Vacation day 4
We got up and fixed breakfast, which was typically bacon and eggs each morning, before heading to downtown Austin. We went to the capitol building for a tour and learned so much. I wanted to also do the Tree Tour on the grounds, but the kids had no interest in that. Here in the pic you can see a live oak; their large branches grow downward and sometimes end up on the ground. I found out the Texas state tree is the pecan. Anywho, the capitol building was quite an experience, built in 1888 and built massively. Each door hinge weighed 8 pounds alone. The walls were probably two feet thick. The rotunda is the largest in the country besides the Washington DC capitol building. The star inside the dome's top spans 8 feet across but looked like a few inches, it was so high up. The building is filled with native pink granite that looked just like our Rosewood house kitchen counter.
The Texas capitol is the largest of all the states' capitol buildings. An underground addition built in 1996 added 360,000 square feet to bring it to a total of 1,030,000 square feet. Amazing and wide open for citizens to walk through as employees worked, other than having to enter through a metal detector. We learned about Sam Houston and Steven Austin and some of the former governors. We caught the final moments of this year's legislative session, viewing from the gallery level above. No pictures allowed there.
In the lower level, Grant's twin was standing guard in his Texas trooper uniform complete with white cowboy hat. Caroline noticed him first and then we all agreed it looked just like a slightly older Grant in terms of coloring, face, head shape, body structure, demeanor, everything! Gary acknowledged him and he responded with just a tight-lipped nod. So Grant! I wish I had taken a picture of him but he didn't seem the type to appreciate such silliness, especially while doing his job.
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