A tourist in my own town...

Today was a work team-building day, so my peeps and I went downtown and played tourist.  It was really fun, but a lot of walking, so I'm taking a break now to tell you all about it :)  I geeked out lot and I think the tour guide at the last place would have smacked me if I asked one more question.

Our first stop was the state Capitol - I can't believe I've lived here 5 years and have never been.  After walking up about 67 steps, we got to the main floor, where we followed our guide, who rattled off facts about the history of each room...this guy knows his stuff.

40 of the 50 states' Capitol buildings have exterior domes - we are not one of the 40, but we have an interior dome:

On each corner of the dome, the Virginia state seal is painted on the ceiling:

And we have the only life-size statue of George Washington - copies of it have been made, but this is the only authentic one:

In the last room we toured, where the "Capitol Disaster" occurred, he told us the House of Delegates was in session and invited us to go up to the gallery and watch our state government in action - um, yes please!.  While we were there, they were honoring the family of a soldier, Staff Sergeant Phillip Myers, who died serving his country in Operation Enduring Freedom. 

Here they are in action, applauding the soldier's  family receiving honors:

And this is where my camera died.  What's the first rule of photography?  Charge your battery!!! UGH.

After the Capitol, we walked to the John Marshall House.  Who knew there were old plantation houses in the middle of the city?  Not this girl.  How awesome.  If I knew that, I would have visited this place years ago...but now that I know they are there, I can go on more tours!  See, this is what I meant when I said I geeked out today.  I'm a total fanatic...

Anyways, John Marshall was a prominent attorney in Richmond, and was either the 3rd or 4th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.  He was also lazy, unkempt, and unappealing to the ladies.  And then 13-year old Polly came along and fell in lurve.  The rest is history.  LITERALLY, get it?  Ha.

Then we went over to the Valentine History Center to have lunch, catered by Cuisine A La Carte, and I must say, they know their bologna.  I got a sandwich called 'The Working Man' - bologna, provolone, lettuce, tomato, dill mayo, and dijon mustard.  It might have been the best bologna sammich ever - but I'm still not sure if it was because it was actually good, or that I was so famished from all the walking that it satisfied like you wouldn't believe.  Either way, I'd try it again.

After the quietest Privacy lunch ever (until we were finished stuffing our faces, we made fun of each other a little...it's what we do best), we toured the Wickham House.   Wickham was John Marshall's richer, more good-looking, cleaner friend.  His house was much fancier and architecturally appealing, and he saved all the fanciest stuff for the rooms guests would see, and the family rooms are plain...guess he was all about showing off his money.

After that tour, we were done with our fun.  It was a great day, and I'm looking forward to exploring my city further!