We got off the ferry and headed to the fist available dog park to work the dogs. Back in the states, we had our apps back and found a dog park just a few miles down the road. Our destination after some play with the dogs was to find a place to camp in WA near Olympia. We still had two more state capitals to visit on our way home, Olympia & Salem.
We followed the 101 East and then tok the right toward the South, passing the Olympic National Park on our right and the waterway to our left. There were many campsites along the way, but we forged ahead trying to get as close to Olympia as we could.
We found a campsite a few miles out of the city and drove around looking for that perfect spot. We found one and began the process of unpacking. Everything was out of the car, including the dogs, and as we started to put the poles through the holes to set up the tent, a car pulled up.
"Excuse me, we reserved this site!"
Two women and their two dogs let us know, unequivocally, that they would wait for us to load up the car and get the heck out of their site. Grrr!
Everything back in the car, with a bit more agitated force than it came out.
We drove back to the main area of the campground and simply parked in the open area where there were families and no privacy. It all worked out well in the end. There was a lot of room for the huge tent and also it was near the restrooms and showers.
Everything came out again, including the dogs. Tom and I set up the tent and then I took the opportunity to take a shower as he made some dinner on the open fire. It was a good night and we really enjoyed the early darkness, although we were still a bit unprepared for it.
The next morning, after some ball play with the dogs and striking our camp, we got back on the road and headed towards the capital. It was an overcast morning, yet a nice temperature to tour the capital. We parked the car and headed over to the capital with dogs in tow, or rather, us in tow of the dogs.
The Capital Campus was huge! The Capital Building was huge!
We proceeded to take some pictures of the dogs on the Capital steps. They looked so small against the backdrop of the pillars and the dome.
We took advantage of the early morning and spent some time looking at the buildings and going inside to check them out. It still amazes me that the capitals across the states are open to the public with no metal detectors or pat downs. It was a Saturday, so the buildings were mostly void of people.
Across from the Capital was the Temple of Justice. The flags were at half mast for the Oak Creek, WI shooting a few days prior.
Tom watched the dogs for a bit while I entered into the capital. The interior had a warm glow to it, especially after coming in from the overcast exterior. On the floor, underneath the dome was a gold relief of George Washington. On either side of the entry and up a level was the Senate and House Chambers.
The Governor's Office had an exhibition of "The Survival of Washington Indians."
I headed across the street to the Temple of Justice which housed the Supreme Court and the Law Library. Again the interior was warm even with the cool marble interior.
I headed back outside and met up with Tom who took the opportunity to see the innards of the capital. A short while after we continued our stroll through the campus, noting the monuments and additional buildings.
Across another street, we went in the direction of a collection of flags flapping in the breeze. More admin buildings and then a maze of a buildings exterior brought us to a standard site at capitals, A memorial for the Korean War Veterans.
We finished the tour at the gift shop, buying nothing, but using the restroom. It was still morning and our last capital was in our near future. Salem, Oregon here we come!
No comments:
Post a Comment