Father's Day.

We did something special for Father's Day.  The riverboat Mark Twain serves meals and takes passengers on a tour of the river near Hannibal.   On Sunday, they have a Captain's Lunch tour.

The Mark Twain Riverboat was built in 1964 and is 120 feet long, 33 feet wide, 6-foot draft with a 350 passenger capacity.  It would have been a small paddle wheeler in Samuel Clemens day.

Our dinner was a traditional roast beef, mash potatoes, green beans, cheese noodles, salad, and a triple chocolate cake.

We stayed docked during the meal. The reason we did not eat on the move was not only to better enjoy the views but because many people have problems eating on a moving boat.

After dinner, we moved on to the top decks to tour the river.

The Captain narrated the trip by pointing out points of interest on the river.

He pointed out that the markings on bridges note the distance between the bridge and water level.  It is pretty important to know how tall your boat is and if you can fit under a bridge.  Today, a boat up to 60 foot tall above the water line could fit under the bridge safely.

The view of old town Hannibal looks much as it would have in Clemens day.

Time to move down river for a while.

Of course, the river is still used as a transportation system.  There were a lot of full barges of corn and those waiting to be filled tied off in the river.  Some guys were taking advantage to do a little bit of fishing.

It was a bit windy on the trip.

One of the sights to see along the river was Lover's Leap.  The captain told us a legend of a Indian chief's daughter and a brave from the enemy tribe from the Illinois side of the river being in love. I am sure that Clemens would have climbed to the top many times in his childhood. Later, we will try to work in a drive to the top for pictures from that perspective.

I wonder how many times Samuel Clemens and his friends played in Bear Creek.

There are three islands across the river from Hannibal.  One of these is referenced in Mark Twain's books.

It was a special Father's Day gift.

In the park, a statue gives tribute to Mark Twain.

Time to visit the town brewery.

As we pulled into the RV park after the riverboat ride, we decided to see if we could take a cave tour.  Up until our last minute, we were going to get a private tour but just as we started into the cave a family of four came up and joined us.  The two children were very curious and made the tour even more fun than it may have been if we had gone alone.  Our tour guide was great.  Much of the time, we felt like we were on the cave version of The Jungle Cruise ride at WDW.  The jokes were SO CORNY.

The cave is very different from any other we have toured.  Not only is it different in the formations but how the cave passages are like a maze.  It would be very easy to get lost.  This is the cave that is referenced in Mark Twain's books.  Samuel Clemens walked through the passages with only a candle for light.  It seems that Jesse James was here because his signature was found in the cave. A whole section of the cave is filled with signatures.  Today that is no longer allowed but there were several that stood out to us. The signature of Clemens himself and one of two that may be family. Julie is checking to see if that.

The passages were very interesting.  Several were famous for being recognized from Mark Twain's books.

Time to exit the cave. Amazingly the exit puts you at the gift shop.  What an incredible coincidence...