Mark Twain lives!!! We rode in his Camry ...

Captain's Log - Day 8

Another good day on the mighty Mississip!

Tonight we've docked in Hannibal, Missouri - Samuel Clemens' (aka Mark Twain's) hometown from the between the ages of 4 and 18. We wandered around town for a bit - stopped by the Down Under Lounge where the barkeep asked us if we were packing. He thought it was a good idea for us to be carrying guns on our trip down the river. We chatted with him for awhile about Hannibal, the Mississippi, and his travels. Really nice guy.

He recommended that for dinner we head to the Broadway Bar. They have these huge, delicious pork tenderloin sandwiches

After dinner, google maps led us to a phantom Kroger on Bird Street and Main Street. As we wandered, we asked a passerby where the Kroger was and he informed us that it was pretty far - over a mile. Then he offered us a ride! He took us to Wal-mart and then back to the parking lot of the marina!

Turns out this guy's name is Paul Jim Waddell. He used to work in the galley on a riverboat named the Mississippi Queen. He said it was pretty rough. They worked 17 hours a day in split shifts so they only had at most 4 hours to sleep! Also, he said that the crew quarters were below the waterline, and the bilges didn't always work so you could wake up in 18 inches of the Mississippi!

His current occupation is playing Mark Twain in reenactments! We rode in Mark Twain's Camry! Pretty cool, huh?

Check out this station wagon - it's almost identical to my first car! Good old '77 Ford Country Squire ..

Most things in Hannibal shut down pretty early. In fact, a lot of businesses are shuttered too - pretty sad. There's a theater on the other side of the levee from the marina so we went to see a movie. Unfortunately, we missed Jonah Hex by about half an hour. We saw Knight and Day instead.

I know, I know. I went into with really, really low expectations. It is Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz film, afterall ... But even with my low expectations, I was supremely disappointed by the fact that *SPOILER ALERT* ... no one in the film is named "Day!" What? You're making a cutesy romantic action flick and you pass up that absurdly obvious hook? What?!

As the credits began to roll, we were almost stampeded by a hoard of squealing 12-15 year old girls. No joke. They rushed into the theater like the Mississippi through a broken levee. This unstoppable force wanted only one thing - to see the midnight showing of the new Twilight movie. It was frightening. I can handle crowds of pale, greasy nerds at midnight showing, but I'm really out of my league here ...

Just before I wrote this, a train passed between the marina and the levee! I may or may not have touched the Burlington Northern Santa Fe train as it passed by ...

Tomorrow, I plan to get up semi-early and go check out the Mark Twain museum!