NO time for boredom today

Category: Great Reads

  • Hannibal Missouri & the Muddy Mississippi River

    Hannibal Missouri & the Muddy Mississippi River

    One of my favorite adventures during our recent visit to Missouri was our trip to Hannibal – home to both Mark Twain and the Unsinkable Molly Brown. I knew that Mark Twain, whose real name is Samuel Clemens, hailed from Hannibal. However, I have always associated Molly Brown with Denver Colorado. Margaret Tobin Brown was born in Hannibal and lived there until she was 18. She ended her days a very prosperous woman but she started her life in extreme poverty. By the age of thirteen, she had already dropped out of school to work as a tobacco leaf stripper at the local tobacco factory in Hannibal. Her childhood home is small and humble. It does have a great display of artifacts and newspaper articles related to her survival of the Titanic’s sinking. I especially enjoyed seeing the first, second and third class China dishes from the Titanic.

    We started our morning at the Mark Twain Boyhood Home Museum where we bought tickets that included several buildings including Huckleberry Finn’s House, Becky Thatcher’s house and Grant’s pharmacy. Mark Twain’s real name was Samuel Clemens. In Twain’s day, it was fashionable for writers to take on a pen name. At one point, Clemens worked on steamships and Mark Twain was a nautical term for a safe river depth…literally two fathoms or 12 feet. In real life, Becky Thatcher was his lifelong friend Laura Hawkins. Huck Finn was based on his childhood friend Tom Blankenship.

    While in Hannibal, we also took an hour-long cruise on the Mark Twain riverboat along the Mississippi. I read about it online and booked our tickets in advance. It was perfect for a quick overview of the Mississippi River and surrounding area. The crew was cheerful and the captain was really entertaining. The ship’s interior could have used a little freshening up in my opinion. We were fortunate enough to visit in the off season so the boat was not crowded. The only negative is that the Mississippi had a number of invasive silver and bighead carp floating dead on the surface. The extreme heat is causing low oxygen levels which, in turn, is killing the carp.

    We then enjoyed a relaxing lunch in the local Irish pub followed by a quick trip to the local ice cream shop to try the local treat of huckleberry ice cream – delicious. It was in the mid 90s and very humid so the place was filled with people from one of two large cruise ships docked in Hannibal. According to one of the museum docents, Hannibal has a population of 18,000 but gets between 55,000 and 60,000 visitors per month. I can see why Hannibal is a popular destination. The town is a charming step back in time.

    On the Way From Independence to Hannibal
    Mark Twain Interpretive Center
    Exhibit from the Mark Twain Boyhood Interpretive Center
    Exhibit from the Mark Twain Interpretive Center
    Mark Twain Interpretive Center
    Mark Twain Interpretive Center
    Model of a Town Sculpture Never Built
    The Real “Injun Joe”
    Signage Adjacent to Mark Twain’s Boyhood Home
    Huckleberry Finn’s Home
    Plaque for the Huck Finn House
    Interior of Huck Finn’s House
    Interior of Huck Finn’s House
    Outside Huck Finn’s House
    Overview Sign of the Museum & Its Buildings
    Twain’s Boyhood Home
    Twain’s Boyhood Home
    Courtyard at Twain’s Boyhood Home
    Twain’s Boyhood Home
    Twain’s Boyhood Home
    Twain’s Boyhood Home
    Exterior of the Becky Thatcher Building – Laura Hawkins in Real Life
    Becky Thatcher’s Home
    Clothing of the Era
    The Homes of Sawyer, Fin & Thatcher
    Grant’s Pharmacy
    Entrance to Grant’s Pharmacy
    Grant’s Pharmacy
    Downtown Hannibal
    This is the Safety Wall In the Event the Mississippi Floods
    Railroad Tracks in Hannibal
    One of the Large Cruise Ships That Stops In Hannibal
    Mississippi River
    The Mark Twain Ship
    The Mississippi River
    The Mississippi River
    Onboard the Mark Twain
    The Lighthouse of Hannibal
    On Board the Mark Twain
    The Mississippi River
    The Mississippi River
    Enjoying Our Mississippi River Cruise
    The Mississippi River
    The Mississippi River
    The Heritage Cruise Ship Along the Mississippi River
    The Mississippi River
    On Our Mississippi River Cruise
    The Top of the Mark Twain Riverboat
    The Mississippi Art
    The Mississippi River
    The Mississippi River
    The Mississippi River
    The Mississippi River
    The Mississippi River
    The Mississippi River
    The Mississippi River
    Huckleberry Ice Cream
    Becky’s Old Fashioned Ice Cream Parlor
    Becky’s Old Fashioned Ice Cream Parlor
    Becky’s Old Fashioned Ice Cream Parlor
    Fun Downtown Building Plaque
    Molly Brown’s Childhood Home
    Molly Brown’s Childhood Home
    Molly Brown
    Molly Brown’s Childhood Home
    Molly Brown’s Childhood Home
    First-Class Passenger China on the Titanic
    Second-Class Passenger China on the Titanic
    Third-Class Passenger Dishes on the Titanic
    Molly Brown Newspaper Clipping
    Molly Brown’s List of Lost Items on the Titanic for the Insurance Company
    Stages of Deterioration of Molly Brown’s Home
    Irish Pub
    Irish Pub Menu
    Dead Carp in the Mississippi River
    Ticket from the Mark Twain Museum
  • An Awesome Murder Series That You Didn’t Know That You Need To Read!

    An Awesome Murder Series That You Didn’t Know That You Need To Read!

    Thanks to a friend’s posting on Facebook, I have recently read the best set of murder mysteries that I have enjoyed in a very long time.

    The author, Kathleen Helms lives in the North County area of San Diego and uses lots of local locations, from Carlsbad to Olivenhain, in her novels. Even the much-beloved Carlee’s bar and restaurant in Borrego Springs makes an appearance.

    I started the series because it features so many local locations but I continued to read her books because they are so well-written and have such creative plots.

    I especially enjoy the author’s take on artificial intelligence. Helms has an ability to come up with really original plots. She doesn’t overdo it with plot twists – just enough to keep the story interesting.

    I don’t want to ruin the surprise so I will refrain from providing a recap. However, the characters are so believable – some truly sinister and others very likable. I especially love the main protagonist, Loyal Truesdale.

    The six-book series is available via Amazon as well as from the website Kathleenhelms.com.

    My friend Julie, my mother and I all read the entire series quickly. So, now we are really hoping for a seventh book. The first book in the series came out in 2019 and the last one in 2024. Since the main characters are in all the books, I recommend starting with the first one and reading the rest in chronological order.

    The order of the books:

    A.I. Smith

    Loyalty

    Mistrust

    Deception

    Identify

    Destiny

    Borrego Springs Beloved Carlee’s

  • Frogtown: From Factory Town to Artist Colony

    Housing Overlooking the L.A. River

    Over the years, I have heard so much about Frogtown and the Los Angeles River. Recently, my husband and I opted to sign up for one of the Los Angeles Conservancy’s tours of the area – also known as the Elysian Valley. The tour of the area was done in partnership with Friends of the Los Angeles River. Our tour met at the Lewis MacAdams Park, named after the founder of the Friends of the Los Angeles River. MacAdams, who passed away in 2020, was a huge advocate for restoring the river to a more natural state. The park and surrounding area has been designated a protected butterfly habitat with lots of milkweed planted to encourage butterfly activity. Consequently, beautiful butterflies are everywhere within the park and nearby homes.

    After a massive flood in 1938, the Army Corps of Engineers created a 51-mile waterway encased in concrete to prevent future devastating floods. The area we visited is one of the few areas with a dirt basin. A nice walkway with a bike lane, adjacent to the park, has been built. We were warned in advance about speeding cyclists and the warnings were valid. We stayed on the far left side closest to the river and managed to avoid a collision with a few Lance Armstrong wannabes. Future plans include new parks, recreational areas and restored habitat areas for wildlife. Unfortunately, the plans are moving at a snail’s pace due to conflicting goals and concerns from the multiple government agencies involved.

    The surrounding area started as a working-class neighborhood of affordable housing near industrial facilities, including the Kruegermann Pickle and Sauerkraut factory and the massive Hostess Bakery facility. The pickle factory site is now a dance studio and the bread factory is now an amazing film industry prop house. As part of our tour, we spent some time exploring the prop house. The place has furniture, lighting and dishes from every decade. Based on the hold tickets I saw, every major studio is renting items from this place.

    In addition, a nearby automotive repair shop called Salazar’s is now Salazar’s Mexican BBQ restaurant. Our tour guide mentioned this restaurant and we met a friend there for lunch. The food and atmosphere were amazing. Salazar’s serves a delicious salsa made with tomatoes that they roast on the grill. The tres leche cake was phenomenal, too. Our waiter was an actor originally from Argentina. Apparently, he grew up primarily eating Italian food in Argentina and was relatively new to Mexican cuisine. He and the rest of the crew were incredibly welcoming.

    The neighborhood dates back to the late 1800 and the streets are extremely narrow. Parking is limited with street parking at a premium. With all the cars parked on both sides of the streets, the remaining street space is too narrow for cars to pass going in opposite directions. We found ourselves frequently waiting for a car going in the opposite direction to pass before we could continue driving.

    Additional fun business have opened up in the area including Bauer Pottery. I have been buying dishes made by Bauer online and was really excited to have the opportunity to see the company’s showroom.

    LA River and Bridge
    LA River
    LA River
    LA River
    Gallery Adjacent to the LA River
    LA River
    LA River
    LA River Walkway
    Interior of Bauer Pottery Showroom
    Salazar’s – Former Automotive Repair Shop and Now Mexican BBQ Restaurant
    LA River Walkway
    Former Wonder Bread Bakery – Now a Movie Prop Business
    Interior of Gil & Roy Props
    Boarding House Built in 1917
    Historic Home Near the River Park
    Local Graffiti at the Freeway Underpass

  • A Murder in Hollywood – Fantastic Read!

    This is one of those books that I had to finish quickly. I stayed up late for several nights in a row. It is about the 1958 Johnny Stompanato murder at the hands of either Lana Turner or her daughter Cheryl Crane.

    This famous murder case has so many interesting facets. Was it really Cheryl or did her famous mother Lana Turner kill him? How much cover up did the legendary attorney do prior to notifying the police? Stompanato’s association with the mafia and his partnersip with the infamous Mickey Cohen makes the story even more juicy.

    The murder happened before my time but has alwys intrigued me. I aways thought that Cheryl Crane killed him but this book addresses why Lana Turner most likely killed him. Stompanato was a brutal thug who was an enforcer for the notorious Mickey Cohen. Cohen eventually ended up in Alcatraz.

    Sherman goes into detail regarding Turner’s tough early years. Apparently, she slept with many of her male costars and other famous men, including the notorious mobster Bugsy Siegel. The Howard Hughes and Joan Crawford tidbits are especially entertaining.

    She appears to have been an unfit mother who exposed her daughter to a sordid life filled with a series of vile boyfriends and husbands – including one who sexually abused Cheryl for two years. It is difficult to feel empathy for Turner – not doing a better job of protecting her daughter and letting her take the blame for Stompanto’s murder.

    Turner hired the most definitive powerhouse Hollywood attorney of the time to handle Cheryl’s defense – Jerry Giesler. Other famous cases he handled include: Errol Flynn, Charlie Chaplin, Marilyn Monroe and Bugsy Siegel. Supposedly, Siegel had once told Turner to hire Giesel if she ever got into trouble. Interestingly, in his tell all book, Giesler omits the Lana Turner case from his memoir.