Day TWO—– (2 down, only 28 to go!)

We’re still in Hannibal, MO at Mark Twain Campground.
Last night, mom & I took a private tour into the “Mark Twain Cave”.  I say “private” because we were the ONLY people on the 7pm tour—-not because we paid the big bucks like Elvis or anything.
(Here are a few pictures from Mark Twain’s Cave)  This entrance has been used for MANY decades for the tour.  The inside of the cave has around 3 miles of trails total.  It was verified that Jesse James was in (and likely stayed inside the cave) because his signature is inside it.  Years ago, EVERYONE would etch their name inside the cave to “mark” their place in history.  The earliest name/day goes back to the early 1800’s!

              The water here is SUPER CLEAR and pure!

Today was a very leisurely, laid back, easy going, stress free, and fun day.
Breakfast was pretty much Daniel Plan compliant.  Oatmeal with walnuts & banana (ignore the Mocha Drink =o)    After breakfast and when we felt like it….and, not until we totally felt like it, we drove downtown so we could walk around for a while.  We browsed several antique stores (Mom bought me a 1957 IL License Plate to hang in my garage, aka “Man-Land”!!)  It was fun to spend time in “small town USA”.

The downtown was a neat sight to see:

I talked a long time with this Native American, but he’d only answer back when I’d give him $ 1.00

If you’ve NEVER seen the home that Mark Twain grew up in….then you can’t say that any longer.  It’s right over our shoulder!!!

We stopped by the local cemetery for a few minutes.  Wow…and am I glad that we did!  It was a very narrow and winding gravel road.  But, once at the top…..oh, the view!  This cemetery was so beautiful.  I can’t imagine how difficult it was so many years ago to get to the top of the steep hill.  (and, about 1 mile out of town)  The cemetery is called “Riverside Cemetery”.   What do you think of the view!??!

We closed out the day by driving about 30 miles south to Louisiana, MO (at the recommendation of the local “cheese guy” that we bought cheese from).  A REALLY neat drive on a very narrow 2 lane road.  The drive there treated us with views of many farms, cows, abandoned homes / properties, etc.  Louisiana, MO is a very old little town that at one time was FULL of commerce.  There are many old mansions in the town that were fun to admire from the road and reflect upon days once gone by.  The houses cry out for someone to restore them.  Sadly, the likeliness of this town recovering is very little.  More than likely, the mansions will continue to one at a time get more and more worn down and dilapidated until they are uninhabitable.  I noticed that one of them (and it wasn’t even one of the “bigger one’s” had been divided into 4 apartments—yes–1 house, divided into 4 apartments!).   We had dinner at a local downtown restaurant that was originally built as a hotel (down near the river).  Many of the stores were for sale or rent.  I hope they recover.  Small town USA is becoming more rare all the time.  Here is a picture of us in front of the restaurant.

Day 2 is gone and full of SO MANY memories and great times with mom.  This has been an incredible start to my 30 Day Sabbatical.   It has really forced me to NOT be on my phone, calling, e-mailing, etc.  It’s allowed me the opportunity to slow down and enjoy the music of a calliope being played on a steamboat….arguing with an old chief behind glass….wander a cave that has been there for thousands of years…..and MORE—–all while sharing memories with my sweet Momma, Sheila Joiner.

I wonder what DAY 3 will bring!!!