American Countess riverboat docks in Cape Girardeau

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (KBSI) – It’s not every day you’re walking downtown and see a riverboat, but for some people in Cape Girardeau on Saturday afternoon, that is exactly what happened.

John Fennewald describes his first impression of the American Countess, which docked in Cape Saturday afternoon.

“We were just kind of out and about downtown today and saw the riverboat and wanted to come see it. I’ve never seen it before, so it was really cool to experience it,” he said. “It’s awesome, it’s really big, it looks like a really nice boat. You can tell on the interior, people are having a good time. There’s a dining room, chandelier, looks like a really great way to spend a vacation.” 

Fennewald, who is originally from Cape but now lives in Arizona, said going down to the water to see the riverboat was a spontaneous part of a planned trip back home. 

“We were just in town for the Fourth of July weekend, wanted to come downtown, and this was a really great treat just to see a great part of America’s history, and the Mississippi River being such a huge part of this region, it was cool to experience the riverboat, too,” he said.

Like Fennewald, Cape residents Charles Noles and Nikki Rodriguez were equally impressed with the vessel. 

“I did some antique shopping, and we walked down by the water, and we were like, ‘Oh my God, look at this boat!’” Rodriguez said. 

“I love it. It’s beautiful, something I would really like to take a cruise on,” Noles said.

The boat will dock again in Cape on August 3 and again on August 27. 

“By then I might want to get a ticket to be on it,” Noles said.