Today we left later in the morning after sleeping in a bit and headed to Hannibal Missouri. Since I'm sure most of you will know the importance of Hannibal both to the river culture of the Mississippi and the literary world, specifically American literature, I'll spare you the detailS. When we arrived I must say that it was not what I expected. I assumed that we would be greeted with the same cheesy and cheap touristy fanfare you find in Branson Missouri. However, aside from a river boat that played really obnoxious music, it was charmingly genuine. There were plenty of Mark Twain shops, museums and tours sure, but it wasn't overdone, it wasn't Disney. The best find of the day was the chocolaterie we came across called Stam Chocolates. It was established on 1913 and was charming on the inside and the sweets they sold were wonderful. I went inside and was greeted by a kind woman named....well I forgot her name (shame on me). She instantly picked up on the fact that we were paddling the river (the smell? Our appearance?) And she asked many questions and listened in a way that was so genuine I was almost taken aback by the intensity of her focus. Anyway, after enjoying several samples of Gelato Amanda came in and we picked out a couple types of chocolates and a hot drink we set about wondering around Hannibal for a bit more before heading down river. After a lock and 25 miles we settled at a nice little island we named Dead Duck Island primarily because the first thing Dave saw when we got to the island was two dead ducks, and it was clear that there would be no changing his mind.
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