Phil and I took a little detour from the group and stopped off in Raleigh/Durham, NC. While there we went to see the Capitol in Raleigh.
We were greeted by the 3 US presidents who were born in North Carolina - James Polk, Andrew Jackson and Andrew Johnson.
The rotunda was very similar to the Virginia capitol, in that there was a statue of George Washington, and busts of famous people from North Carolina's history.
And like the Virginia Capitol, there are both historic Senate and House chambers -
And the newer modern ones that are used today.
We also drove by the Governor's Mansion, but weren't invited inside.
And then we went to see the Duke Homestead and Tobacco Museum. Washington Duke and his family helped make North Carolina the heart of an international tobacco empire. We toured all the buildings, including the Curing Barn.
The Dukes were famous for their Bright Leaf golden tobacco.
We saw the Tobacco Factory and the white Duke House.
In the factory we had a demonstration of how tobacco was processed.
And we had a tour of the house.
The Tobacco museum is also on the property. We saw how cigarettes went from being hand-rolled to mass production.
This guy helped explain it all. He was so realistic he even had hair on his hands.
But our real reason for being here was to visit with Phil's relatives, including his adorable great-niece.
I remember when Tobacco was grown here never see it any more or the big tall barns where it was hung up to dry...well there is still a few around but most have fallen down.
The chairs in the new chambers look pretty comfy, compared to the hard chairs in the old chambers. Maybe that's why it takes so long to get legislation passed nowadays? ;c)
I remember when Tobacco was grown here never see it any more or the big tall barns where it was hung up to dry...well there is still a few around but most have fallen down.
ReplyDeleteI love visiting Capitals and seeing the outside of the Governor's mansion.
ReplyDeleteWere you able to get a whiff of that wonderful aromatic aroma of unburned tobacco?
ReplyDeleteThe chairs in the new chambers look pretty comfy, compared to the hard chairs in the old chambers. Maybe that's why it takes so long to get legislation passed nowadays? ;c)
ReplyDeleteYou're right, she is a cutie!
We were so glad to spend time with you both! She sure enjoyed playing with Uncle Phil!!
ReplyDelete