Across from the Capitol was the Temple of Justice. We wandered through on our own and found the Law Library and where the Supreme Court meets.
We began our guided tour on the steps of the Capitol Building with a description of the doors. They are of bronze and weigh one ton each. She showed us that they can easily be opened with two fingers. Al demonstrated for us but the guide joked that it took him four fingers to open them! The close up of one of the doors shows the original building before this one was built from 1922-1928. There are six doors, each with a different scene. She also pointed out there are 42 steps up to the entrance signifying that Washington was the 42nd state to join the Union.
In the Entry Hall is a time capsule that was placed there for the bi-centennial in 1976. It will be opened again in 2076. The contents include 100 letters written by children describing what they though life would be like 100 years from then. The contents also include evergreen tree seeds, water, air, a can of Olympia Beer, and some canned salmon.
These photos show the rotunda and the incredible architecture of the building.
We moved on into the Reception Room which also doubles as a ballroom every four years for the governor's inauguration. The 42 star flag was made to commemorate Washington becoming part of the Union on February 22, 2989. If no other territories became US states by July 4, 1890, This flag would have flown over the nation's capitol. As it turned out, on July 3, 1890 Idaho joined the United States and their flag flew on Independence Day.
Legislature was not in session while we were here but we did get to go inside the House of Representatives and the Senate.
We really do have a beautiful Capitol here in Olympia. It was such a privilege to hear about the history and all the symbolism that went in to creating this campus. Our guide was wonderful and very knowledgeable about everything we saw.
As we were walking around the grounds waiting to return to the marina, we stumbled across the Law Enforcement Memorial that overlooks Capitol Lake. It is a wonderful tribute to our fallen law enforcement personnel. Sadly, there were many, many names on the memorial including recently fallen officers such as the Lakewood 4 (Griswold, Owens, Renninger and Richards) who were gunned down while sitting in a coffee shop. Jayme Brindl who was a corrections officer at Monroe Penitentiary and was killed by an inmate, Sean O'Connell who was killed on his motorcycle in Skagit County, and so many more. Thank you to each one of you for your service.
Tonight our club was invited to join the Olympia Yacht Club for their monthly burger night. We all loaded onto Ron and Denice's boat, NeaSea LaRae, and Ron took us over to the yacht club. We met some wonderful people and learned that their club is probably the most like ours of all the Grand 14 clubs in Puget Sound.
Our ride was much more comfortable than our dinghies were last night but both proved to be fun times in their own way. It was lovely tonight with the gentle breeze and a little cooler temperature.
No comments:
Post a Comment