"Bone" Voyage: Pennsylvania State Capital and Lancaster County

Wednesday, Nov. 2nd-We ventured off on a family field trip. We started off at the state capital and we were blown away. It was absolutely the most impressive building we've ever been in. As stated in their booklet:

Pennsylvania's Capitol is, first and foremost, a public building belonging to the citizens of the Commonwealth. It is also a priceless architectural and artistic treasure, a majestic symbol of history and power, and an icon of democracy and freedom. When President Theodore Roosevelt attended the dedication of the building on Octobere 4, 1906, he said, "This is the handsomest building I ever saw."
Mark and I couldn't agree more. The Capitol was designed in the American Renaissance style with the goal of being a "Palace of Art." Built and furnished at a cost of $13 million, the Capitol features paintings, stained glass and furnishings by some of the best artisans of the day.

We were struck immediately by the beauty in the rotunda and loved the quote by William Penn which
wraps around the Rotunda's interior, just below the main cornice, as a reminder for legislators and citizens: "There may be room there for such a holy experiment, for the nations want a precedent. And my God will make it the seed of a nation. That an example may be set up to the nations. That we may do the thing that is truly wise and just."

We were amazed by the beauty of the artwork and the numerous biblical references throughout. We got to go in the governor's office, the Senate, House and Supreme Court. The children loved that the chandeliers weighed as much as an elephant and Stefan wanted to know how they secured them to the ceiling. The neighbor middle school boy next to Sondra must have overheard, because he raised his hand and asked the question. We learned why Pa is the keystone state: because they were keystone politically in the colonies.

The house happened to be in session today and we were thrilled to watch part of it. They opened with an incredible prayer from a minister from TN who talked about PA being the cradle of democracy, prayed for the troops and their families and for the leaders and their decisions. After the pledge of allegiance, the hustle and bustle of the room started. A marine vet presented awareness that there were many black Marines in WWII who were not given fair and equal treatment and yet perservered in their service. After his solo rendition of the marine hymn, a representative stood and further endorsed this sentiment. A representative came into the balcony and welcomed us. He is retired from the military and wanted to serve in the House since he was 12. He stated that one of the issues they were working on was making PA child labor laws stricter as Hollywood has come in and exploited many children in PA (ie. Gossners being one). Interesting, California has very strict laws that PA is trying to emmulate.

We loved the green mosaic tile roof and the Vermont granite exterior.

William Penn's words in the rotunda

The window over the rotunda

The Senate

It was a warm, sunny November day (lower 60's) and we drove to Lancaster County for lunch. () A special memory was when we were driving, Stefan out of the blue said "I love you mama" from the back seat.) Mark said, "one of the priceless benefits of homeschooling." Pulling off the highway, we immediately felt the pull to a different time. Buggies were everywhere and the farmland so beautiful. We weren't sure where to go for lunch but Sondra approached an Amishman who was parked with his buggie and asked for his recommendation. We took it and eventually found Dienner's. We knew we were in the right place when there was a 20 minute wait on a Wednesday afternoon. It truly was some of the best food we have ever had. We all loved it. It was buffet style which we associate with average food but this was the best homecooked food. Everything was delicious especially the mashed potatoes and beef/gravey. Highly recommend this restaurant and hope we can go back sometime. The waitress was a former homeschool mom and she was fun to talk too. Another fond memory was trying Shoofly pie at the business next door while we were waiting for our table. It's very good but bad for you. Only sugar and molasses and butter. They also were giving out free gourdes and pumpkins. Since it was late in the afternoon when we were driving around, we saw many groups of children walking and riding bikes with no pedals. So many awesome photo opps but due to respect to them plus we were driving, they will have to remain mental pictures.
We did stop at a dairy to purchase milk and try their ice cream. Delicious!!!!