On the Road Friday ~ Madison, Wisconsin

On the Road Friday will be back for the next several Friday's as I take you on a trip to Madison, Wisconsin. Our family visited Madison in October of 2017. I will share some of the highlights of our trip, give you some fun ideas of what to do if you plan a trip and some great eats that we found during our stay.

Madison, Wisconsin

Madison is the state capitol of Wisconsin. It is the second largest city in Wisconsin with a population of
252,551. 

Money magazine has voted Madison, Wisconsin one of the best places to live in the United States.

 We asked our hotel manager where the best place was to take a photo of the capitol building at night. He directed us to a park/boat landing. It was perfect. 

All of the night photos are taken by my husband.

 Madison, the capital city of Wisconsin, lies west of Milwaukee. It’s known for the domed Wisconsin State Capitol, which sits on an isthmus between lakes Mendota and Monona. The Wisconsin Historical Museum documents the state’s immigrant and farming history. The city's paved Capital City State Trail runs past Monona Terrace, a lakefront convention center designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.

~Source Google~

 Visit Madison

The above website is a helpful one when looking for hotels, good eats and helpful hints.

Thank you for joining me today at our first peek of Wisconsin's capitol, Madison.

 I plan to share inside the capitol building, some lovely gardens, museums, the zoo and much more.

 

Joy List Monday

 Joy List Monday

♥ a weekly ritual ♥

a reminder to stop and pay attention to the little beauties and graces that make life 

magical and to set a aside time for gratitude each day

♥ a great adventure to Wisconsin's Capitol ~ Madison

 ♥ enjoying the best cheese curds ever at 

The Old Fashioned

♥ historic buildings

♥ friendly strangers

♥ safe travels on the highways

♥ Wisconsin way stations / rest stops  ~  nice and clean ... each one a unique park setting

Madison's skyline ... this photo was taken with my phone. As soon as I get the photos uploaded to the computer from our real camera  I will share what my husband was able to capture. I think you will like it.

On the Road Friday

Yay! We head back to Texas...well you know what they say"EVERYTHING IS BIGGER IN TEXAS"

The Capitol has an amazing museum. It is well done for kids, it has several  hands on projects for kids to do. They can dress up like Davey Crockett, purchase land and create a map of their land. The above story breaks my heart.

We did not get to see much of the Mansion due to the construction. This photo I took inside the museum.

All of the Capitols we have visited so far...have amazing grounds. We did not get to tour all of the Texas Capitol grounds because we ran out of time. We will have to go back. This tree was amazing! The flowers and the fragrance of the tree was so romantic. The grounds has a trail of trees, 27 different trees. This is the Texas Mountain Laurel.

The flowers and fruits of this tree contain poison. Consumption of one seed produces nausea, convulsions and sometimes death.

Take a peek at the lights.

Yep, a STAR...and it spells TEXAS!

Can you make out TEXAS!

Yep, more STARS...that was the cute thing about the boys. They continued to say "Texas does not want you to forget they are the Lone Star State!"

We made it! Another State Capitol! We have 44 more to go!

My boys were walking back to our car...sweet car Mom!!

A few more stars!

Sam, do not get too close to that car! I was so afraid some kind of alarm would go off and my son would be carted away. He might sneeze or toot and cause an alarm to go off.

 Texas! We enjoyed visiting Austin. Texas has done a great job of sharing the history of this great state. The boys loved every bit of it. Kid friendly and that makes it a great place to learn!

On the Road Friday

We are back inside the Texas Capitol building. I enjoyed this story about this young lady, who helped fight for Texas freedom.

Johanna Troutman

Sam Houston - a true Texas hero!

Several flags were on display from the many battles Texas fought for freedom.

On the Road to Texas part 2 - inside the State Capitol

A fun water fountain. Atticus had to try it out.

Inside the Capitol's Library!

Look what I found.

I thought this was amazing...they had every state!! I checked to be sure. Some of the states had rows and rows. We loved the Library.

Yes, another Texas star!

On the Road to Texas part 1

Our goal as a family is to visit all the State Capitols! We had the blessed opportunity to visit my Aunt and Uncle who live in Texas. March 2012, we got to visit Austin, Texas.  It was interesting at how busy the Capitol building was with protesters, field trips and  out of state visitors. We had to go through security, which was something new for us. At our  other Capitol visits, visitors have been able to just walk in. 
Austin is a beautiful city and the Capitol is amazing. We had a great time....and we would love to visit again.

So off we go...Lone Star State...here we come!

The Texas Capitol anchors the four blocks that surveyors designated as Capitol Square in 1839.

 The first Capitol structure on this site was completed in 1853. The three story, limestone building measured 140 feet by 90 feet and cost approximately $150,000 to construct. In early 1881, officials held a nationwide compition for the design of a grand new Capitol and declared Detroit architect Elijah E. Myers the winner. The 1853 Capitol went up in flames in November of 1881, and a temporary Capitol was built across the street from Capitol Square to house state government during construction of the new building. The ground breaking ceremony held on February 1, 1882. Three years later, builders had finished the foundations and basement walls and the 12,000 pound cornerstone was laid on March 2, 1885, Texas Independence Day.
For over a century, the Sunset Red granite Capitol has stood as a symbol of the legendary spirit of Texas. It is the seat of government...the place where Texans meet to enact laws for the state.

Security!This was a first for us when visiting a State Capitol.

We love the character each Capitol building has. Sometimes you need to look close, like at the door hinges!

Door knob...cool. Lots of stars in Texas!

Beautiful hallway.

The star in the dome, approximately 218 feet above, was installed in 1958 and measures eight feet from point to point.

Stayed tuned...we will be back on the road to Texas tomorrow.

Pierre, South Dakota

South Dakota gained state hood November 11, 1889. Pierre, is the second least populated Capitol. Montpelier, Vermont is number one. We found the city to be wonderful. The people to be one of the most friendly places we have ever visited!

We toured the Capitol grounds in the evening. It was beautiful. I will have a post just on the grounds coming up. I loved this photo Jeremy took of the Capitol and the sunset.

We toured the inside of the building in the morning. 

Looking up into the dome.

A young legislator?