Augusta, ME

First, I heart Maine. Could it be more quaint with hardy folks? Augusta and its neighboring towns that I got lost in are super cute. Every toll booth worker (in Maine only) asked me how my day was and wished me a safe trip. Thanks, Maine, my heart pitter patters for you.

And then, there was the state house... According to the state website, Maine's capitol deteriorated with age and has been rehabbed over the years.












It's looks great. They must have done a ton of work. Although it is an old building modeled after Boston's capital, it seems pretty modern with the changes.












There is a capitol park across the street. To my surprise, I arrived on day when they were hosting a dog show in the park. Many, many dogs with lots of accessories and attentive owners were about. Oh my. I would have snapped some pictures, but I thought it best to keep my distance from these Mainers. I spook easily.

After hanging around Augusta for a bit, I drove an hour south to hike in Bradbury Mountain State Park. I had a lot of fun exploring Augusta and the park. If you haven't been to Maine yet, GO. It is a beautiful state.

Baton Rouge, LA

Woohoo, what an amazing capitol!

It is huge - 34 stories. It was built during the Depression (a big thanks to super corrupt, politically rich, and assassinated, Gov. Huey Long). When I saw this, it reminded me how fun it is to see what each state does to show its governing dominance. Way to go, Louisiana!





Also, a big thanks to my traveling companions - Lisa, Beth, and Chris - for humoring me as I took a gazillions pictures. I don't usually drag a crowd with me. I'm sure they feel like the lucky ones; right, y'all?


For reference, this is the old capitol. It is a little shorter, but still distinctive. You can't see it in the picture, but the old lady that stopped me on the street really thought the best feature was the rod iron fencing that was being replaced. I could give you the history... yawn.. that she gave me... but... zzz... snore... zzz

Montpelier, VT

Last summer, I went to Montpelier to visit friends who recently moved into town. It was my first trip there, and I was amazed. It is the cutest little town. Everywhere in New England in summer is bustling since we can finally get outdoors without kicking snow out of our way. Montpelier was no exception. It has a busy market and downtown shops with people strolling by casually enjoying the day. On the right is a view from a hilltop observations tower we hiked up. Somewhere in all that green lushness is the town. I think you can see one roof top if you squint.

My favorite picture of the Capitol is this one. The building looks fantastic against the green hill and the beautiful sky. It inspires all of the typical feelings of greatness and intimidation. What I like best though is tucked in on the left side. The small gray building is the old Capitol. I like that they didn't tear the history down, and I like to compare the difference in scale. Government had such humble beginnings.

Hartford, CT

Hartford is a quick drive from Boston, and we had a good excuse to cruise by - my friend Amy was having the reception that followed up her destination wedding. The party was about thirty minutes from Hartford, but isn't everywhere in Connecticut thirty minutes from Hartford - or so I hear...

We had extra time, and it was a beautiful day, so we took a detour into downtown Hartford. The building is gorgeous and overlooks a public park with a carousel. We spent some time walking around the little pond, and I even convinced Dennis to get on the carousel. Who doesn't love a summer time carousel ride?!

I must admit before I spent time visited, I pictured Hartford as a yucky, desolate downtown, but that did not seem to be the case when we passed through. There were families in the park and kids playing. There were people relaxing and throwing bread crumbs out for birds near the pond. I am glad we had the extra time to hang around instead of snapping a picture and speeding along.

Concord, NH

I had a day with nothing to do, so why not drive to Concord and see the capitol. It was a nice drive, a little over an hour. New Hampshire is a beautiful state. The further you get from the NH Boston suburbs, the more quaint towns and local character you'll find.

I drove into Concord looking for the capitol and thought I was heading the right direction. There was a strip of small stores, diners and cafes. On the left the buildings opened up to a lot of greenery. Oblivious, I coasted by the capitol and barely noticed. The building is a bit small. Whoops.



I continued on to find a place to turn around, and the next place I found to turn around was the nearby state prison. When I told this story to my friend, Dodge, I told him I was interested to know how many capitols had state prisons within a rock throw distance of the capitol. So, I'll be ont he lookout when I am visiting other capital cities. It reminds me of Raleigh with a modest capitol and a state prison right on prime downtown real estate. Proximity is very good reminder of cause and effect - lawmaker versus law breaker.

When I got back to the building, I took a few pictures. The grounds were well maintained and there were a few families spending time having picnics and playing around in the grass. I crossed the street to get a cup of coffee, listened to the locals talk about NH life, and drove myself home.

Lansing, MI

Apologies first. Sorry Michigan, even though I can attribute some of my negativity to fatigue and weather, your capitol is my least favorite so far.

I was exhausted from packing and loading the truck. I was also very anxious for the new life that awaited in Boston. Yea, new life! But, wait let's stop in Lansing on the way?!

In mid-December 2004, Emily, my moving helper, and I left Madison, WI to drive a Uhaul towing my car across Illinois, Michigan, Canada, and New York to someday arrive in Boston.

Always with the 50 goal in mind, we took a slight detour to Lansing. This was probably the only time I would get through Michigan without making a special trip. Getting off the highway and navigating the Uhaul with the car in tow was not easy. Driving the whole way was terrifying, but navigating city streets was the worst part of the trip. All I could think was - who am I going to kill with tons of my belongings... oh and where do I turn? Sigh.

As the picture shows, it was an overcast winter day in Lansing. There wasn't a lot of lush landscaping like other many other capitols. The city had engulfed all the extra space. I considered getting out of the truck and spending some time in Lansing to improve my mood, but the time was getting late and the weather was uncooperative. Besides, where would I park this behemoth? Bye, Lansing.

Providence, RI

I took a trip to Amherst, MA to check out UMass in hopes to apply to their graduate program. I entered the town and immediately knew that Amherst was not the place for me to be living. Instead of staying the night as I planned, I took off for Providence.

I had never been there and was shocked at how close everything was in New England. In the Midwest, I would probably still be driving to get there. I fell in love with Providence, despite the highway that barrels through the middle of the city. I walked around RISD and Brown in awe of the architecture and the creativity. Lucky for more, Providence is a quick trip from Boston... and Anne has a favorite bakery to there to visit.