B is Serving as a Senate Page

This is my last post left over from the weekend over on the west side of the mountains.  After we left Pike Street Market, we headed to Olympia where we were to drop B off to serve as a Senate Page this week for Senator Jim Honeyford.  A served as a Page last year and was very homesick, but had a good time.  I actually served as a Page for 2 year when I was their age; one year in the House and one year in the Senate.  This is a picture of the Legislative Building (AKA the capitol) that I shot from the car window before we got out.

We have a beautiful capitol in Washington State.  It is known as the "last grand building" built in the United States, because soon after it was built, the Great Depression hit.  We just don't build like this in our country since the Great Depression (unless it's a football stadium).

If you arrive an hour before the Page orientation, you get a private tour of the capitol.  We did it last year for A and learned so much that we went back for the tour again this year.  It was nice to have cousin L along, too, so she could learn about our capitol.

This is a 42-star flag hanging in the reception room in the legislative building.  We thought Washington would be the 42nd state added the year this flag was sewn, however, a couple more states slipped into statehood that year.  There are only 3 of these flags in known existance.

 Here is another shot of the reception room:

 Cara in front of the fireplace in the reception room:

 
After the tour of the legislative building, there is a Page orientation.  The gray-haired lady, L'Wanda, has been running the page program for a long time.  Here she is showing B and another boy the correct procedure for passing out papers on the Senate floor.

Picture of the state seal in the floor of the capitol rotunda:

I took this shot for scale.  Its a Tiffany Chandelier hanging from the capitol dome.  It's huge!

 The hallways form a square around the circle of the rotunda, so all the hallways look the same.  It's easy to become confused.  I just love the Tiffany chandeliers hanging in the hallways.

After the tour and orientation, we dropped B off at his host family's house and headed home.  There are 6 boys total staying at the house, so B is too busy to get lonely.  He seems to be having a great time, but will be happy to come back home this Friday.