Missouri ~ final day

Monday ~ final full day of this adventure and still so many possible things to do.

I decided to return to the Laumeier Sculpture Park, a 2nd visit with a little more time. I still didn’t see all the sculptures because I didn’t have enough time. It’s a really pretty park - great for a walk. If I lived in the area I think I would be a regular visitor/ On of my favorite pieces is titled Treetent. It’s constructed up in a tree and there is a ladder allowing you to climb up and spend time inside. It was fun getting a different view of the park.

After the sculpture park I headed north to Hannibal, Missouri - seemed like an important place to visit in the state. Home and inspiration for Mark Twain/Samuel Clemens many years ago. It struck me as a sad town… reminded me of Tarpon Springs, FL when I visited there a fre years ago ~  places that depend on tourism and time has passed them by. Hannibal seemed to be under construction - road work all over downtown, buildings in need of repair. Everything seemed rundown and in need of TLC, maybe things are better in peak tourist season. Clearly the town exists for tourists and on this day there didn’t seem to be too many tourists in town.

I opted to ride the Mark Twain Riverboat - the boat was also a little sad and in need of TLC. It goes out once a day at 1:30. Around 12:45 the boat started playing calliope music that could be heard all over downtown. It was like the ice cream truck calling out for customers. The boat ride was pleasant and relaxing. The narration provided just the right amount of local history and trivia alternating with music or quiet. I now know more about Mark Twain, river barges, Mississippi floods, and Lover’s Leap.

After cruising on the river I still had a three hour drive before getting to my next motel back in Pontiac where I had spent the first night. I wanted to be close to Chicago for my flight out on Tuesday. I dawdled around the next morning and was late leaving for O’Hare. For a while I was sure that I would miss my flight. Fortunately there wasn’t much traffic, car rental return was easy, and there were few people at security. After a week away it was nice to be headed home.

CLICK HERE for final day photos on Flickr.

A friend on Facebook  asked me how I plan/pick my itineraries for these adventures ~ here are a few thoughts:

I usually develop a rough idea of what I want to do/where I want to go, but I am totally flexible along the way in case I discover something new, some place takes more (or less time), weather, anything else that might lead to change.

For this Illinois/Missouri trip I knew I would be in Kirkwood, Missouri outside of St. Louis to see Sean in My Fair Lady so that was the starting point for my plans.

some of my pre-planning includes ~

* looking at my driving route on google maps and seeing if anything shows up that looks potentially interesting, for this trip that's how I discovered Goose Lake Prairie

* googling Audubon in the state and see if I will be near any sanctuaries, state parks too.

* checking Trip Advisor for Destinations, seeing what looks interesting and reading reviews. I leave reviews of places on Trip Advisor too.

* googling "things to do in 'name of town'" and seeing what pops up, then checking out the site's web page

* for some places I sign up for tours (that was perfect when I was in Hawaii)

* when I am on my adventures I always watch for signs along the road (usually brown) for points of interest - that's how I once found a manatee viewing area near Tampa and the swinging bridge in Pontiac, IL on this trip. there are so many signs for attractions that we often don't notice... I am still hoping to get to Cheesequake State Park in NJ just because I've driven past the sign for it and i love the name

* at some point in the MUSAP adventures I'll try a Road Scholar trip if I find one for a state I want to visit and the itinerary looks interesting