Fulfilling another bucket list dream by stepping into the world of Samuel Clemens

 "Nothing so liberalizes a man and expands the kindly instincts that nature put in him as travel."

A place Dad has always wanted to visit is Hannibal, Missouri to see the birthplace and history of Samuel Clemens, more notably known as the author Mark Twain. While he was a bit disappointed that there wasn't a re-enactor portraying Twain, he felt it was still worth a visit.

We weren't scheduled to arrive in Hannibal until 11:30AM but ended up docking by 9AM. We opted to take our River Cafe breakfast out onto the Aquavit Terrace for dining al fresco. I like to try a few select dishes on any cruise line I try - a sort of who wore it best if you will. Eggs Benedict is one of those dishes. Viking Mississippi served it as a single in a takeaway scalloped dish which confused some people who were trying to lift it out of that dish onto their plates. I think I prefer the scooping out however much you want from a large dish as this definitely needed space on a plate to cut into. Drink service was also nearly non existent on the terrace. After being walked past multiple times I walked over to the cart only to have the server walk away when I approached. On my way back inside to get the juice from the machines, I finally found a server who was willing to help. 

After breakfast, we headed to the Explorer's Lounge for a morning session of daily trivia with CD Tim. Out the front windows we spotted our first Mark Twain references.

This is also a cool spot to sit and watch a thunderstorm in the area. 

Our cruise had two main excursions for which people signed up, The World of Mark Twain and Jim's Journey: The Huck Finn Freedom Center. Jim's Journey is listed as moderate and costs extra to book.

There were two options for the included The World of Mark Twain tour. You could take a walking tour with professional narration. Or you could simply step off the ship and board a free shuttle bus that runs approximately every 20 minutes. The boyhood home of Mark Twain and museum is a 10 to 15 minute walk on your own from the pier along paved streets and sidewalks. We chose to take the shuttle bus as one was waiting when we stepped off the ship. On the bus was a local guide who offered the choice of getting off once they reached the museum or staying onboard for a loop while she gave a history of the area. We chose to get off and were directed up the road to meet another guide outside the museum complex. 

She handed us these small cards to serve not only as the admission to the various buildings but also as a quest to get them all checked off while visiting. 

Our first stop was a walkthrough of the Interpretive Center. There was a brief movie playing and several informative plaques to read. There were several chairs and/or benches to sit and rest. This was the most crowded building of the group as it had the most to see.

Once you wind your way through the center, you exit out of the back door and follow the series of signs between the buildings. Some did require walking on a brick or gravel path while others required walking up stairs.

The Huckleberry Finn house is basically just a walkthrough replica. Watch your heads though as the ceiling and doors are low.

On to the next building, Mark Twain's Boyhood Home by walking along a brick laid path:

At this point, continuing the tour on to the museum buildings across the street, you need to climb some wooden stairs. Otherwise, you'd have to backtrack through the first buildings and walk along the street instead.

Our next stop was Becky Thatcher's House:

How would you like to live out your final days in a place called Hannibal's Home for the Friendless?

You could choose a character card and follow the journey of your chosen character. Someone took the "You can keep your card" message a little too literally it seems since there was also a card holder missing from the display.

Rules to follow while in school and punishments for those who broke them

We got a little turned around after exiting the Boyhood Home Gift Shop because you need to leave out the back door to access the remaining buildings. Exiting out the front door puts you back at the street but you can't get past locked gates to enter the last couple buildings. 

Just don't mix up the two destinations accessed by this back door:

Our last stop was at the Grant's Drug Store. I got a kick out of how they branded the Aquafina water bottle vending machine inside the drug store.

Who wants to play this at the next game night?

After we finished looking through all the buildings and getting our card checked off, we decided to wander along the streets and see if there were any shops that were interesting. We ended up walking all the way back to the ship before we realized it.

Being from Baltimore, I couldn't resist taking a picture of this shirt in a shop window advertising ghost tours:

Back on the ship, we'd worked up an appetite and headed for the River Cafe. Today's lunch was a burger from the grill. The pasta salad offered by the grill was tasty.

To counteract all that walking, I topped off lunch with a scoop of cookies n' cream with a sugar cookie chaser. 

Dinner tonight was a return to the River Cafe where I discovered the section devoted to sushi. I tried many rolls over many meals this cruise as this was a place I was sure to find something I liked.