Disney's Magic

Well, maybe not this time

When someone mentions the words, Mark Twain, the immediate identification is that of one of America's foremost story tellers, Samuel Clemens. But in reality, Mark Twain is a phrase with two meanings. Mark - meaning the measure of - and Twain -meaning two. When ships sailed or steamed up and down the Mississippi River in the 19th century, the pilots, that's the captain of the boat for landlubbers, would request a depth notification from crew. They needed to know the depth of the water they were sailing through for safety reasons.

Each fathom was six feet in depth, so when 'mark twain' was yelled up to the pilot after the measuring, the pilot knew they were in good stead with the water depth. Even though most river boats in the 19th century only had drafts of four to five feet, the extra depth was especially reassuring since the muddy Mississippi often had hidden dangers below the waterline. A little extra distance from the bottom was always welcomed.

Bad things can happen in shallow water 

Clemens actually worked on a paddle wheeler, learning the ins and outs of piloting a river boat as a cub pilot for two years before the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861. Under the tutelage of Captain Isaiah Sellers, Clemens learned a thing or two about mastering the helm and about writing. It seemed Sellers would pen paragraphs about current conditions on the river and have them printed in a local newspaper.

1861 Paddle wheeler on the Mississippi River

"The old gentleman was not of literary turn or capacity, but he used to jot down brief paragraphs of plain practical information about the river, and sign them 'Mark Twain' and give them to the New Orleans Picayune. They related to the stage and condition of the river, and were accurate and valuable; and thus far, they contained no Poison," Clemens once stated when asked about his use of the pen name, Mark Twain.

Clemons felt, as he had moved west to Virginia City and began working as a journalist he needed something special for a name.

"I was a fresh new journalist, and needed a nom de guerre: so I confiscated the ancient mariner's discarded one, and have done my best to make it remain what it was in his hands - a sign and symbol and warrant that whatever is found in its company may be gambled on as being the petrified truth; how I have succeeded, it would not be modest in me to say."

But, this blog is not about Samuel Clemons or Mark Twain the writer.

Sorry, Sam

So, now on to the blog.

No, it's about another famous Mark Twain, which paddles it's way in near oblongs, many times a day at Disneyland. The 105 foot long, 1/3rd sized replica of a 19th century riverboat plies the Rivers of America, located in the world famous park located in Anaheim, Southern California. Hundreds, if not thousands of guests line the three decks as the graceful and beautiful ship makes it's twelve to fifteen minute journey, allowing those same guests a chance to view different sections of the park. 

Passengers awaiting boarding upon the Mark Twain 

Laureen was surprised with a ticket to the 'Happiest Place on Earth' by daughters and sons-in-law for Mother's Day. And to entice John - there had to be an enticement since he had spent his early childhood visiting the park so many times, he'd hide out on Tom Sawyer's island until his cousins got tired of looking for him. A ticket for him to? Okay, deal with smiles and laughter. But what? No invite to the exclusive Club 33? Maybe next time. Being the good sport that John is - at least sometimes, he had a great outing.

Good Sport - not Old Sport. Learn your lines, DiCaprio

Since no one in the group of six had ridden the Mark Twain for many years, it was agreed that it would be nice to sit and rest. Fit-bit's go crazy at Disneyland where walking 20,000+ steps in a day is nothing. One must rest once in awhile or venturing from one make-believe world to another make-believe world would become a chore and not a joy.

As the party waited in the authentic 19th century appearing riverboat landing area, a bearded gentleman dressed in period clothing walked past and said something snarky to John. Of course, John returned the snarky comment with a bit more spice. Within seconds both men stood toe to toe smiling and exchanging harmless and comical comments to each other. Finally, the Pilot, we were to learn, told our entire group to come with him.

No, this isn't the Captain and John - we just stole this picture to make a point

We were escorted onto the Mark Twain before the other hundreds or so waiting passengers and led to the pilothouse. This was a special treat since it is rare to allow folks into the lair of the Captain of the ship. Three decks are the usual haunts for the passengers but we all were treated to the 'fourth' deck. The pilothouse was small but roomy enough that no one was smashing elbows with each other and the view was awesome. 

A non-disclosure agreement had to be signed - Not!

Roughly, thirty feet above the waters edge, gave us all a birds-eye-view of the park as the ship traveled it's course along the Rivers of America.

Unobstructed view of Disneyland - or at least most of it

Each got a turn at the helm, which was fine until Jessica took a hold of the large wooden wheel and John desperately wished Disneyland served alcohol. "I could use a drink," he was overheard muttering to himself. He watched as his daughter deftly spun the wheel to starboard, thankful there was only open water in that direction.

All small ships and children, watch out!

The Captain, which was his name since no one had jotted it down, advised us that the Mark Twain was under steam power delivered with bio-diesel and free floating along it's course. He also reassured us that the river was forty feet deep, so no fear of snagging underwater objects.

Justin and the Captain with no name - we're bad

Since John and Laureen believe in research, research was done and the fact checking proved that actually, the Mark Twain runs along a hidden steel I-beam to guide it's way through the water, and the depth of the river is not even a Mark Twain. The bottom is anywhere from 6 to 8 feet deep but looks deeper with the green and brown dye used for special effects. 

Are those guide rails we see?

 40 feet deep ? We don't think so, or those men are giants. 

This is all part of the Disney Magic, and no disparaging remarks or thoughts against the Captain for the 'fibs' he told us. It's all about make-believe, and we enjoyed the fantasy of believing this large ship was being guided by a bunch of neophyte pilots.

Hey, I just work here and recite what I'm told to recite.

Cruising the river, from the advantage point of the pilothouse, we could all see the new Disney attraction set to open May 31st of 2019. Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, an all New Land. Though, we could not see every detail of the 'Black Spire Outpost' on the planet 'Batuu', the glimpses we did enjoy proved to be enough that another trip to see this 16 acre addition to Disneyland is in the works.

On the left, a spaceship in the New Land

A glimpse of the 'Black Spire Outpost' on the Planet Bantuu

Even the ever-faithful, Trekkie. Laureen agreed this would be an adventure worth exploring.

A Trekkie traitor or just seeing the light saber - bad pun

At the conclusion of the voyage, each 'pilot' received an 'authentic' certificate claiming how they had managed, without incident to pilot the Mark Twain without sinking her.

Only room for 4 'Skippers' at a time in the wheelhouse

It was a memorable moment on a memorable day honoring mothers all through-out America and many places around the world.

The 'Happiest Place on Earth,' made many people very happy that day and the thrill of being in that rare group to be in the pilothouse aboard the Mark Twain, only made the experience that much happier.

Happy sails to you.

Credits:

Photos - JandLResearchandExploration
               Justin Barr Photography - https://www.justinbarrphotography.com/ 

The Only Way to Get Around

When the intrepid trio landed in Iquitos this past summer, along with our great friend Carlos, we were met with two choices on how to get into the center of town where our hotel was located: take a regular taxi or the three wheeled wonder of the motocarro.

The only way to travel

 The concept is very simple - take a Honda, Suzuki, or off brand named motorcycle usually with a 125 to 200 cc motor (most of what we saw were in the 125 cc range for fuel efficiency) and retrofit a two wheel contraption on the rear with a bench seat for passengers along with room for suitcases, food, ice chests, or anything else of value needing to be moved here to there. A little research reveals the majority of these vehicles are manufactured in Mexico and shipped up the Amazon to sell in Iquitos and other river towns. Of course, other places build these unusual but very fun modes of transportation and a quick Google search will take the inquisitive mind where it needs to go if the desire to impress or confuse your neighbors strikes home.

Many years ago Disneyland in Anaheim California had ticket booklets instead of all day passes for visitors to the Magic Kingdom. The most cherished of these tickets were the 'E' tickets. These hot numbers were for the rides where fear and loss of breath were at the highest premium. No, these were not for the Dumbo Elephant rides for little kids but for the toboggan race down the steep incline of the Matterhorn. Hanging on by your hands (unless you raised them for a better thrill while heading straight down the narrow gauge tracks) onto the safety bar in front of you gave the rider such a pulsating adrenalin rush that only an 'E' ticket could provide.

Paul snapping with his I pad and Carlos ignoring him

 That's the same sensation while touring around Iquitos in a motocarro. Hold on but do remember to keep your arms, hands, legs, and head within the confines of the rear seat while your driver takes you on the Mr. Magoo's wild ride about the village on the Amazon.

"Excuse me," another passenger on a motocarro only millimeters away says.

"Yes," you respond while wondering how truly close the other vehicle is from yours.

"You seem to have something between your two front teeth."

"I brushed this morning before jumping into the rear of this motocarro," you respond.

"Yes, I can smell the fresh mint flavor - but you still have something between your teeth," the other passenger states and then waves as his driver bounds over the sidewalk trying to run over pedestrians as though this were a daily video game of blood lust.

Need a tow?

 Oops, this is Iquitos and not Lima where drivers are actually courteous to one another though they drive quickly, closely, and erratically bounding from passenger to passenger. Lima is the opposite of Iquitos - and that's not just geographically speaking.

It is the only true way to get around this crowded city on the mighty river efficiently. Narrow streets, high gas prices and the lack of auto dealerships makes motocarros the best mode of transportation available for taxis and businesses. Of course, there are cars, trucks, motorcycles and scooters but the predominant method of getting around is the inexpensive three wheeled vehicles that are literally everywhere.

No worries - on her way to work

 The decibels in the city are higher than anywhere else with these contraptions but after a day or two the tourist no longer hears the sounds - it's much like listening to a bothersome co-worker - just tune out the irritating noise.

No accident - just repairs

We were advised, by more than one driver, that there are a lot of accidents with these motocarros and even tourist magazines/books warn of this but after eight days in Iquitos and riding around numerous times daily we never witnessed one accident. Some close calls maybe but no physical contact between these vehicles and others including pedestrians.

 A true 'E' ticket adventurer for the explorer. 

By the way, it was a mosquito caught between J's teeth and thank goodness for malaria pills.