I didn't see Mark Twain or his family
I doubt these house boats were here when Tom and Huck floated their raft down the Mississippi
 Becky Thatcher Ice Cream?
They say a journey of one-thousand miles begins with the  first step, we have taken our first step of what we are calling "OUR FANTASTIC VOYAGE."

The once green rolling hills and farms of Missouri have turned into various shades of brown and yellow. Trees along the way have turned brown from thirst. Many trees have given up and withered and died in Missouri's intense heat. It saddened me so many trees will not be enjoyed by future generations.

We stopped for lunch at the Swiss Inn drive-thru in Lebonon, MO. The drive trhough reminded me of a cheap diner from the 60's. A few tables with scared tabletops filled the interior. I had visions of car-hops on roller-skates, high school jocks hanging out in their letter sweaters. But it was really just a dive with mediocre food that has yet to step into the 21st century. The dude behind the counter looked at my ATM card as if I were from outer-space. They accept cash and checks only. Cash, what the heck is that? I don't think I have written a check in the last 20 years.

Hannibal is much like you would expect. Mark Twain everything. Mark Twain dog groomers, mark Twain this and Mark Twain that. The major problem with Hannibal is that they roll up the streets at 5:00PM, we couldn't even get a Mark Twain donut. I think I saw a Becky Thatcher strip joint, but I wasn't in the mood to check it out.

We ate dinner at Mark Twain Family Resturaunt, the tenderloin was about the size of a large dog, and judging from the taste, it might well have been a large dog.

After dinner we walked to the shore of the river, how were we to know that the Mississippi had slumy areas? The house boat in the picture above appeared to be somewhere between 3 and 4 hundred years old.

The highlight was the ice cream emopurium (also a picture above) The store was small but the malt was great. The small group of musiscians meet every Monday night and torture the Hannibilians with the largely off-key music. I can only assume they play their music untill enough of the citizens beg for mercy.