Fergus at the Austin State Capitol.
It was a beautiful day when we arrived. Typical Texas in winter - clear blue skies, warm sun.
They started building the Capitol in 1882 and completed it in 1888. That seems pretty quick to me - it is the largest of all the state capitol buildings. Typical "everything's bigger in Texas" - they obviously started that saying early.
We went inside for a guided tour. I thought the girl sounded like she'd had a glass of wine too many at lunch, but Fergus told me that was the Texas drawl.
On the left, the French were the first to arrive on Texan soil, but they didn't last long (actually I think the entire ship load of people slowly perished). Then the Spanish came and finally Mexico became independent in 1821. On the right hand side, Texas first became an independent republic in 1836 and then became part of the confederate states for a brief time before it finally became part of the United States of America.
That's the Lone Star up there in the middle, of course.
I just had to get in a photo of this great guy. Just before making president, Bush was a governor here. The pictures of all the governors are in the rotunda along the walls on the various floors.
There was a couple on the tour from Alaska, and they apologized for Bush. I told them it wasn't any more their fault than Blair was mine.
Texas almost had the first female governor (Wyoming beat them by 15 days). However, it's strange to note that Miriam Ferguson's major opponent was supported by the Klan.
This is where all the voting takes place. You must stand while you are talking, but as long as you keep talking and don't stop, you will be allowed the floor. The record was about 28 hours of speaking. That's a long time without food or bathroom breaks, never mind sleep!
You can't make it out from the photo, but the portrait in the middle, behind where the chairperson would sit, is of Governor Hogg (we visit his house later - can you guess what he called his daughter?).
The building has been beautifully restored. All along the sides of the room are full length French Windows with lovely old shutters. At the back, facing me, are two huge paintings by Belfast-born Henry McArdle. We were stars that day - from Ireland, and from Belfast!
Just behind me you can just see a pointed glass roof. In 1991, they extended the capitol as there wasn't enough room. They built a huge underground extension. The workers were concerned that it was going to be like a cave, but they built these areas to bring in natural light.
The next day we had two trips planned - Fergus and I had each picked out a trip that wouldn't be on most people's holiday schedule.