West Virginia Capitol

Charleston, West Virginia

Our favorite thing about this capitol was driving by the night before our visit and getting pictures with the building all lit up!  I would also like to add, that this picture was taken with my camera outside the panoramic sunroof of our new car:)  

Next morning, we toured for real... lots of walking for the Crutch Girl.  And again, Ryan was our photographer.  I really liked this shot of Ben and Carly walking up the back steps of the capitol... fortunately for me, there was a Handicap entrance.  Albeit with a very steep ramp.  Grrrr.

Inside the dome... that inner circle is a chandelier.

Carly noticed right off the lack of art work hanging in this building.  Most capitols have portraits of their Important People hanging everywhere.  She thought perhaps they had been robbed.  For real.  Just lots of long, plain, marble hallways.

Under a desk in the House... we thought that perhaps my brother Steve forgot to tell us he was a Representative in the State of West Virginia.  This guy has a serious Diet Coke Issue.  

The House and Senate Chambers were decorated a little better, with really pretty scrollwork...

... and the chandelier that hangs inside the dome.

Cute McGregor Children, sneaking up to the Gallery of the Senate, only to find it locked.

The Senate

The view from the front steps of the Capitol... (and the road where we stopped to take the first picture, outside the sunroof.  Did I mention it's a Panoramic Sunroof?)

Ryan and I really loved this stone house... it has a fantastic view, as it faces the First Picture.  Again, with the First Picture.

View from the back steps...

West Virginia is very proud of their State Quarter.

Plain Marble Hallway.

Hidden Staircase leading up to the dome.  Off Limits.

The Liberty Bell (each state was given a replica from the same cast iron as the original)... this is the first we've seen WITHOUT the tacky painted on crack.  Good Work West Virginia.  

Our Second Favorite Thing about this Capitol, the war memorials... and this statue of a female soldier.  Haven't seen that before, either.

And hands down, the best war memorial...

All the names of the soldiers from West Virginia are listed on each section inside... all these portions come together to form a circle with a pool all around the outside and you can walk all around the inside.  It's pretty neat and quiet moving.

16 down...

Georgia State Capitol

Atlanta, Georgia... we modified our vacation, somewhat, due to the Incident.  We still wanted to get our capitol visits in, if possible, so we started off with Georgia.  This was a few weeks ago, and I was hobbling around with the crutches (not so well, I might add) so my memories are slightly skewed by Ow... ow.... ouch... ANYWAYS, as usual, beautiful building.  We also enjoyed driving in off the highway and seeing all the Olympic Rings everywhere, left over from 1996.  Kind of fun.

Ryan took pictures (you know, can't do that so well with crutches)... loved the staircases.

Many people were waiting to get in to see the Governor, who happened to be there for Scheduled Photo Shoots.  By "many people" I mean, Many Beauty Queen People.  It was apparently pageant day at the capitol.  All wearing their crowns and sashes.

There were many old flags on display and there was even a special room for some of them that was light and climate controlled.  Many were from the early colonies and Civil War...

Replica of the Lady on the dome.  Ryan really loved this display, at least I think he did since there were about 50 pictures of it.   I shouldn't tease him, though... it was pretty cool.

Particularly the helicopter pictures of her being removed and returned to the dome once her renovations were completed.

Coolest model ever... model of the dome, complete with interior staircases.  Most capitols no longer allow non-employee people up into the dome due to the rickety staircases and modern fire codes, so it was really cool to see this model.

The House

Shout out to anesthesia...

The Senate Chambers

Yeah for Margaret Mitchell.  And Boo to Carly for wanting to be in the picture with me, then saying, "Wait, what was gone with the wind?  No really, what was gone?"  Just another reason why I think she might not be my daughter.  She got a little nervous when I handed her my SACRED hard back copy (thanks SUE!) as summer reading. 

Quick snapshot of the Disrespectful McGregor Children.  And Jimmy Carter.

Note the Lady.

This is EXACTLY why I loved Ryan taking pictures!  Especially when I showed it to him and said, "Really, Ryan?!!" and he tried to tell me he did Shadow Man on purpose.  It might make it into my Favorite Vacation Pictures File.

Carly took our picture... I guess we BARELY made it in the picture, which was probably better since I was REALLY not feeling good by this point and as I recall, quite cranky:)

We hope you have enjoyed this Capitol Tour... be warned:  There are 4 more to come from this vacation.