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State Capitol, Lansing, MI – 4/18/2017

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April 18, 2017 (Tuesday)

I got up early and got us rolling. Michael was resistant but finally gave up and gave in. We left at around 8:30 AM and headed out of town. Clarece (GPS) took us through Canada and somewhere down the road about half an hour we stopped at a McDonald’s and got something close to our usual (they didn’t have egg white delites). The drive today was something like a little over 300 miles to Lansing, the Capitol of Michigan. The roads were mainly highways. (Can’t believe how beat up some of the roads are.) The skies were blue, clear, and the temperature got to the high 50’s.

Leaving our motel we saw this Pontiac Sunbird with interesting Christian graphics. Great sense of humor.
Lake Ontario.
Back into the USA.
Lake lighthouse between the rails.
US and Michigan line.
Google lets us know we are home again.
Went quick. Fellow asked Edie what was all the stuff in the back, she told him our travel things for 5 months on the road.

We stopped one time in Michigan at a rest stop. It was very nice and a young woman was cleaning while we were there. We didn’t stop again until we got into Lansing.

Spring is really showing up now.
Nice blossoms.
A windmill blade in transport.
Our first glimpse of the dome.

We found parking really close to the entrance into the Capitol (meter street parking). Surprised at absolutely no security to enter, just police walking around. We were told Michigan is an open carry state and the Capitol is not exempt, that’s the reason. We went to the tour desk and were told we could join up with a tour that was leaving – a group of 3rd graders. We joined and were surprised at how nicely behaved and fun they were. They asked great questions and wanted to learn all about the Capitol.

A better view.
The senate and house have their own buildings.
Our Capitol selfie.
No metal detector, entry to the basement.
Center in the basement.
Compass Rose on the floor.
Our tour group.

The Capitol itself was quite lovely. We got to see the usual – Senate, House, Governor’s reception area, the dome, Supreme Court. The Capitol had been redone in the recent past to it’s original glory. The tour guide was great and seemed to enjoy her work a lot, we joined late and never got her name. She also knew most of the answers to the questions she was asked. She explained about the dome and the murals and [portraits of governors. Michael pointed out the portrait of George Romney, Mitt’s dad, who was a former Michigan governor.

Dome
Stars in the top center.
Regimental Flag replicas from the Civil War.
There were several of these plaques. The astonishing part for me is the break down of deaths by action, wounds and disease. Disease killed many more than action or wounds.

Hallways are beautiful.
Main floor in rotunda is 6 inch thick glass blocks.
Rich detail everywhere. Governor portraits throughout.
Never a Governor, but a President. They didn’t spend an arm and a leg on this one.
Beautiful custom hinges on the big doors. I don’t see the screws that attach the hinge to the door!
Gov’s reception.
Our guide and the Governor’s reception room. His working office is in another building.
Reception furniture.
Original ceiling.

We really liked the chandeliers.

House floor, we are not allowed.
George Romney, Mitt’s dad.
House floor from the gallery.
Paintings representing the pillars of society: law, education, commerce, science….
Rotunda floor and flags from above.
Our guide and the original Supreme Court Bench.
Original ceiling.
Nice touches throughout.
Great custom door handles.
Fossils in the floor tiles.
Lots of ornamentation in everything.

We left the Capitol and headed the few miles to our home for the night – Ramada Inn. (“Go fast” points and cash – around $50.00.)  We saw there was a Cracker Barrel nearby and decided to have linner (I was getting a little ugly due to being hangry). I’m sure Michael felt his life was in danger if I didn’t eat – and I tend to agree with him. We both had the chicken and dumplings with sides of green beans. Really good and way too much to eat. On our way back to the hotel, we stopped and filled up the tank in preparation for tomorrow’s drive to Grand Rapids.

An old favorite.
Our home for a night.
Standard bath.
Good bed.
Lots of room in the room.

We got into our room and it’s clean and very spacious. We are going to rest up, work on the blog, and watch NCIS. That was our day. Hope yours was great!