On October 26th, Mary and I left for an overnight in Hannibal, MO; we were celebrating my birthday on the 27th. We made one stop on the way down at a HyVee where we went to the restroom and purchased some wine. Upon arrival at Hannibal, we checked into the Best Western on the River hotel. Both of us were ready for lunch so we ate at Mark Twain Dinette and Family Restaurant; the food was not very good…oh well, it was only one meal! After lunch, we walked down to the main street and shopped. From our last trip to Hannibal two years previous, we remembered one place that had excellent gelato; however, they were out of the flavors each of us wanted but said salesperson said the flavors would be available the next morning. Upon returning to the hotel, we decided to walk to a used bookstore on Mark Twain Avenue; the store was a little further than we remembered but, after sitting all morning in the car, the walk did us good. And it was worthwhile with both of us purchasing some books.
With a recommendation of the hotel staff, we ventured to LaBinnah Bistro for dinner. What a wonderful place! Very small with about 15 tables and they do not take reservations. We had no problem getting a table and thoroughly enjoyed the whole dining experience. Menu leans toward French and Mediterranean dishes; both of us were quite pleased with our respective entrees of chicken and fish. It was back to the hotel after dinner with each of us going to our respective rooms after agreeing to meet the next morning at 7:30 for breakfast.
After breakfast, we decided to take a walk to the river. It was a cool morning but the walk was enjoyable. We stopped for coffee at Java Jive, a really neat place; we wished we would have had yesterday’s lunch at this place. Chocolaterie Stam, the place where gelato is made, opened at 10:00 and we ventured there for gelato; they had made the favors promised the day before for us. Mary wanted to go to an antique mall which was close to downtown; it was a very delightful experience for Mary and she wished we would have had more time there. But we were meeting our friend, Doris and her daughter, at Fiddlestiks Food & Spirits Co. for lunch so we had to cut our shopping at the mall short. Doris’s daughter, Renee, lives outside of St. Louis; they met us for lunch so Doris could ride back home with us. We had a wonderful lunch; good food, great conversation, many laughs. And, of course, the staff had to sing “Happy Birthday” while presenting me with a cupcake with a light candle. All of us said good bye to Renee; we headed back to Iowa with my getting home around 3:30 in the afternoon.
What a fun, delightful way to spend my birthday; good friends, great shopping, fantastic adventure…life is indeed good!