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We arrived in Hannibal, “America’s Hometown”, on Thursday, July 6 and settled into the Mark Twain Cave Campground. Since it was my birthday, my sweet husband took me out to dinner. I chose Bubba’s, on the Mississippi River - I couldn’t resist going to a place called Bubba’s, you know! Bubba’s is in an old warehouse and specializes in catfish and Cajun foods. We ordered steak – go figure. It was really good, though, and we had a thoroughly wonderful time. As a bonus, I just had to have one of Bubba’s tee-shirts advertising Bubba’s Cat House!

On the way back to the campground, Jerry suggested that we stop off for a look at Lover’s Leap. I was a little nervous about his motives but I went along for the ride – actually, I had no choice since he was driving. It was a beautiful spot and, I’m happy to report, he didn’t shove me over the edge. Legend has it that an Indian brave and an Indian princess, from warring tribes, met and fell in love. The princess’ father, the chief of their tribe, found out about their affair and followed his daughter to the lovers’ secret meeting place. When he saw the two together, he drew his bow and aimed at his daughter. The young brave took the princess by the hand and, together, they jumped into the river, never to be found again. So sad – but a beautiful view! And, as mentioned in our St. Louis journal, the river is much calmer and much cleaner here, above the joining with the Missouri River.

Friday morning, we climbed the 244 steps (whew!) to the top of Cardiff Hill, one of Tom and Huck’s favorite hangouts. The lighthouse atop the hill was beautiful and offered grand views of the town and river. After lunch, we stopped by the Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum and purchased combination tickets for entrance into several buildings in the historical area, as well as a ride on the riverboat and a tour of the Mark Twain Cave. We decided to take the riverboat ride first and were so excited to find Mark Twain himself there to greet us upon our return to shore!

There are many grain barges being transported up and down the river. The pilot of our riverboat informed us that a tug boat can legally push up to 15 barges at a time, holding the equivalent in grain of 900 semi-truck trailers or 225 train hopper-cars. Wow!

To cap off our day, we took the scenic drive through Riverview Park which offered three beautiful vistas across the Mississippi River. Here, at Hannibal, the Mississippi is 3/8 – 1/2 mile wide and about 27 feet deep, as opposed to New Orleans where it is 100 feet deep! The park features a large statue of old Sam himself looking out across the river he loved so much. It was erected in 1913 by the state of Missouri. After the scenic drive, we decided to call it a day and headed back to the campground.

Saturday, we were glad to see more tourists in town. Hannibal is an old river town, founded in 1819. They are obviously working very hard to keep the historical district vibrant but it does have some areas that look pretty depressed. It would be a shame to lose this opportunity to “live” Mark Twain’s stories so we’re pulling for them!

We toured the Mark Twain Boyhood Home properties which included the interpretive center, Samuel’s boyhood home, Huck Finn’s house, Becky Thatcher’s house, Sam’s father’s office, Grant’s Drug Store/Pilaster House, and the Museum Gallery. We learned much about the man, Samuel Clemens, including the fact that he modeled the characters in his most enduring works today – The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - after actual people from his childhood in Hannibal. Tom Sawyer was Samuel Clemens. Laura Hawkins was Becky Thatcher and actually was Sam’s girlfriend. Huckleberry Finn (I can’t remember his real name) was Sam’s best friend in real life. We learned that , during his life, Sam’s professions were as varied as his talents becoming a river pilot, newspaper reporter, silver miner, and eventually, author and humorist.

Samuel Langhorne Clemens lived from 1835 – 1910 and took his pen name, Mark Twain, from a term used by riverboat crews meaning “safe water ahead”. When plying new waters, a river scout would be sent ahead to measure the depth using a rope weighted with lead. He would tie knots in the rope at six-foot intervals (a “mark” is six feet and “twain” means two) and drop the rope to measure the depth. Twelve feet (or two sections) was needed to pass safely. If the scout shouted “mark twain”, the captain knew safe water was ahead. Sam spent four years working on the river, piloting 17 different boats during that time.

Norman Rockwell was hired by Mark Twain’s publisher to illustrate the Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn books. The Mark Twain Museum Gallery contains 15 of the original illustrations, along with some of Rockwell's preliminary sketches.

Sam was very sickly as a child and his mother routinely gave him lots of tonics and “cures”. When he was older, he asked his mom if she feared that he would die as a child. She hesitated, then replied, “No, I was afraid you would live.” We can easily see where he got his sense of humor.