travel

Alton, Illinois and Saint Louis, Missouri (June 20, 2025)

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Alton’s location at the confluence of three navigable rivers (the Illinois, the Mississippi, and the Missouri) pretty much guaranteed its eventually becoming a river trading town. The railroad and grain silos of the 19th and 20th centuries established it as an influential commercial center for a large agricultural area. The city rises steeply from the waterfront affording residents of the old Victorian Queen Ann style homes sweeping views of the Mississippi. Several stone churches and an impressive city hall are testament to a prosperous period in the city’s history.

It has a few other claims to fame as well.
1) Alton, in the then free state of Illinois, is just across the river from Missouri, a former slave state. It became a stop on the Underground Railroad popular with abolitionist, pro-slavery activists, and slave catchers. 
2) It was the site of the last Abraham Lincoln/Stephen Douglas debate for the 1858 senate race.
3) Speaking of Abe, his only duel was here.
4) Alton native Robert Wadlow, listed in the Guiness Book of World Records as the world’s tallest man (8 feet 11.1 inches) is buried here.
5) Jazz musician Miles Davis was born here.
6) It was one of three finalists for the location of the Air Force Academy.  

We had the afternoon to check things out and spent it visiting the site where the members of Lewis and Clark’s expedition spent the winter of 1803 before beginning their grand adventure by heading up the Missouri River in the spring of 1804. There is a small fortification built to the design of the original, a washer woman’s shack, a settler’s cabin, and a small museum with a replica of the keelboat used to head West. This state historic site is well worth a visit. We stopped at the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi before heading back to our riverboat for a tour of the wheelhouse where all the steering and navigating take place.

After a fabulous crab-stuffed lobster dinner we headed downstream to our port of disembarkation, Saint Louis. It took all of three hours to go the 22 miles. We enjoyed a final lecture by our resident lecturer and professional musician JoAnn Funk. She spoke about the people past and present who live on the river: families affectionately known at river rats who spent their entire lives on motorless shanty boats; kayakers and canoers who still paddle the 2,340 miles from the headwaters of the Mississippi to New Orleans; the 30,000 tow boat employees working on western rivers; and Loopers, those hearty folks who complete the 6,000 mile continuous waterway that circumnavigates the eastern U.S.

Tomorrow Cyd and Rick will head to their respective homes, and Dan and I will stay on for one night with our pal of 50 years, Pat. We all agreed that the 611-mile trip through 24 locks and five states was thoroughly enjoyable and worth our time and money.

Hannibal, Missouri (June 19, 2025)

~ scheleandtell ~ 1 Comment

The historic town of Hannibal is celebrated around the world as the boyhood home of Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known as Mark Twain (1835–1910). He drew from his childhood settings for his novels The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The numerous historical sites associated with him and places depicted in his writings attract both American and international tourists who continue to contribute significantly to the Hannibal economy.

This area dropped onto the national consciousness after its acquisition as part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. Hannibal was laid out in 1819 but was not much of a boomtown as evidenced by the fact that it had attracted all of 30 residents by 1830. Just like so many of these river cities, it took increased steamboat traffic and construction of railroads to stimulate growth. By 1850 (Sam Clemens was 15 by then) Hannibal boasted 2,020 residents and grew from there.

We were met on the pier by a cute, dressed-in-period-clothing Tom Sawyer and his crush, Becky. These two are at the end of their year-long tenure and will be replaced by a new couple being selected right now actually. They encouraged pictures and chatted with us like the PR vets that they are. After their warm greeting we strolled the few blocks to Main Street and started exploring the historic, charming, manicured downtown. We shopped, went to Becky’s house, Mark Twin’s house, and to the museum which proudly houses a collection of Norman Rockwell originals based on the nation’s love of a good tale by Mark Twain.

Hannibal is also the birthplace of Margaret Brown (1867-1932), posthumously known as the “Unsinkable Molly Brown” of Titanic fame. The cottage where she was born is now the Molly Brown Birthplace and Museum. A costumed Molly B. came aboard and spoke about her life and times. We were spellbound for an hour. Mark Twin himself dropped by this evening to entertain us with recollections of his life, times, and guiding philosophies. He looked the part in his white three-piece suit and jaunty mustache. He, like Molly, were among our favorite emtertainers.

We’re all heading to bed amazed that tomorrow will be our last day on the water.

... Fun Facts …

Cement for the Empire State Building and the Panama Canal
was manufactured down the road form here.

Cyd, Dan, and I have visited Molly B.’s Denver home.

In 1971, on our way to Dan’s first Army assignment, he and I spent a fun day here.

Davenport, Iowa (June 18, 2025)

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We had to hit the ground running in order to take a peek at this fine city known for being the home of chiropractic care in the U.S. (1895), the largest roller dam in the world, and the first railroad bridge across the Mississippi. Since we were docked a quick four hours only, there was no time to sample their famous cut-in-strips-with-scissors pizza or to stop at United Service Motors, the antique shop owned by American Pickers’ Robbie Wolfe.

My sidekicks chose to visit the John Deere Pavilion where they had the opportunity to climb in and out of huge pieces of farm equipment, some worth in excess of $1,000,000! This would surely not have been allowed had management known how shiftless my pals are known to be.

I decided to visit the Mississippi Spoon Museum. That’s right, there is such a thing! The inheritance of her great grandmother’s spoon collection inspired the owner of the museum to add to the collection. 38,162 spoons later and you have a Guinness World Record holder. We were shown spoons designed to be used, others designed for display, others to honor those living and dead, and others that were used to promote newspaper subscriptions and tourist destinations. They come from all over the world and highlight the artistry and historical relevance depicted in the spoons. Of particular fascination to me were the plique-a-jour spoons which look like stained glass, the ones with petite pointe at the end of the handle, and the Egypt collection. This last collection has three spoons with mummy coffins at the end of the handle. Each coffin houses a removable mini-mummy. Two others have little reed baskets at the end of the handle with a removable baby (Moses?) inside.

We all could have stayed longer at our chosen activity, but not wanting to be left behind, we returned to the boat and headed south right on time. Lunch, cookie time (3:00 pm), a lecture on freshwater mussels and the pearl button industry, cocktails, dinner, and the evening’s entertainment (Music of the Mississippi) flushed out another lovely day.

… Sidebars …

The river runs east and west here … for 14 miles.

Rock Island Arsenal and John Deere are the largest employers here.

Palmer College of Chiropractic remains one of the most prestigious chiropractic schools globally.

The first steamboat was put in the river in 1811.
4,000 steamboats were on the river at the height of that era.

The first railway bridge across the river lasted all of two weeks thanks to a steamboat running into it. Accident? Intentional? Foul play? Practical joke?
Trains being seen as steamboats’ main competition, it was assumed it was not an accident.
The railroads needed legal counsel to press for their rights.
Abraham Lincoln was hired to represent them.

At the height of the pearl button era (pre-plastic), half of the world’s buttons
came from the Mississippi and its tributaries!
It was the most profitable inland fisheries business in the country at one time.

Santa Clara, Cuba (March 18, 2025)

~ scheleandtell ~ 1 Comment

We were up, fed, and on the bus at 7:00 this morning anticipating a day on the road. We pulled away from the hotel just as the city was coming to life.

It was interesting to see the countryside. The divided highway was not busy at all (fuel shortages) even if you count the horse-drawn carts, scooters, bicycles, and buses. The roads were in great shape and the countryside green.

We stopped in the geographic center of Cuba to explore Santa Clara, a city known for its revolutionary history and connections with Ernesto “Che” Guevara, an Argentinian by birth and a physician, author, guerilla leader, diplomat, political activist, and military theorist by trade. Time named him one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century.

Guevara came to Cuba, rose to second-in-command during the Cuban Revolution, and played a pivotal role in the two-year guerrilla campaign that deposed the corrupt U.S.-backed Fulgencio Batista regime in favor of the Soviet-aligned socialist state of Fidel Castro.

After the Cuban Revolution ended in 1958, Guevara played key roles in the new government before moving on to do good works in Central America and Eastern Europe. After his remains and those of 16 other freedom fighters were discovered in a mass grave in Bolivia, he was buried here in October 1997 with full military honors. We heard his story, visited his gorgeous memorial and imposing statue, and enjoyed the small museum built to honor his life and legacy.

After lunch, we were off to Abuelitos de Fiesta, a vibrant social club for seniors in Santa Clara. Three women and three men demonstrated a couple of dances; explained how, back in the day, young women accompanied by chaperones used to use fans to communicate with prospective or current love interests; and then asked us to join them in a dance.

We passed the time on the bus napping; watching videos about sugarcane, the American mob influence in Cuba, and Castro; and listening to commentary centered around questions we asked our Cuban guide, Vladimir. We arrived at our destination, Camaguey, around 7:00 and went straight to dinner before checking into our charming hotel, a former monastery named Hotel San Juan de Dios. Thank goodness our luggage was delivered, because our room is on the third floor.

… Historical Overview …

Indigenous South Americans arrived in Cuba around the year 1000
and developed a culture and economy based on the cultivation of maize, tobacco, yucca, and cotton.

Christopher Columbus is the first European to lay eyes on Cuba.
He explored the northern coast and claimed the island for Spain in 1492.

Slaves were imported from Africa in 1526 to work the tobacco fields.
Eventually sugar became an important crop that made brutal demands on the enslaved.

Slavery was abolished in Cuba in 1886.

The United States supported Cuba’s war of independence (Spanish-American War) after Spain was blamed for an explosion aboard the USS Maine anchored in Havana Harbor.
At war’s end, control of Cuba passed from Spain
to the United States, not to Cuba, (say what?) in January 1899.

Cuba’s newly drafted constitution was approved in June 1901.
It contained provisions imposed by the U.S.
Among other things the provisions stated that Cuba would lease naval stations to the U.S.,
and if necessary, permit the U.S. to intervene in Cuban affairs of state
in order to preserve Cuban independence and/or assist its government
if it seemed inadequate to protect life and property.

Three and a half years after the end of the Spanish-American War,
with its new constitution in place, Cuba elected its first president.
One semi-corrupt president after another put his unique stamp on the country until January 1959.

In spite of numerous ups and downs, not to mention the debilitating global depression of the 1920s, the presidential years offered Cuba long periods of prosperity, calm, and national unity
thanks to the global demand for sugar; a blossoming tourist industry embraced predominately by Americans; expat communities, predominately American; casinos; baseball training camps; warm winters; no prohibition laws; fishing; beaches; nightlife; and relative lack of racial tension.

The last president stepped down/fled in January 1959 when Fidel Castro took over.

The early days of Castro’s administration were marked by triumphal visits
to neighboring countries including the United Staes which immediately recognized
the legitimacy of the 33-years old’s new government.

This love fest was short lived, however, once Cuba entered into a trade pact
with the Soviet Union in February 1960.
Things continued to deteriorate and in January 1961
President Eisenhower severed diplomatic relations with Havana.

Between 1959 and 1993 an estimated 1.2 million Cubans fled to the United States.
Most settled in Miami, Florida.

In 1960 Cuba allied itself with the Soviet Union, instituted communism,
and nationalized all businesses, including U.S. businesses.

Miami, Florida (March 12-14, 2025)

~ scheleandtell ~ 1 Comment

A layover in Miami seemed like a sensible idea since our connecting flight to Cuba is from here. Plus, a short stay marries up well with a Cuba adventure because Florida is home to the largest communities of Cuban Americans in the U.S. with the Miami community far larger than all the rest.

Our cab ride to the hotel was a total hoot. The driver (and his wife, for that matter) hails originally from the Dominican Republic and made his way here via New York City. He told us he’s semi-retired and loves travel and dancing. How can one marry up those two interests? Take cruises! Easy peasy. Europe is their favorite destination. We shared travel tips and recommendations all the way to the hotel. He sprinkled “Oh my gawd,” “Forget about it,” and “Are you kidding me?” throughout which made us laugh harder. His wife called and he said, “I better take this or she’ll kill me.” More chuckles.

Walter and Cleone, two of our travel buddies, met us in the lobby of our downtown hotel. We had a light dinner of fabulous beef empanadas and wings in the very unassuming hotel bar and enjoyed the cheerful energy of our fun waiter Franky who talked us into sharing a chocolate fondant dessert. He delighted in telling us we were the very first customers to enjoy this treat.

We spent two relaxing days exploring. Highlights include having a fabulous dinner with our cruise broker of many years, Annie, and her husband, Alex, both of Cuban descent; enjoying a city tour from the top deck of a hop on hop off bus; learning just enough about the free center city tram to get from place to place; cruising around the private islands in the bay at sunset; enjoying Wynwood’s street art; and relaxing before our next big adventure. A visit to the History Museum was enhanced by the knowledgeable guides leading school groups around. Among other things we picked up the gem that the development of the area was based on four Gs: gold, glory, God, and the Gulf Stream. Not exactly a highlight, but we did share sidewalk space with a delivery robot about the size of a picnic cooler.

Trivia buffs will surely appreciate these few random facts. Juan Ponce de Leon arrived in 1513 and promptly claimed the area for Spain and named it Florida. Few cities have been founded by women, so it was fun to learn that Cleveland, Ohio’s own Julia Tuttle founded Miami in the late 1800s. Port Miami is the busiest cruise port in the world with over 5 million passengers annually. Sand was dredged from the ocean floor to create many of Florida’s man-made beaches, including Miami beach. I could go on but enough already.

Although our tour group is 14 strong, we have a little contingent of eight in our friend circle. Cyd flew in from Arkansas and Barb from North Carolina last night and Sandy and Alan came down from Virginia this afternoon. Our whole group will unite in Havava.

… Come Prepared …

Other than at hotels and some restaurants, toilet paper is not provided. We’re coming prepared.

Debit, credit, and ATM cards from U.S. banks do not work in Cuba.

No need to change money, the dollar is accepted everywhere and much preferred to Cuban pesos.

Wi-Fi is available at major hotels but might not be relivable. No other service is available to Americans.

Our boarding passes are proof of the mandatory health insurance.
It is included in the price of the airline ticket.