They’re literature’s ragtag rascals who stole our hearts and The Huck stops here 150 years on in Missouri.
Big reveal, I was cynical about Tom Sawyer and his outlaw friend Huckleberry Finn.
When I was introduced him to as an English Lit student in Aberdeen where I was a bit of a rascal myself.
Thinking the raggedy-arsed boys from Ol’ Mississippi a childish yarn and the racial language provocative.
To the Britain of my time, the Eighties.
Hannibal lecture
Only to have my eyes opened to the nuance in Mark Twain’s writings.
And piquing an interest in the Deep South which I have been able to explore later in life in Mississippi.
All of which naturally draws me to Hannibal in Missouri in a landmark year in 2026, 150 years since Twain introduced the bad lads to the world.
As part of the new self-drive from The Internet Traveller following in the footsteps of iconoclastic Americans.
St Lou too
Tom and Huck, Jesse James and the picture-book town that became the model for Disney’s Main Street USA.
All on the new ‘Missouri’s Legendary Trail’ 11-night self-drive trip.
Flying into St Louis, travellers can experience the iconic Gateway Arch.
And the city’s rich Blues history, and remember St Lou is the birthplace of Chuck Berry.
Before heading to Hannibal, the boyhood home of author Mark Twain.
And which inspired the fictional Mississippi river town of St Petersburg in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
Then continue west on Highway 36 – known as the ‘Way of American Genius’.
The best thing since…
To Marceline, the cherished hometown of Walt Disney who based his theme-park vision of Main Street USA.
On the beautiful real-life Main Street he knew so well.
Other stops along the Way include Chillicothe, the birthplace of sliced bread in 1928, the best thing since…
And the town of St Joseph which is steeped in Wild West lore as the eastern terminus of the Pony Express mail service.
While visitors can also visit the Jesse James Home Museum.
In the building where the outlaw was killed in 1882.
Continue to Kansas City for a final night, taking in the city’s rich jazz and barbecue scenes, before flying home.
Deal us in
The itinerary is priced from £1,739pps, including return flights, 11 nights’ accommodation and nine days’ inclusive car hire.
