Twainamania
Prev
Next
|
Day 4: June 12, 2011 Twainamania |
Prev Next |
|
|
|
I obviously didn't study my route close enough or I'd have realized that
it passed through a key town, Pittsfield, Illinois, from the
2008 Sweetheart Cruise.
Seems I've traveled some vintage US 36 without realizing it.
|
|
|
The first picture is what you see when you wade ashore (or walk backwards
on dry land) at Hannibal, Missouri. The riverfront is home to the
Mark Twain riverboat that gives cruises and a Mark Twain statue
that doesn't. I guess the young Mark/Sam was still developing that twinkle
in his eye but I think I do see a hint of a smile on his lips. This
bird in the flowers caught my eye before I caught
his.
During the aforementioned Sweetheart Cruise, we enjoyed some pretty good BBQ in an old grocery warehouse near the river. Today the place looked abandoned. |
|
|
I parked near the Tom & Huck statue and bought my ticket for the
Mark Twain
Boyhood Home & Museum. The museum provides an introduction to
Mark Twain's life. It contains the model of a never built (but it sure
would have been impressive) sculpture of Twain and his creations. Inside
the home, which he last visited in 1902, each room contains a different
Twain and a different quote. The house looks pretty good from the outside
and so does the Becky Thatcher/Laura Hawkins house across the street and
currently closed for renovations. With all the fences in such fine shape,
residents have taken to whitewashing signs. I believe that is Mark Twain
presenter Jim Roberts with the brush.
|
|
|
It turns out that it's only the museum that is new and it's the same old
Mark Twain. The new museum has some "interactive" displays of
Mark Twain stories but most seem to be little more than elaborate housings
for video screens. There are some interesting artifacts upstairs and I
really like the original Norman Rockwell paintings of Mark Twain scenes.
|
|
|
This storybook service station was in Clarence, Missouri. Besides the
station's own truck, there is a full cast of
customers comprised of a cop, a
cab, and a camper. The
inside, photographed through a window, looks pretty good, too.
|
|
|
This abandoned bit of concrete Thirty-Six is just west of Callao. Note the
"roll 'em over" curb seen on other Missouri roads such as US 66.
|
|
|
I spent the night at the Sunflower Motel in Hiawatha, Kansas. It got new
owners about a year ago and they seem to be putting some real effort into
the place. HVAC, baths, and more are being replaced a room at a time as
money permits. This is my room. The sign is
pretty cool but it would be even cooler if the neon worked.
|
|
|
RoadsideAmerica calls this a "strange grave"
and they'll get no argument from me. After checking into the motel, I
headed out to see what amounts to the biggest attraction in town on Sunday
(when two promising museums are closed). Several "explanations"
can be found on the internet but almost all describe a man intentionally
and successfully depleting his (or his wife's) fortune on the monument.
|
|
|
| [Prev] [Site Home] [Trip Home] [Contact] [Next] |
