It's not often that places are exactly how we picture them. The monument is smaller than we expected — a major thoroughfare cuts right through the middle of the park that seemed so secluded in pictures — the tourist trap is, well, a trap. But not so in Hannibal. From its quaint downtown (where people still come running when they hear a ship's whistle) to the whitewashed fence outside Mark Twain's childhood home, Hannibal bears a striking resemblance to the town of the author'

Baton Rouge was always the port town I associated most with the Halloween season. In that spirit, here are two days' worth of spooktacular activities in and around the capital city.

The first thing to know about ships is that none of them are the same. In our case, even though corporate set some standards, the reality...