Sam Clemens' Missouri
Before the Worldcon in Kansas City we went on a road trip across Missouri to visit Samuel Clemens' childhood home in Hannibal. On the way we stopped at a covered bridge and at the Mark Twain Memorial Shrine. The shrine is in Florida, Missouri. It is a modern structure built to protect the old cabin where Samuel Clemens was born.
Hannibal was not the bustling river port that it was when Sam Clemens was growing up there. If it weren't for Mark Twain tourism, it would be all run down. Some parts of the old downtown are dilapidated, and some are extremely cute. Overall I'd say it's a nice, low-key, relaxing place to visit. I hope the locals can keep the Mark Twain tourism thing going for at least a couple more centuries.
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