Hannibal and Good Byes

On July 18, my parents, sister, my sister's boyfriend Pete, and I ventured to Hannibal, MO to visit the final resting place for my beloved grandfather, Travis Waples.  It was a bittersweet trip because it was most likely the last time we would ever visit Hannibal, a place where my father grew up and my sister and I spent our summers.  Plus, we would be saying farewell to my grandfather, too.
A big, gigantic, HUGE thanks goes out to Joseph's parents - Elias and Linda.  Thank you SO much for watching the boys during that time so that I could travel to Hannibal and not have to worry about the boys while I was there.  Thank you so much for holding down the fort and for taking care of Oscar as well.  :)  You guys are amazing.
While we were there, we did my dad's version of the history of Hannibal (and its surrounding towns), by traveling to where my grandfather grew up, and visited other important areas to my father during his childhood.  Here's a quick recap of our trip:

Wayland, MO, population 523.
If you blinked, you probably passed it.  This is where my grandfather
grew up.

My grandmother had a funny story about the garage to this house.
She joked that whenever she would visit my grandpa and his family,
she hated having to stay the weekend, because that meant that she
would have to take a shower there.  Note that there was no actual
shower, but merely a large basin that they filled with water in the garage...
and she said that she always made sure she was NOT the last one to take
a bath (because everyone used the same water).

SO glad that I didn't live back in those days....I'm a huge germaphobe.

Kristen, Dad, Mom, and Me in front of Grandpa's childhood home.

Gramp's childhood home

And now to my FAVORITE place in Hannibal, MO.  I have incredibly fond memories of the Mark Twain Dinette.  It was always the first place that we would stop by at the beginning of our summer trip to Hannibal when I was growing up.  Grandma would always have Gramps pick up lunch from the Mark Twain Dinette and I would always get the same exact thing every year.  A maid-rite (delectable loose meat sandwich) with onions, pickles, and mustard, and a nice, tall, creamy, home-made root beer.

I joked with Gramps about two weeks before he passed that I was really craving a maid-rite.  After he passed, I had a conversation with his spirit that although I wanted a maid-rite...I didn't want to have it that soon.

The beacon that called to me as a child, the spinning root beer mug!

A delightful little mom and pop restaurant with incredible maid-rites
and homemade root beer.  

Before we dug into lunch, we decided to do our last visit to Hannibal just right.  Hannibal, MO is known for being the place in which Mark Twain grew up.  We decided to do one last tour of all of the Mark Twain sites before we left.

The historic area of downtown Hannibal, MO.

The Haunted House on Hill Street.  Unfortunately they closed this
place.  My sister and I used to love going here every year to look
at their super creepy wax statues and "haunted" but mostly hokey house.
I'm absolutely terrified of any type of haunted house...but I would
totally go into this one.

Kristen and the silhouette of "Injun Joe"...Kristen was still pretty creeped
out by the wax figure.  Can you see him in the window??

Next stop:  Becky Thatcher's Home - Tom's sweetheart.

Mark Twain's Father's Law Office

The Law Office

Inside the law office

Kristen, heading up to Huck Finn's house

But first...a stop at his out house. :)

Huck Finn's house memorial

I thought it would be funny to have two really tall guys stand
by the entrance of the house.  Dad and Pete fit the bill. 

Look at the ceiling height!

Inside the Huck Finn house

Afterwards, we ventured to Mark Twain's boyhood home.

Dad and Pete in the "Hall of Tom and Becky's."  Each year
during the summer, there's always "Tom and Huck Days" where
they do activities from the Mark Twain series like frog hopping
competitions, white washing fences, etc.  There's also a "Tom and Becky"
voted each year.  Dad was reminiscing about some of the Tom and Becky's
that he knew from the past.

"Becky" and Becca! :)  Don't ever call my mom "Becky"....unless
you want your head bitten off.

Kristen and Pete as "Tom and Becky"

My turn with Dad!

Kristen's turn to white wash the fence!

After all of that sight-seeing, we decided to venture back to the Mark Twain Dinette.  The owner took one look at us and knew exactly where to seat us:

The Renowned Liars Table!!  (I have no idea why....but I have
a feeling that we looked like "city folk" to them.)  

Me, enjoying an ice-cold, creamy, homemade root beer.  The
perfect beverage to drink on a hot summer's day.

Me and Kristen digging into our Maid-Rites one last time.
It was absolutely heavenly, and talk about food memories!
I was immediately whisked away to my childhood.  We kept
saying to one another that we were just waiting for my Gramps
to come driving down the hill (the restaurant was down the street
from his home) and he would meet us there shortly.  Bittersweet.

After lunch, we drove up the hill, which is an incredibly steep hill, to visit my father's childhood home.  This was the place that my grandfather called home until he moved to Las Vegas, NV three years ago to be closer to my father.  This is the place that I had been visiting since I was born - 522 Rock Street.

Kristen in front of Grandma and Gramps' old home.  Thankfully the family that
is living in it now is taking care of it.

Me and Kristen in front of our grandparents' old house

Look how steep that hill is!!  Here's Kristen, running up the hill
to the playground on the upper left area of this picture.  That's where
my father went to elementary school, and also where Kristen and
I would spend our free time during the summer while we were visiting.

Me, Dad, and Kristen in front of 522 Rock Street one last time.
I seriously felt like walking onto the front porch to sit in my
grandparents' glider while waiting for my Grandma to bring me
a tall glass of sweet tea in a mason jar.  Good times  :)

Right down the alleyway by my Dad's childhood home was also the "Unsinkable" Molly Brown's birth place.  What's funny is, this place when I was growing up, was always really run down.  However, once the movie Titanic became popular, the town of Hannibal rejuvenated this monument and made it suitable for showing once more.

Molly Brown's birth place

Some of Molly Brown's belongings.  She led a really fascinating life.

Her kitchen, which was on the first floor.

A bedroom

Her family's dining room, which was on the second floor.

More of downtown Hannibal

While we were driving around, we decided to visit "Lovers Leap," which coincidentally has a beautiful view of Hannibal.

The legend of Lover's Leap

Kristen and Pete - the lovers "leaping"!

A great view of the Mississippi

Before my Grandfather's burial, we decided to give him one last tribute.  My Grandpa always joked around that he loved Clamato (clam juice mixed with tomato juice).  The thought of it always turned my stomach.  Then, one Christmas, I saw "Bud Light and Clamato" and got Grandpa one of these as a joke.  He took one sip of it and said, "Hey!  That actually tastes goooooood!"  I couldn't believe it.  So, as one last tribute, we all took a sip of Grandpa's drink and did a "Cheers!" to him.  Let me just say....it was definitely the worst adult beverage that I've ever drank in my life, but it was for Gramps.  :)

Here's to you, Gramps!

"Cheers!"

There's not much else to do in Hannibal and we had a whole evening to spend together.  So, while we were on Lover's Leap looking out over the Mississippi, I saw the riverboats and thought about the riverboat dinners that they do during the summer.  I called and made reservations right away!  Unfortunately Pete doesn't do well on boats, so he decided to stay in for the night.  Here's how our evening transpired:

Dad, Mom, and Kristen in front of the riverboat

Dad, Mom, and Me :)

Ladies, ladies, ladies!

Dad and Mom in Hannibal, MO - where they first met :)

Let's just say we're not natural models...but we naturally ham it up very well!

The miiiiiiiighty Mississippi

Kristen, Mom, and Dad on the boat

Dad, Mom, and Me on the boat

Mis padres

The super cute live band that played on the boat

The adorable wait staff presenting our dinner for the evening

Dad at the head of the boat

"I'm king of the worrrrrrrrrld!"

We went to the top of the boat to watch the sunset, but then a cloud
blocked the view for the rest of the evening.

One last view from the boat

On July 20, 2013, we laid my Grandfather to rest next to my Grandmother in Grand View Cemetery in Hannibal, MO.  It's funny...my Grandfather and I always used to joke around with one another.  On the day of his funeral, he requested a graveside ceremony and I was having a moment with him saying my last goodbyes.  I started to get emotional, when all of a sudden a vase full of roses spilled onto my shoes and got water all over me.  I looked up into the heavens and said, "Hey!  You did that on purpose.  Ok, ok, I get it.  I'll stop crying."  That's my Gramps for ya...he never wanted anyone to get upset or make a fuss over him.  He got me one last time.  

After a short and sweet ceremony (which is how he wanted it), the very thoughtful and gracious members of the First Church of the Nazarene (where my dad's family were members) held a brunch for our family and friends of Gramps.  It was nice to see so many people from my childhood again, just under unfortunate circumstances.

My Great Uncle Delbert along with other family members

We sat and chatted for a while

My Grandpa's sister, Great Aunt Helen on the right was able to come
along with her daughter (also on the right).  She's speaking with
my dad's cousins and spouses.

The pastor and his wife of the church.  He led a very beautiful eulogy.

Another moment of awesome food memories - church potluck!!
I was in absolute hog heaven.  The incredibly generous and thoughtful
members of the church handmade everything for us that morning.
It was very touching.  The food was rich and delicious and I had
my fill of sweet tea. :)

Me, Mom, Great Aunt Helen, Dad, and Kristen

(From left to right):
Pete, Kristen, Me, Dad, my dad's cousin Karen, dad's cousin Jimmy,
his girlfriend, Great Aunt Helen, dad's cousin Debbie and her husband 

My dearest Geraldine speaking with my Great Aunt Helen.
Geraldine has been such a big part of our family since before
I can even remember.  She was my Grandma and Grandpa's best friend,
went to their wedding, babysat my father, and was always there
at church on Sundays next to us sneaking us candy so we would be
quiet, making silly faces, and singing her heart out.  They don't make
people like her, and it's a true shame.  Love you, Geraldine!!!

My Great Aunt Erma Jean and Great Uncle Delbert whom I also
grew up with and visited every summer.  My Great Uncle Delbert
is my Grandmother's brother.  We used to spend whole afternoons
at their home, and had lots of fun going to the playground, Sawyer's Creek,
and lots of other fun places.  Miss your hugs and chats, Erma Jean and Delbert!
It was really great to see you guys.

Sissy time!

Me, Dad, Great Aunt Erma Jean, Great Uncle Delbert,
and Kristen. 

After the brunch, we were absolutely stuffed and somewhat overwhelmed.  We decided to take a nap and just cool off.  Once we got up, we went on another drive to visit my dad's aunt's old home.

In the little shed on the left is where my aunt used to have a chicken
farm.  Once when my father was very young, he saw a chicken
by itself in a smaller coop.  My dad asked his aunt why the chicken
was by itself, and his aunt replied, "Because it's dinner!"  From that
moment on, my dad has not been able to eat chicken....ever.

After driving around the town, we drove back to Hannibal and I requested to stop by the Train Museum so I could pick up something for the boys.  I promised Alexander that I would have a big surprise for him when I got back.

The Big River Train Museum.
I went into the store with my dad and the lady in the front said, "Come on inside
the museum!  It's hotter than Hades in the storefront (it was about 95 degrees F
that day), so come on in the museum where it's air conditioned.
It's free today!"

I walked in and immediately said, "Awww!  Alexander would have
LOVED this!"  He's still totally into trains and this one giant room
FILLED with trains along the walls and moving trains with
little villages all around.

All along the border of the train sets were buttons that
you could push that would activate scenes in the train set.  It
was pretty cool.

An old train station's bench.  Very cool.

Even Mom had a fun time pushing the buttons.

"If you like trains, blow the whistle!"

Gotta love Train Town :)

On the last night that we were there, we asked Geraldine to join us for dinner at "The Pier" restaurant in Quincy.  When my Gramps used to live in Hannibal, my dad kept telling him to take Geraldine out to dinner there for her birthday.  However, my Gramps was very much a man of routine and liked going out to dinner to the regular places that he was used to and didn't like to change.  So, we met Geraldine out there for dinner that evening, in honor of Gramps.  He was definitely there in spirit.

Geraldine, Dad, Me, Kristen, and Mom at The Pier

I miss my Gramps and think about him every day.  I'm glad that I was able to get closer to him during the past few years.  Love and miss you Gramps.  Thanks for giving us this last trip to Hannibal to be able to eat Maid Rites, visit you and Grandma, be together, and to sit and visit with some wonderful people that I haven't seen in a long time.  Until next time...

Love and kisses,

Nikki