Today began early for Michael and Sarah so as they could try out their fishing skills at the lake we were backed up against at our RV park. Unfortunately all that they were able to catch was the weedfish, but they had an enjoyable time anyway.

Our first stop for the day was the Michigan State Capital in Lansing, Michigan. Upon first sight this capital seemed average. It is a medium sized capital and due to the construction on the copula it was difficult to really just the beauty of the building overall, but the grounds surrounding the capital were attractive. The inside however was very attractive. We entered into the basement level, but did not have to go through any security which is always a much more pleasant introduction to any building. From the entry were walked into the area that is called the Crypt which is just the basement, but it has been repurposed from the heater room to a very nice area that now houses the State Museum and Café among others. As we made our way up to the second floor Michael read the self-guided tour as usual and we learned that every wood-looking and marble-looking surface was actually all faux painted. That particular painting was extremely realistic and therefore impressive to me. Another portion of the wall decorating that we liked was that gesso or some kind of wall putty was used on all of the non-faux wall surfaces to create textures and 3-D ornamentation on the walls. It was not garish or over done, but rather added to the feel of grandeur. The main floor of the rotunda was made of greenish glass blocks that created the illusion of it having a cup shape. The rotunda itself was quite pretty. The two things I liked the most were the greek muses that were painted just below the dome and the large painting of a former female governor that was in the second tier below the dome. Given that everything typically is centered on all of the past politicians which are primarily male, it is always refreshing to have anything that is female centered, thus my appreciation for the female muses. The female governor was appreciated not only because she was female but rather it was her dress and stance. She was standing with great confidence in her dress pants and sweater outfit.

The House and Senate Chambers were most impressive. They have both been restored to their original states. The desks in both chambers are original and although have had some slight modifications in the way of blocks to raise the desks up (although it was not possible to see the difference between the old and the new) and a box that was made specifically to match the House desks and fit between every two desks to accommodate the need for the electronic voting, phone charging, etc. I appreciated the desire to preserve the capital but move with the needs of the times within the historic confines. The Senate was very similar in its modifications in that a separate cabinet was made for each senator for their computer with the addition as well of a small tabletop that was for their staff. The staff that were manning the posts at the doors to each chamber were so friendly we had difficulty moving on to look at other things. We explored the areas from the galleries and then we headed out to our next destination.