We were excited to have Grandma Margaret join us for a week! We packed this week with a bunch of wonderfufl day trips. The first trip was the day she arrived. The boys and I picked her up at the airport and took her to Old Sacramento. After walking around a bit, we stopped for lunch.
'A', with his favorite food, prawns...
After lunch, we went to the Capitol Building. They have a free tour every hour. In the 70's, the building was tested for earthquake stability and it failed. They had a big division between the assemply and the senate. One group wanted the building to be destroyed and a new building built, while the other wanted the existing building to be retrofitted and restored.
Fortunately for us, the original building won, and we toured a beautiul piece of history.
This is where the Assembly meets. There is a general green colored theme to it. The details of the room were beautiful.
There is a hall with the portraits of the past governors of California. The governors got to choose who they wanted to paint them. Most were traditional, like this one of Ronald Reagan...
However, there was one portrait that stood out among the rest. That was the portrait of Jerry Brown. Apparently, some arts commission/organization approached him and asked if he would let them choose the artist for the portrait. He agreed and Don Bachardy created this...it seems a fitting portrait for a very unique governor.
This picture did not turn out that geat, but this is where the senate meets...
Alovely mosaid on the floor of a hallway, depicting the state flower, "golden poppy"...
The state seal...
The gorgeous rotunda...
Floor detail in part of the rotunda...
Outside the governor's office...(no, we did not see him...)
California has 58 counties. The building has a large corridor that has all the counties on display in glass showcases. It was neat to see how each county represented themselves. Some looked all slick and graphically professional, while others looked homespun, like a fair exhibit. Here are the boys in front of our own Placer county...
A variety of trees on the gorunds include this orange tree...
...and gorgeous magnolia trees...
After the tour, 'A' asked if we could go inside a cathedral that was nearby called, "The Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament". I did not feel comfortable taking pictures inside, but there is a small movie on their website that shows the interior, if interested. This was the fist time the boys were inside a cathedral and they enjoyed lowering and raising the kneeling pads for praying. Margaret and I were smiling over the attendants "swiffering" Jesus on the cross. You just don't think of the logistics of maintaining a property like that, you know? :)
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