Andy and Opi

We are on Day 4 of our #CaptitolChallenge trip. 

Stats so Far: 

States Visited today: North Carolina and Virginia

States been to so far: 7 out of 23

Capitols Visited: 4 out of 15

It was a pretty relaxing day. Lori Kaiser was an amazing host!! We were able to relax and unwind a bit in Durham, North Carolina. Natalie and I slowly got ready for the day. When we were about to head out the door to pick up Celeste from the airport I received a call from her. The flight from Missouri to North Carolina was delayed!! OH NO! But, all was ok. Natalie and I went to Elmo's Diner for an amazing breakfast. I had the Biscuit and Gravy meal with Orange Juice. Natalie had blueberry pancakes! It was good. We then went to Walmart to get a few groceries and then headed to Starbucks for some caffeine. 

After picking up our 3rd travel partner we headed to Raleigh to find the capitol building. Parking was very easy! We walked around the building to find the front... we walked all the way around to find out that it was where we parked the car. LOL! We went through security (they weren't friendly) and met some people who worked the visitors desk and one woman who worked in the capitol. They were both very friendly! The woman (I'm sorry I can't remember her name) was so nice and friendly. She told us all about the capitol and this amazing sculpture that was on the first floor in the middle. Interesting fact - the legislature is actually not in the capitol building. They moved to a different building. 

 Capitol Building #30!!!! 

 This is a cake!! 

 Here is the sculpture that the woman told us about. It is a sculpture of George Washington in ancient Roman clothing. Thomas Jefferson was the one who asked for the sculpture to be made. He didn't like the military clothes from America so he asked for the ancient Roman military wear for George Washington.

How can you tell the difference between the House an the Senate?? More chairs in the House of Representatives.

 On the staircase inside the capitol.

 After exploring the capitol we headed to Pullen Park. This is a very fun park! If you have children they would love to play here!! There is a carousel, swing set, pond, and a train! You should check it out if you are in Raleigh!

 Chilling with my friends Andy and Opi!

 Map of the park! It is really amazing!

After walking around the park we headed for Virginia!

 We made it to Richmond around dusk. We drove in circles about 4 times before figuring out where to park. We had to climb a bunch of stairs to get to the building. Look how beautiful it is!!

 Can you believe it??? I've now been to 31 capitols!! I hope my mom has been with me the whole time to experience all the beauty and history at each capitol. Fun Fact: Richmond was the capitol for the Confederate Army during the civil war.

 George Washington is at the top of this small monument.

 After seeing the capitol we went on a search for St. John's church. This is where the famous speech, "Give me liberty or give me death" was given! Of course it was under construction so we took some pictures from the car!

After seeing the church we headed for our hotel. During teacher appreciation week last year there was a raffle and I won a free night at a Hyatt. Well, we used that free night to stay in Richmond! Our room is HUGE!!! We are able to spread out tonight. It only took us 10 minutes to get here from downtown Richmond. There are a lot of shops and restaurants around here. We are going to get a free breakfast tomorrow and we have free WiFi! Big shout out to Hyatt!! 

 We are pretty tired from our day of driving and searching for capitols! Tomorrow we aren't seeing any new capitols but check back for some American History!!