Concord, New Hampshire

Our next New England stop was New Hampshire, with the primary purpose of visiting the Capitol in Concord, while using the rest of the week to tour other parts of the state. I don't remember most of the state mottos, but somehow "Live Free or Die", New Hampshire's famous maxim, seems to stick with me. No, Bruce Willis didn't coin the phrase in Live Free or Die Hard, but I can see how using this would appeal to movie makers, it's catchy! (The motto comes from a statement written by the Revolutionary General John Stark.) I didn't find much about the State House itself to give it standout ranking. The building houses all the regular offices such as the Senate Chambers, the Representatives Hall, The Office of The Governor, the Secretary of the State's Office, and so forth. What I did find interesting was their claim of "oldest continuously used legislative chambers in America". There are a lot of "firsts" and "oldest" designations on this side of the country, I've noticed. Some fun facts about New Hampshire include: The first potato planted in the United States was at Londonderry Common Field in 1719; Alan Bartlett Shepard Jr., the first American to travel in space is from East Derry, New Hampshire; in 1833 the first free public library in the United States was established in Peterborough.

Augusta, Maine

After leaving Vermont, we headed to Cushing, Maine for a one week stay. First on our list of places to go was a trip to the LL Bean store in Freemont, something I've wanted to do for decades! J The second day we made it to Augusta for our Capitol visit. Maybe not quite as fun as shopping in person at LL Bean, but it does mark our 43rd Capitol, kind of amazing to me that we've actually been to so many Capital Cities, and Capitol Buildings during our seven years on the road. We're zeroing in on 50! Occasionally we wind up at a capitol during times of restoration or repair. Such was our luck in Augusta. The Capitol Dome was undergoing restoration to replace the copper roofing, paint the cupola, and regild Minerva, the "Lady of Wisdom", who sits atop of the dome. The Maine State House was built using Maine granite, based on the design of the Massachusetts State House, since Maine was formerly a part of Massachusetts until separating in 1820. The park surrounding the capitol was quite green and lush, making for an enjoyable walk on the grounds after our tour of the building itself. Fun facts about Maine: Maine is the only state in the US with just one syllable; Augusta, Maine, and Juneau, Alaska are the only two state capitals with the names of months in them. Stephen King paid for a professional Little League baseball stadium behind his house in Bangor, Maine. The locals call it Field of Screams; People from Maine are known as Mainers, Down Easters, or Maniacs.

 

Montpelier, Vermont

After being on the road for seven years, we have finally made our way to New England! For the next 12 weeks we will be exploring the six states that comprise this region (Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island, and Connecticut), as well as New York State. Our first stop was the tiny but beautiful state of Vermont, and our first order of business was a trip to Montpelier to visit the capitol. Set high upon a knoll, with its distinctive gold leaf dome rising above the dense wooded hillside behind it, the capitol has a stately appearance that catches your eye as soon as you arrive in Montpelier. Nestled in the valley formed by the Winooski and North Branch rivers, Montpelier was chosen as Vermont's capital in 1805. The neighborhood surrounding the capitol building consists of government offices housed in well preserved examples of various 19th century architectural styles. Two fun facts about this Capital: Montpelier is the smallest state capital in the United States (with a population under 9000) and is the only US Capital without a McDonalds. (Glad someone's thinking!)