Our next stop was the state Capitol. I hadn't been there since elementary school and certainly couldn't remember much, so I was fairly excited about getting to experience it with my kids. Lauren was a little too young, I think, to really understand much about it, but Ethan gained some valuable information. It was surprising to me, again, to see all that green in front of the capitol building. We spent almost $200 last month watering our small lawn, so I can only imagine how much the water bill was there!! Entering the building was like going to airport with all of the security. However, once we got through the security checkpoint, we quickly spotted a tour that was about to begin. Our tour guide, Byron, was an enthusiastic character who spouted off information and answered questions as if he were an expert on the building and what goes on inside. He told us that the Texas capitol building is 14 feet taller than the one in Washington DC, but that it wasn't the tallest - we were all disappointed to hear that not EVERYTHING in Texas is bigger! : ) The capitol building in Baton Rouge is taller than ours. When you look up once in the rotunda, it is breathtaking - this is the only thing I do remember from my trip way long ago. I did not, however, remember the star at the very top. It looks so small so I was surprised to find out that it is actually 8 feet across! On the floor in the rotunda there are the six flags of Texas - French, Mexico, Republic of Texas, American, and the Confederate Seal. There are four floors in which you can see in the rotunda. On the walls of all four floors are pictures of past governors. They are in chronological order and begin on floor 4 winding down all the way to floor one. George W. Bush, being the last governor before our current one, is the picture hanging in the last spot on the wall. Byron told us that one Rick Perry's term is over, his picture will be moved into the spot currently filled by GWB and then all of the pictures will move one spot to the left. Byron made the joke that it will be the only time GWB moves to left - lol! We then took the elevator up to the second floor where the senate meets. Byron described the room, the tables, and the technology upgrades over the years (phones added to the desks, microphones on the desk). One of the first details that I noticed was the chandeliers. Each one was a circle with a star in the middle and on each point of the star was a letter that when put together spelled Texas. He explained the three rules in which one has to follow to be able to speak during session. The first one was that you had to be standing - not leaning or sitting - in hopes of being quick. Next, the speaker had to stay on topic, not repeat himself and not read from text - had to be improv. Lastly, the speaker could not take a break for any reason. The longest recorded filibuster went on for 43 hours, though I forget who made it. He mentioned that all sessions are open to the public and that the only closed sessions involved discussions of impeachment. We then walked over to the representatives house. He discussed the differences between the two houses and the differences between the furniture. One thing obviously noticeable was the electronic voting on each desk. Texas was the first state to move over to electronic voting in 1923. Our tour concluded, so I looked at the pictures of all the representatives in the last few years. From our county, Dianne White-Delisi was our previous rep. When I told my son that I knew her because I went to school with her son and she drove carpool, he told me that I was lucky I knew famous people (I have a few other "celebrity" friends)! The current rep. from our county owns a restaurant where I used to wait tables - he was my boss. I refrained from telling that to my son - I'll save that tidbit for when I feel I'm losing my important status with him! ; ) Once again, my son got out his notepad and took notes during the tour. I hope one day he has the opportunity to share his notes with classmates.
Taking notes
Looking up in the rotunda
Senate
House
The chandeliers in both the Senate and the House
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