Day 2...

found Grandson's #1 and #2 and myself on a visit to the capital of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg.  I work there within an area commonly referred to as the Capitol Complex.  We stopped in at my place of employment so that coworkers could gasp over how tall the boys had gotten since they had last seen them. We were planning on visiting the Capitol itself and after a coworker mentioned that she had recently taken one of their guided tours, the boys and I decided to take one ourselves.
We entered the building from the back where the fountain in located.

We arrived in the rotunda about five minutes before the next tour was scheduled to begin.  There was a very large group gathered and when a woman wearing a polo shirt with a logo on her pocket beckoned every one to follow her, we joined the group.  Out the front door, down the steps, past the Occupy Harrisburg squatters and up along Third Street we walked until we reached the State Museum and a bigggg tour bus.  That's when I asked her if this was the Capitol tour and she said "No, this is a private bus tour!"  The boys and I hustled back over to the Capitol and were joined up by walkie talkie with the tour group that was in the Senate chambers.  We took the rest of the tour and then walked around the rotunda for a while afterward.  Below are some pictures that we took of various parts of the Capitol.  

 

This is the only stained glass dome in the building and is the only dome not visible as part of the "roof line" outside.  It was gorgeous as was the rest of the building.  As the tour guide mentioned when she pointed out the marble walls from France in the House chambers, the building is priceless since a lot of it could never be replaced because a lot of the building materials are no longer available. The boys were wowed by the scale and of things and all the gold.

Grandson #2 was especially fascinated with Violet Oakley's original sketch book encased in a glass enclosure so this picture is for him.  Violet Oakley was 28 years old when she was commissioned to paint a number of murals in the Capitol and she did this at a time when women couldn't vote.

Grandsons #1 and #2 beside the clock in the Supreme Court chambers.  The state seal is shown in the center of the clock face and the glass window below is in the shape of a keystone for PA, the Keystone state.

We left the Capitol and headed over to Strawberry Square and a look at the clock with the visible working parts. The boys enjoyed and Auntie Ann's pretzel and drink before we headed back to the car and the return trip back to our house. 

 

Grandson #2 brushed up on his rowing skills when he took his brother for a ride around The Puddle in late afternoon.  The younger one had a good time pulling the flowers off the lily pads (can we say long, long stems) and they took short stops to just sit and look around while drifting.  I didn't take the camera with me because we were only going down to take a look around but plans changed and I wasn't leaving to come back up to the house to get the camera.
The young boy who lives across the street from us came down to play later in the evening and the boys took turns riding the Big Wheels and some skateboards down our driveway.
Today was another busy day and I managed to forget the camera again so when I post there may not be pictures of everything we did today.
Have a good day!