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Early morning breakfast,  bags left out in the hall last night,  many goodbyes and a beautiful sunrise will end this fantastic Mississippi River Cruise! I believe I'm now a changed person; better understanding the Civil War,  the nightmare of slavery, the importance of the Big Muddy and the settlement of critical major cities in the heartland. Bless my dad for making this trip a true joy! Sunrise on our last morning! 

New friends have been made and folks are starting to share contact info... I'll be curious how many actually make contact off the ship... we have 2 couples,  James and Coke, and Marty and Pat,  that we hope to enjoy in the future... there was an impressive 3 hour bus tour throughout St. Louis this morning... with highlights including The Arch directly outside our ship,  the Basilica of St. Louis and some interesting buildings. Getting ready to board the bus... Stunning entry way. Greek architecture topped by Egyptian?  The Man... King Louis,  overlooking the 1904 State Fair.  What a great 5 mile hike around the Arch,  and then the Captain's Dinner with special friends! Lewis and Clark and Peggy! A beautiful architectural marvel!  Surf and Turf...yum!  Our coveted,  personal wine glasses... Great new friends!  And of course,  Elvis! 

From Paducah to St. Louis in 36 hours...2 locks to navigate but much fewer bends in the Mississippi.  We're the little grey dot bottom middle... Between Missouri and Illinois Folks on the ship got excited as we passed Cape Girardeau... birthplace of a talk show host? Humble beginnings... Should be a straight shot today with bingo,  champagne tasting in the morning, historical presentations,  cocktail hour,  hearty meals and wonderful blues music tonight. Breakfast conversation turns into a mutual acquaintance.. and they wanted to send a picture of us to prove we cruised together.. No lipstick for Peggy,  10 extra pounds for me... The 11am champagne lessons included a nice selection of tasting options... including Veuve Clicquot ... my fave! Twist the bottle, not the cork!  Food was fantastic all day,  and the activities fit well into my skill wheelhouse... bingo and wine trivia! Well loved and breaded chicken cutlet! ...

The first cool morning and after making the tough lunch and dinner decisions, we took a 2.5 mile stroll all around Paducah. Peggy orders the opposite so we can share...awww! We even toured the National Quilt Museum! No pictures allowed inside,  but beautiful quilts and well worth the $12 entry fee! Everything was closed this Sunday morning... Beautiful murals review the history of the city.  Peggy's quilts would be right at home here!  After lunch we enjoyed a great field trip to Purple Frog Winery... the largest winery in western Kentucky.  They have a few excellent reds like cab and cab franc,  the other 25 were sweet,  fruit wines.  They also know their logo is a frog not a toad,  but who wanted a fat wart logo... these guys are good! After stomping you got purple toed, but that sounded like smelly feet!  Dinner was excellent again,  with a Seghesio Zin , but the highlight was the bluegrass trio after d...

3000 residents and nothing else!  Pronounced Maahdrid... there is nothing in this town... but I get ahead of myself.  A relaxing day that started with crayfish, continued with alligator,  then a walk around town... over 5 miles,  including through no trespassing farms,  a craft cocktail tasting and a relaxing dinner with folk music in the evening. Very relaxing,  but everyone on the boat wondered why New Madrid? Crawfish Benedict! Alligator Gumbo for Lunch!  Google Maps said it was a road: ) Private corn fields... Not a happy camper,  but a beautiful hike in the end...

We've decided not to see Elvis at Graceland...$140 per person would have been worth it if he hadn't left the building! Instead,  a walk into Beale street this morning and a city bus tour this afternoon.  Of course,  we always start with a surprisingly excellent breakfast.  Here were my choices.. guess which I selected. . Excellent options... Fantastic choice!  I love the blues! Took a 5 mile morning walk through Memphis,  and in particular,  Beale Street, Home of the Blues! This afternoon we all take a 3 hour bus tour of Memphis,  yet I was able to capture some interesting photos on our walk this morning... including a lunch place that was amazing... This billboard is as close as we got!  Iconic!!! If my office was this nice...I might have stayed!  Tempting,  but we showed great restraint!  Funny taglines all over the place!  Even a great wifi password!  Pulled pork cheesy...

All day on the river means wine tasting at 9:15am, then bayou Bingo and ending the morning with a talk on Memphis.  It all started with a ridiculously delicious filet mignon with eggs and lobster...Buenas Dias! Umami City! Chilling all day with on board air conditioning was a wonderful reprieve from the 94 degree day with a heat index of 112.  Watching the coastline go by,  and chatting with fellow passengers made for much relaxation.  Here's the windy route we cruised from Vicksburg to Memphis,  which took 18 hours. Many twists and turns...

A leisurely breakfast with some folks from the Buffalo, NY area... and we were ready for our very insightful tour of the Vicksburg civil war battle/siege. First,  walking to the tour bus,  we got a slightly elevated view of the America Paddlewheel Ship! Our suite... mid ship 4th floor!  Visiting the site of the Vicksburg battle,  where major commander U.S. Grant won a hard earned victory,  propelling him to future presidential status,  was fascinating. Capable of 1 mile accuracy!  Who's riding on Grant's horse (old joke), that he named Jefferson Davis?  The final tour stop was at the Cairo ironside gunboat that was sunk in 1863 and raised over 100 years later... pretty cool! Burned over 1 ton of coal per hour!  Giant Boilers propelling a paddle wheel.  Sunk by an underwater mine,  not a man was lost! Dinner was actually amazing!  Peggy's osso buco of lamb was huge and delicious.  My beet...