Welcome to Hannibal, Missouri: Home of Mark Twain!

“One must travel, to learn…” – Mark Twain

True to form, Erin and I made our first stop in town the Hannibal Visitor’s Center. I find stopping at these beacons of knowledge the perfect foray into the day. Of course I always come prepared with what I hope to see and do, but receiving the lowdown from those who are passionate and knowledgeable about the area they serve typically helps guide our itinerary. Also, since every day trip begins with a couple hours drive, you all already know I’m in dire need of the restroom upon our arrival. Needless to say, the visitors center is always one of my best friends in travel.

Hannibal Visitor’s Center where we picked up all the brochures. As Britney Spears would say, *gimme, gimme more (brochures)!*

The woman who greeted us when we walked in the Hannibal Visitor’s Center was extraordinarily enthusiastic about sharing her favorite places to dine and things she felt we absolutely had to see and do. Luckily, most of what she suggested was already on our to-do list, but one suggestion she made piqued our interest so much we opted to start our day with it: The Rockcliffe Mansion.

One thing to know about me, I love touring old mansions and houses. I love the architecture, the historical furnishings, the stories that accompany the household, I just love it all. Really and truly I cannot get enough of these experiences as each one is so uniquely defined to the area in which it serves. The Rockcliffe Mansion was most certainly no exception.

Built across a two year period from 1898 to 1900, the Rockcliffe Mansion was the home of lumber baron John Cruikshank Jr., where he resided with his wife and four daughters till his death in 1924. This Gilded Age Mansion sat on ten acres atop a large limestone bluff, providing the family and their servants with spectacular views overlooking the Mississippi River and the town of Hannibal.

The mansion sat abandoned for some 43 years following the lumber baron’s death before being rescued by a trio of families who saved its thirty rooms from demolition. It’s now open to the public for guided tours which begin at 10:00 a.m. daily and run till 4:00 p.m. from mid-April till mid-November. Erin and I took one such tour and loved every single second of it.

Despite the town children breaking and entering throughout those forty-three years of abandonment, the home still boasts much of the original furniture, hardware, lighting, plumbing, and even clothing the Cruikshank family would’ve enjoyed in their time there. This provided the most incredibly authentic experience for us as we enjoyed each and every step back through time.

The exterior has seen better days, but hopefully this crane is here to improve upon that.

There was this magnificent drive and steps leading up to the front of the house and although they too had seen better days I can only imagine how elegant and grand they were a century ago!

The window you see before you was made from Tiffany & Co. and still works today. You know this family had money if their stained glass windows were being done by Tiffany’s. Good for them honestly because now good for us.

The Rockcliffe Mansion also doubles as a Bed & Breakfast. Amazingly enough, guests get to sleep in these elegant & antique grand four poster beds! Definitely something I’d consider doing one day!

The toilet reminded me instantly of the one at my parent’s house.

The fact that this place remained so well intact and maintained internally just made me so happy to see. Many of the books in the bookcases were the ones originally owned by the family. Just incredible.

This room was one of my favorites and was built to resemble a Turkish Spa or something of that nature. I can’t remember exactly – should’ve wrote it down – but it was just beautiful inside. Definitely a highlight on a tour full of nothing but highlights.

The dining room boasted more of that old world opulence that I’m sure the family decadently enjoyed in their time there. This house was built to entertain and the dining room was an epicenter of such a need.

All that historical touring had worked up an appetite within us and we took the visitor center lady’s suggestion and went to Java Jive, which was on Main Street downtown. We loved it so much we even went a second time later in the afternoon!

They had all kinds of sandwiches, soups, salads, drinks, and desserts! Plus, they had the best assortment of celebrity-themed merchandise! I would never of guessed when I was driving to Hannibal that morning that I would’ve found two Britney Spears related items to purchase, but there they were in this cute little eatery!

Java Jive was quite popular and for good reason! Everything we had was simply the best!

I got the Twain Wrap, which felt appropriate given where we were. They said it was one of, if not the, most popular dish so I figured *when in Rome*.

Just across the street and a block over from Java Jive was the Mark Twain Museum. Housed in a building every bit as historical as the rest, this place was quite awesome in giving a broad view of Twain’s literary works and life. We definitely enjoyed it and yet again, the gentleman who sold us our tickets was super enthusiastic and passionate about all Hannibal had to offer and the life of Mark Twain. Those awesome interactions always amplify the experience for me.

We were able to purchase a day pass here that allowed us to visit all the Mark Twain related places downtown. It came in handy later in the day when we went down the street to explore more.

Whitewashing the fence just like Tom Sawyer tricked all his friends into doing for him.

I love a good statue and initially the medieval castle you can see off to the right really threw me. I didn’t recall that Mark Twain had written *A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court*, so that was a nice jog of the memory.

You know me, give me all the photo opportunities!

Downtown Hannibal boasted several murals, so many I could’ve made a miniblog just from them alone! I loved art and murals, so it was really awesome to see all of these sprinkled throughout the area. I won’t be showcasing all of them in this post, but you’re about to see a handful of my favorites.

Top notch artwork! The building depicted in this one was the old train station. It looked incredible in all the photos we saw of it. Shame it no longer exists.

There now is a trolley tour around town. We didn’t ride it, but saw it several times. Definitely looked cute!

On the other side of downtown was the second half of the Mark Twain Museum where we got to wander about the Becky Thatcher Home, Huckleberry Finn’s residence, and other notable places that inspired some of Twain’s greatest literary works.

A little upset we didn’t get to the Haunted Wax Museum, but I’m sure I’ll return again one day. Love me a good wax museum. They already give off that haunted kind of vibe, so one that proclaims to be haunted is definitely right up my alley.

It was great to see all the factual places Mark Twain incorporated into his fictional literary works.

This was a downer, but we loved it nonetheless. I think I got cholera and died at the age of nine. Sucks to be me.

Because of our limited time leading up to our riverboat cruise, we didn’t really get to read this like I wanted, but nonetheless, I enjoyed reading the little bits that I did.

This was taken inside Huckleberry Finn’s House. It’s hard to believe that people lived like this! It was just all one open room! Wild! Not to mention that super low ceiling! Dying of cholera at the age of nine might’ve been a lowkey blessing in these days!

While the tour of Becky Thatcher’s, Huckleberry Finn’s, the pharmacy, and the like was informative and informational, it was also quite the labyrinth. It was handicap accessible with lifts and elevators, but there were plenty of stairs involved otherwise. I didn’t mind it, but it was definitely something to note for anyone who might have difficulty stepping.

We took the 4:00 p.m. Mark Twain Riverboat Cruise and let me tell you what, we loved every single second of the hour we were aboard! It was a cute old timey ship that was three stories. The first floor had restrooms (obviously important) and a snack bar where we were able to get some popcorn and Pepsi’s! They even do a 6:00 dinner cruise, which we decided would’ve been super great, so definitely jotting that down for our return visit. The Captain and his crew were extremely welcoming and knowledgeable about Hannibal and Twain and continued the uplifting, educational, and inspiring aspects of our day. The river cruise was a real joy for me, I just loved it.

We got to see plenty of the sights from the river that we visited in the town (such as the lighthouse in the top left). It sprinkled a bit on us near the end, but it was much better than being baked in the sun as we could’ve been!

The flowers were really poppin’ in Hannibal and they were all over the place! This city does an excellent job at maintaining their ambiance.

The Tom and Huck Statue that overlooks Main Street. I wish there was a way to get closer to it, but unfortunately, no such luck. Still cute though from every angle.

The town war memorial commemorating all those who served from Hannibal.

You all know I love me a good lighthouse and this cutie was no exception!

The views of the river from any elevated point were another ocular highlight for me.

I loved the WWII era plane in the top right hand corner. Another favorite mural of mine.

After we had wrapped up all time allowed us to see downtown, we set off for the Mark Twain Cave Complex. It wasn’t a long drive, surely less than ten minutes, but it offered an entire experience that was unlike any we had done thus far in the day. I love touring caves and because we didn’t get there till about 7:00, we had only four others in our group, which was just lovely! It was almost like having our own personal tour. Our guide had just begun doing solo tours in June, so she was fresh, but she showed us all kinds of things that we probably wouldn’t have got to see if we were apart of a larger group, so it really personalized the tour for us. Definitely another 10/10 Highly Recommend portion of the day.

This was not Meramec Caverns! Some of these passageways were narrow! We didn’t mind this by any means, but I could see how some might. Not every part was this way, plenty was expansive, but there were several corridors where we were in tight quarters with the cave.

This town loves them some Mark Twain – and for good reason, but seeing his image drawn up on the cavern walls definitely brought a smile to my face.

This was the only portion of the tour where you were allowed to touch the rock, so obviously we took advantage of this photo opportunity that was gifted to us.

Driving back from the caverns we made our final stop of the day at Lover’s Leap. An incredibly scenic point in town that showcases essentially all there is to see in Hannibal. We heard this tragically lovely legend while on our river cruise about two Native American lovers who pursued their feelings for one another despite their warring tribes. Apparently there are various endings to this story, but most don’t end kindly for the two lovebirds.

The Mark Twain Riverboat as seen from Lover’s Leap.

We were truly blessed to be here during the golden hour. The sunet really amplified the moment.

People had taken to putting locks on the fencing within the hearts as well as the fencing around the cliff that kept anyone from wandering over. This was cute I thought, reminded me of that bridge I saw in Paris back in 2007.

For dinner we went to this Friendship Brewery place downtown by the Tom & Huck Statue that boasted about some excellent barbecue and they weren’t lying! It was delicious! I love barbecue and the side items typically attached to it anyway, so this was the perfect ending to a perfect day.

Everything you can see here was absolutely delicious!

Hannibal, Missouri is just under two hours north from Saint Louis and definitely the perfect destination for a day trip! We spent a solid twelve hours there and still didn’t get to see everything we were hoping, so a weekend getaway would definitely be in order! We loved our day and would happily return anytime! There’s so many different things to see and do and so much to offer that one could visit several times and never share the same experience!

As always THANK YOU so much for viewing! I appreciate you greatly! Feel free to leave a comment below as I LOVE reading and responding to them! I’ll return soon with another all new post, so until then, I wish you all, all the best!

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