Olympia, Washington
July 20th
When we arrived in Olympia, the town was deserted. It was a Wednesday morning- Congress wasn’t in session and I imagine a lot of the state workers were on vacation or quietly working in their offices. We learned that there was a guided tour of the stately capitol building at 10AM- it was only 9:30, so we took a walk around the campus. Olympia was named for its view of the beautiful Olympic Mountains. Clouds were obstructing the view, but we can imagine that they make a nice backdrop for this little town on the Puget Sound.
Our excellent tour guide took us and a couple from Texas (surprisingly liberal minded) on a tour of the building and gave us some Washington state history and a little insight into their politics. Some interesting tidbits- the massive capitol dome shifted during the 200? Earthquake and the building sustained other significant damage. The governor had to call congress back into session after they adjourned earlier this year because they hadn’t come to an agreement on the (big surprise) budget. Washington originally proposed “Columbia” as their name, but it was rejected because it was too close to “District of Columbia.”
We finished our visit of Olympia by driving down the waterfront before catching the highway to Seattle.
Tags: BIG TRIP 2011, In English 2005-2006, Washington
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