Third Capital Trip

We toured Kellogg's after
visiting Lansing. 

By the time we took our third trip to see state capitals, we were actively thinking of the places we also wanted to visit.

March 24, 1975 we were in Lansing to see the building where laws are made in the Wolverine state.  Michigan's unique feature is that both upper and lower sections of the state are peninsulas, which was captured in the state motto - "If you seek a pleasant peninsula, look about you."

Less notable is that the flag features an elk and moose which aren't native to the state; it seems the flag designer started Michigan's by using the New York flag as a template and left the two large mammals holding the state shield.

My most vivid memories from this trip happened in Battle Creek.  Before visiting Kellogg's; we ate lunch in a drive-in.  For some reason, I chose a corn beef sandwich because I figured since I liked corn and beef that I'd like the sandwich.  Wrong, one bite is as far as I got.  At Kellogg's we received snack packs, a toy, and hats (to maintain safe hygiene while touring the cereal processing plant).

The Indiana Capitol as pictured on "Your Guide
to the Indiana State Capitol."

 The next day we visited the Hoosier state's capitol - neither one considering for a second that someday we'd both live in Indianapolis.

 There are few notes in the scrap book about the statehouse, but plenty of single page flyers with full color paintings of the state bird (cardinal), flower (peony), and tree (dogwood).

 The most unusual note in the scrapbook? "$10.00 fine for walking on statehouse lawn."

 It was a three-hour drive east to Columbus, Ohio capitol of the Buckeye state.  

The state's capitol and flag have unusual shapes.
Click to see the flag.

While touring the building, visitors were allowed to try the chair used by the Speaker of the House, which had accommodated President Abraham Lincoln and me.  Dad's notes say I was allowed to sit in it.

Our side trip was the Wright - Patterson Air Force Base, which was the first of a few we toured while taking these adventures.  I recall in Wyoming a uniformed officer climbed in the car for our tour.

Ohio's notable note: "Pages earned $3.00 an hour and had to be students in a local college."

From Columbus we went south to Frankfort, Kentucky to see their statehouse on Maundy Thursday.

The Kentucky Capitol
in Frankfort.

 There aren't any notes in Dad's handwriting for our Kentucky visit.  I'm not sure why, my guess is that after touring the capitol we found a church to attend services and never got back to it, even though I was able to plug in postcards and pictures using mounting corners.

 It was interesting driving through Kentucky, but with a five state trip it was on to Tennessee.

Nashville is the home of country music.  We stopped at the old Ryman auditorium downtown, it had just been replaced with a new facility outside of town and we stopped to see the Parthenon in Centennial Park, the only full-size replica of the Greek structure in Athens.

A unique profile for the
capitol of the Volunteer state.

After our tour and spending the night, we headed home.  I recall a big storm that created flood waters in Cairo, Illinois (it's at the southern tip of the state) which Dad smartly navigated.  

I don't remember, but have a feeling we returned home late Saturday so we could go to church with mom on Easter.  By this time, we knew my sister was arriving in autumn of 1975, so our next trip would be the following spring.