Above is an old photograph of the conversion of the Albatross to the Admiral, long an institution providing cruises up and down the Mississippi River. I never saw the Admiral in its glory days; by the time I visited the boat it was permanently moored on the riverfront. My family and I went to the grand opening of its retooling as a family amusement center; the air conditioning was broken and it was sweltering inside. I later visited it once to see its conversion to a casino, and it was obvious the boat has long seen better days. My students told me tales of grown men screaming at the sight of gigantic rats racing up and down the table games, while women always kept their purses in their laps to keep the cockroaches out of them. I wish the old boat could have been saved, but it was not to be.
I watched her "sail" away and go beneath the MLK and Eads one last time. Very sad indeed.
I remember the admiral in her glory days. I remember watching my sisters dance performance on the admiral as it traveled to the JB bridge and back. I was once hit by a car that was thrown as it was hit by a train running down warf street. I sure miss all the boats on the riverfront every time I cross the bridge coming home to visit from Indiana.