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Riverboat Cruising...
   We recently had the chance to visit the Mississippi Queen
steamboat in Pittsburgh where she was docked in preparation
for a short fall foliage cruise down to Cincinnati. The dock is
conveniently located in downtown Pittsburgh on the Monongahela
river, just across from the Station Square shopping complex.
Parking is located right at the pier, just steps from the ship. The
Mississippi Queen, built in 1976 for the bicentennial, is a medium
sized Riverboat holding just over 400 passengers. We were
greeted by a Southern Belle, dressed in a hoop skirt who showed
us the way to the reception lounge to find the purser's desk. Soon
we were met by an associate of ours who took us to an upper deck
where the Show Lounge is located. Passengers were beginning to
congregate before the cruise. We feasted on a luncheon buffet of a
variety of salads, sandwiches, and the famous steamship round of
roast beef, and we washed it down with a wine punch. Before an
organized tour of the ship, we had a half an hour to explore the
various public rooms on our own. We were impressed with the
tasteful Victorian decor throughout in the formal but comfortable
atmosphere of the dining room and in the Paddlewheel Lounge,
where one has a great view. Imagine yourself as Tom Sawyer, Huck
Fin, or maybe Becky Thatcher, while seated on a oversized wing chair
in a secluded nook. The whole panorama of the river can be observed
from the uppermost, outside deck. During the formal tour we had time
to look at the many styles of cabins, from the small inside ones, with
lower and upper bunks, the many outside cabins with outside verandas,
and the princely suites. The outside cabins feature antique furniture
and lamps, but have modern bathrooms. Upon returning to Akron we
booked some cabins for a 6 day cruise sailing next Jan. 27th.,
roundtrip from New Orleans and stopping in the Plantation towns of
Natchez and Saint Francisville and returning to "The Big Easy".
If you would like to relive part of America's past, call us for further
information on this unique cruise.