Reliving Fond Memories
Page 2 of 3

The view was wonderful. The Cap’n was accommodating and we had a nice chat. As the boat pulled away from the dock, the Cap’n asked if I would like to ring the bell five times and blow the steam whistle twice. I asked the question I’m sure many others had asked: How fast does the Mark Twain really go? I mean, when the park is closed and they need to move the boat quickly. She replied that it really didn’t go much faster than it is going right now. I let the matter drop.

The journey starts…

So now I know what the sign language means

One thing I always find fascinating is how things work at the park. When the conversation tapered off, I watched the Cap’n pilot the ship, muting the background music and pressing cues for different parts of the spiel. I always marvel that the simplest things we take for granted someone had sat down and thought these things out (“Now, how do we keep the narration lined up with the sights along the waterway??�?)

The return to port. Five bells, two whistles!