After living my entire life within a three hour drive of this LH, we finally made the trip there last Sunday!
It was a typical midwest summer afternoon- very hot and humid. We found a place to park at the base of Cardiff Hill, found a sign pointing upwards towards the light, and began to climb the steps.
When we were almost to the top, we realized that you could actually DRIVE most of the way up! The exercise certainly did not hurt me, but I could have done without the bugs along the way.
The view from the top is great- a wonderful view of the Mississippi River and the town of Hannibal. I was even able to purchase a Hannibal lighthouse t-shirt in one of the shops. Did some antique shopping too, but came home empty handed there. We also visited with the owner of the Pelican Bay Lighthouse Shop. It is truly amazing how much lighthouse and nautical stuff he has in his shop! He told me he does quite a bit of sales over the internet and his shipping charges are VERY reasonable (ask him for details).
Even with the heat, it was a great afternoon in Hannibal, MO. I am glad that I finally was able to go!

chris g

(edited to correct some spelling errors- it just doesn't pay to be in a hurry!)

[This message has been edited by chris g (edited 06-14-2002).]

Sounds like a great trip Chris! I would like to see this river light sometime! I tried to talk our group into "swinging" by Hannibal on our way to Chicago in two weeks, but they wouldn't buy it! (It's not that far out of the way from Cincinnati, is it? LOL)

Oh well, maybe sometime in the future!

Glad that you finally got to see this light Chris. Did you also get to see the Twain house? Here's the link to the Pelican Bay Store:
http://www.pelicanbaylighthouseco.com/index.htm

Yes, we were able to see the Twain house as well as the Becky Thatcher house. I hadn't been to Hannibal since I was a child (probably about age 9 or 10), so it was fun to get to see all these things again. I can also recall visiting Mark Twain Cave (which we didn't do on this trip) and that it was really neat. That was the first time I had ever been in a cave. It was especially exciting when they turned out all the lights when we were deep in the cave!
There are several bed and breakfasts in Hannibal as well. Anyone considering a trip to Hannibal should look into staying at the Garth-Woodside Mansion. I have not stayed there, but I know several people who have and they highly recommend it.

chris g