From One Capitol to Another

It was another early morning as I loaded the car and left Springfield while it was still dark. I stopped for gas and coffee and hit I72 headed east. My plan was to drive to Indianapolis to see the Capitol and then make my way to Columbus to see that Capitol and get to my hotel for the night. I didn't have any plans to stop until I made it to the Indiana Capitol so I drove skirting around Decatur, then through Monticello and then around Champaign/Urbana where I merged onto I74 and then drove through Danville before crossing into Indiana. I was making good time as I continued my drive through Indiana and then entered Indianapolis. I parked at the Capitol and made my way inside and thought that it was still early and I was right on schedule to make it to the Ohio Capitol.

So I took the self guided tour of the Indiana Capitol after talking to two really nice people at the information desk who gave me suggestions of what not to miss. I did enjoy this building although I don't think it ranks up there with my favorites. I did like the dome which is stained glass and beautiful. And the mural in the House Chamber was incredible. I also liked the openness in the rotunda that showed the massiveness of the building. At some point during my tour I realized my watch did not match the clocks in the building and it dawned on me that I had crossed into another time zone. I was now in Eastern Time Zone and it wasn't 9:30 am it was 10:30 am - so I concluded my tour and did a quick walk around the outside of the building and then headed for my car. I made my way to I70 to continued my drive to Ohio passing through Dayton and Springfield. When I crossed the state line into Ohio I decided to take a break at the Visitors Center. I gathered some maps and brochures and asked the very nice ladies at the desk some questions and as I was leaving they gave me a buckeye for good luck. A buckeye is a nut for those of you that don't know and a 'worthless' nut at that - that is straight from the ladies.

Before actually getting into Columbus I wanted to make a couple of stops to gather information that I needed to get a letterbox hidden at the Capitol. I made my first stop at the Homestead Park in Hilliard to get a word off of a plaque at the flag poles in the park. The park was actually pretty clear and I got the word really fast and was back in my car and back on the road in no time. I was making these stops to gather words to make a phrase I needed to present to the personnel at the Capitol Gift Shop in order to get the letterbox. My next stop was at Camp Chase Confederate Cemetery. I needed to get the names off of two of the gravestones. I had to search the cemetery for two graves which ended up taking me a little while but I enjoyed the cemetery so it wasn't a problem. Now I had three of the seven words I needed - the remaining four were on plaques and statues around the outside of the Capitol. I had plenty of time to walk around the outside of the Capitol and take pictures and look for the plaques and statues I needed for the last four words of the phrase. It took me about 20 minutes to get the remaining words and get some nice pictures. One thing I noticed was that the top of the building looked like it wasn't finished - it was like the dome hadn't been put on it. Once I was inside I picked up a self guided tour book and then went into the gift shop and bought a couple of post cards and got the letterbox. I sat on a bench outside the shop and stamped in to A Journey with Abraham Lincoln letterbox. This box has to do with President Lincoln's last journey - his journey on The Lincoln Special to his final resting place in Springfield, Illinois - and his stop in Columbus where he laid in state at the Capitol. After returning the box to the gift shop I went on my tour of the building. Remember earlier I said it looked like the top of the building wasn't finished and that it needed a dome, well in my tour guide I learned that the building is finished and it was designed that way - there wasn't suppose to be a dome. The inside of the building was nice but again it wasn't one of my favorites. I did like the Rotunda and the Atrium (Abraham Lincoln gave campaign speech in here in 1859). After about 40 minutes of touring the building I left to do a little letterboxing in the downtown area. I drove to German Village and more specifically Schiller Park. I looked for two boxes but only found one. The other one may have been there but the hiding spot was in a very visible and busy place and I may not have searched as thoroughly as I should have. From the park I made my way to Front St. to the Gambrinus statue. I followed the clues for International Plant A Letterbox: King Gambrinus letterbox. It was an easy find and I stamped in on a bench in a small little park.

It was getting late and I was getting hungry and I just happened to be parked across the street from Claddagh Irish Pub and decided to eat there. I had a nice dinner of fish and chips and a guinness. While waiting for my food I gave Thomas a call and thought about what I was doing tomorrow. After eating I punched the address for my hotel in the Garmin and in no time I was checked in to the hotel. I have everything ready for tomorrow and my letterboxes and sightseeing are mapped out. And now that this is done I can get some sleep - it will be an early morning and a busy day tomorrow.