Friday in Lansing, Michigan

Can you believe this capitol building? I can see the top of it from my kids' apartment. They had not been inside of it until yesterday, claiming  they waited for me to get here to tour it. I'm glad we got to see it together. Seems like when you live someplace there isn't quite the urgency to see everything. But then you move and you wonder how you never got around to seeing those things that should be seen. Nonetheless, we agreed the building is amazing! If you are ever in Lansing, Michigan, it is a must see.

The building is just a little over a mile from their house and Justin's office. He walks to work every day on the Grand River walk. We  walked it the first night I was here and listened from across the river to a local band playing "Bobbie McGee" on the patio of a bar. I was surprised at the lack of people anywhere to be found on the streets. However, it's August and the legislature here is not in session. 

Before going into the building, I spotted a lone protester sitting at the entrance to the capitol. In the spirit of curiosity, and I'm sure at the horror of my children, I approached him. My kids briskly walked the other way.  LOL!  Turns out, the guy was a sweetheart. His poster read "Get mad now?"  It was a well-done sign and I chatted just a minute with him, told him I was visiting and he encouraged me to have the kids take me to Old Town. I loved the interaction and shook his hand. I agree with his sentiments and told him so. The streets should be lined with people like him. Where are they?  I thought of my husband and how we would have just left him there to talk with this guy as we toured the building. I could tell he had a lot to say and it would have been fun to have a cup of coffee with him. 

The inside of the capitol is 4 floors of awesomeness. It was everything I thought it would be. Marble, wood, and the world's ugliest chandeliers (not the ones pictured here). The vantage point I shot this photo from is where Michigan residents come to see their government in action. It is impressive. We were surprised that we were allowed to just roam the halls and didn't see a single security officer. Love that!

There are painted portraits of all past governors on the walls.  I spotted a pic of George Romney, Mitt's dad. Turns out Mitt is the spittin' image of his daddy. Who knew? Earlier, we had walked past an enormous building the he owns. This led to a brief discussion about if you wanna know where the power is, follow the money.

When we got home, Amanda put together a batch of flatbread dough which made lovely tortillas for the beef fajitas Justin made. For dessert, she made raspberry sorbet that was out of this world. I got to play New Super Mario Wii with my kids and got a couple of belly laughs from that.  

We hit the hay by 10pm and up at 6am today. I'm not sure what today will bring but it's startin' out with pancakes and bacon! Oh, and we did walk into a chocolatier, Fabiano's, that my kids have been wanting to visit but just hadn't quite made it there yet. What fun to explore new places with my kids.

Today is a new day and new adventures.  Hope this is your best day ever!

love, susan