Day 28: No Kings, Hannibal Missouri

It is No Kings Day and we woke from our Harvest Host site at the distillery west of Hannibal Missouri at daybreak. The traffic on the highway was picking up and Tad needed a potty break. The morning was cool but not cold. Immediately upon exiting the motorhome, Tad alerted me that creatures had been about in the night. This looked to be good bunny habitat with fields edged in thick brush. We walked around the small pond but I did not want a muddy or a sick dog so we stayed away from the edge of the water. Still as we walked, indications of life in the pond were evident as splashes and ripples formed when we spooked the amphibian life of the pond. 

Back at the motorhome, Kasey was stirring about. Coffee was brewing and we went through our morning rituals of Duolingo, reading Heather Cox Richardson, reading our text messages and emails and checking Facebook.

We had a few hours before the scheduled No Kings protest and so.we found our way to the local Walmart to buy some flags and a dry erase board. I didn't have a sign and need something to hold with a short message.

Next door was a variety store where I found a chicken mask to wear to make things more festive. 

When we arrived, there were not many people but we quickly found the other protesters: 70 plus year old women and a few long haired, T-shirt and Birkenstock wearing, 30.plus year olds. Sign in hand, we walked up and introduced ourselves. Soon more sign holders arrived and we meandered toward the sidewalk along the busy street. Hannibal has nearly 20,000 people and sits along the Mississippi River. But you knew that.

We had a few costumed protesters: a donkey and a red frog, I guess. At one point we estimated that we had about 250 people which would be a little more than 1% of the population. Most people driving by were supportive but we had a few give us the middle digit or a thumb in the downward position. This area is a conservative area as is most of Missouri but the favorable reactions out numbered 10 to 1 the unfavorable.

 Kasey had Tad near him and there were a couple of other dogs but none nearly as pretty as our goof ball Irish Setter. A vehicle passing by contained a young woman in the passenger seat. I heard her say, as she leaned her body out of the window with her fist in the air "F*** Tru ...Oh look at the dog!" Apparently she noticed the red.flowing hair of our 4 legged son and it stopped her protest cold.

We left the rally after an hour and a half to go to the folk Life festival downtown. There seemed to be more people there than at the rally so I guess their priority was not the same as mine. 

But we grabbed a catfish sandwich because Kasey was dying to have catfish. It brings fond memories of his grandparents and growing up in Climax Springs, MO. Not long after we got our sandwich, it started to rain. It was a warm gentle rain and did not seem to bother us but we saught shelter in a pub as the vendors scurried to cover their wares. We finished our sandwiches and a pint and walked toward the Mississippi. Kasey had booked a 2 hour tour on a riverboat complete with dinner scheduled for later this evening. We wanted to see where we needed to go and assess the parking situation. Since it did not look as if the sky was going to lighten, we made our way toward the motorhome and timed our walk so we would know how long we needed in order to return to the riverboat in time. The wind was picking up and we needed to get a walk in with Tad before it really started to rain. Our timing wasn't great and before long we were soaked and we still had a few blocks to go. The drops were getting bigger and the gutters on the historic buildings were discharging their moisture at our feet. 

I took Tad for a walk after he and I donned our raincoats. I was looking around at all the parking spaces being vacated and we soon realized that we could probably just drive to the port and park there to wait for our dinner cruise. I spotted a.really old building being renovated and noticed their large parking lot and no signs. People from the festival were leaving and I asked about the parking but they said that they had no.idea if it was forbidden to park there. We drove to the port and waited while it poured.

 At some point, traveling with a cat necessitates cleaning the cat box. You can only put it off so long. So, in the pouring rain, Kasey went outside to access the cat box through the outside door. While he was out there, a big boom! happened and shook the motorhome. It sounded like a bomb or a transformer blowing. Lightning had struck not a half mile away. Kasey hurriedly returned to the inside and promptly changed his underwear.

We waited in our shelter until it was time to board the vessel. It was still raining and I was damp so the fan in the cab was making me cold and I took the opportunity to turn it off.

 No one objected. We had a nice trip along the Mississippi River but it became dark halfway through the voyage limiting our visibility of the area. The ride was very smooth and the dinner very filling with choice of chicken and beef, salad, and baked potato. A very rich chocolate dessert was served and we were very full. 

Apparently, the employees had purchased the business and now it is a.local business run by mostly family members. We were on the second deck which gave us views of the river from a better vantage point. The rain continued to fall and the band on the first deck continued to play music with no vocals. Then one of the wait staff joined the band for a few songs and he was very good. When the cruise was done and we were exiting Kasey took a moment to let him know that he did a great job. That's Kasey.

Our motorhome was in the parking lot between 2 railroad tracks and when we tried to get some sleep, we realized that it was not going to happen. The trains blew their horn at every crossing even though there were crossing gates. 

At my urging, we abandoned the parking lot and headed for the lot where the building was being renovated a few blocks away. The neighbor informed us that he had no problem and that the owner would not be back until after his night shift. This put a building between us and the railroad tracks. We slept well. In the morning, the owners truck was parked behind us but he had not rousted us.