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Showing posts from August, 2019

The Last of Hannibal

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Hannibal, Missouri , turned out to be one of those destinations with endless things to do. Although I’m sure we didn’t hit it all, we did squeeze a lot more into the last day. After a delicious complimentary breakfast at the Holiday Inn Express & Suites , I was still feeling pretty fatigued, so I sent Brittany and Amanda to check out a few places that required walking through. They were mesmerized by Big River Train Town and Karlocks Kars and Pop Culture . Both places had families having fun and plenty of picture moments. There were also lots more photographs for them to take at Rockcliffe Mansion , an American castle that overlooks the Mississippi River. At the turn of the 20 th century, Mark Twain himself spoke from the staircase that covers the three floors of this perfectly decorated historic building. They told me the pictures only showed some of its beauty. We checked out of the Holiday Inn Express & Suites and stoppe...

Literature and History in Hannibal, Missouri

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After a big, complimentary breakfast at the Holiday Inn & Suites in Hannibal, Missouri , Brittany, Amanda, and I got ready for a jam-packed day. There was quite a bit to do in the city made famous by Mark Twain , who was known in his hometown under his real name, Samuel Clemens. We had seen some of Mark Twain’s Boyhood Home & Museum the previous day and went back to visit some of the buildings we missed. It was interesting to see Becky Thatcher’s House, the Huckleberry Finn House, and J.M. Clemens Justice of the Peace Office.  Becky and Huck Finn were popular characters in the Mark Twain series , but J.M. Clemens was the actual name of Samuel Clemens father. One of my favorite exhibits within the Boyhood Home buildings was something I’d love for every child to see. It was called “Growing Up to Fast.” Using the examples of Becky, Tom, Huck, and Jim, all growing up in different levels of income, it exa...

To My Readers...

Thank you to my loyal readers for your patience. Health issues have been plaguing me the last few years and I’m only working part time. I’m catching up very slowly. I urge you to forget the dates here (they don’t correspond at this point), and enjoy the stories as I catch up! Subscribe so you don’t miss anything. Just enter your email and you will receive notice every time a new one is up. Marcia

Discovering Mark Twain in Hannibal, Missouri

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After major spine surgery in January, I had hardly left my house. Travel in general has been cut down the last few years because of my health, but now I needed to once again take another step down. When I felt I finally could go somewhere, I was careful to pick a place that’s very accessible and would allow me lots of rest and breaks.  With Brittany taking pictures, and Amanda accompanying her on active activities, it was a perfect mix. The two were very helpful to me with my medical scooter. I thought I had all the plans in place for this first trip of the year (even though half the year was over). Then, less than a week before we were to go, I received an email that the place had overbooked, and they couldn’t accommodate us. It is a place I hope to visit someday so I’m not going to go into details, but I was ready to finally get out a little and I didn’t have much time to plan. The wonderful team at Visit Missouri and thei...