I have little problem looking and leaving.
Then we checked out the stairway behind the statues of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn. These 244 steps lead to the Mark Twain Lighthouse, which may be the most unusual of the Hannibal attractions. The original was built in 1934, for what would have been Twain’s 100th birthday. The depression was in full force, and government funding helped pay for the structure, which was purely for decorative purposes. Special lines were installed, connecting the beacon to the White House, where President Franklin Roosevelt delivered a speech in honor of Twain, and turned the key to ignite the lighthouse.
In 1960, a huge windstorm destroyed the original structure. Local residents rallied with fundraisers, wanting to maintain what had become a part of their landscape, and a reminder of their role in history. Fundraising was successful, and the lighthouse was rebuilt, and in 1963, this new version was ceremoniously lit by President John Kennedy, again, from the White House. Thirty years later, the lighthouse was refurbished. It was lit for the third, and last time, by President Bill Clinton from Camp David.
244 steps? We turned around, walked a few horizontal steps to our car, and drove around and uphill to where we were within only a manageable few steps to the top.
As interesting as any of the other attractions, is the Hannibal Downtown itself. The city has put a lot of effort into refurbishing the downtown area. It is quite a charming example of historic America, with many original buildings and storefronts. There are antique shops and cafes, galleries, and a quaint garden area to sit and relax.
Here we found a nice little cheese shop where I found a nice 5 year cheddar that would compliment our martinis that evening. We brought our own ingredients.
But first, a ride up and down the Mississippi River on the Mark Twain Riverboat Cruise. Not only do steamboats play a role in many of the Twain novels, one of his first jobs was piloting a riverboat. In fact, the pen name Mark Twain came directly from steamboat lingo! Along the riverfront there is a statue depicting Twain in his younger years, as a captain.
The cruise goes both ways up a down the river, and some information about the ice factories and other river dependent businesses is given, but it is more recreational, and less of an educational tour. The river is lined with overlooking bluffs, and you can glimpse some very expensive isolated bluff top homes. Although it was a chilly and terribly windy day, we enjoyed the experience.
Our captain suggested we visit Lovers Leap. So - after leaving the riverboat, we jumped into our car and headed the short distance to where our captain’s story of two lovers, supposedly, took place.
All along the Mississippi there are bluffs that have been named Lover’s Leap, many with their legends of a heartsick maiden. The world may never know if the legend is true, or which Lover’s Leap it truly originated from, but Hannibal is no less likely than any other.
Lover’s Leap lies high on the bluffs overlooking the river, on the south side of Hannibal, providing a panoramic view of the river below from a different vantage. Story - true or not - the view of the river from here was spectacular.
On our last day, and after our enjoyable Becky Thatcher breakfast, we began our journey home. We chose a route that would bring us to Nauvoo IL, where Joseph Smith’s Mormon community had settled prior to moving on to Salt Lake City Utah. Persecution, and where Smith was assassinated, and the intolerable conditions causing Smiths successor, Brigham Young, to move his community west. leaving all the structures that we may view today.
For a number of miles before arriving in Nauvoo, there is a stretch of hwy 96 that follows the rivers edge. Unfortunately, when we got close to this area, we were detoured another way because the beautiful stretch was being maintenanced.
Then, the long drive home. As Missouri does not seem to adhere to the guidelines of wearing masks during pandemics, and for the safety of our family and friends, we chose to quarantine ourselves for a few days after arriving back home.