Texas State Capitol
I stayed at the Cracker Barrel in Round Rock for the second night. Last night I ate far too much at the italian restaurant. I tried to get an earlish start. I wanted to photograph the Texas State Capitol Building in Austin.
The drive into Austin took about an hour from Round Rock. Google sent me to a street that had a detour marker, but that sent me back to the same spot where I was. It turned out that all streets on that side of the capital had been blocked off. I did five loops before I asked someone. They told me there was a parade in 30 minutes and it would last about 90 minutes. I found the University of Texas Stadium north of the capitol building. Once there, I was able to reroute towards the capital. I parked further out and road the bike in. The capital police on bikes showed me where to park and lock the bike.
The Capitol Building Outside
The Texas State Capitol was completed in 1888, with its distinctive pink granite exterior . Visitors can take guided tours of the Capitol and explore its various exhibits, including the Texas Hall of Flags and the Legislative Reference Library. The Texas Capitol Building is a popular tourist destination and an important part of the state's history and government.
The building is an example of Renaissance Revival architecture, and was designed by architect Elijah Myers. The Texas Capitol Building features a symmetrical design with a central dome, as well as a grand staircase leading up to the entrance.
Immigrant Demonstration
When I got to the capitol building, there was a demonstration being held. I didn’t get totally what they were demonstrating against. It had something to do with Texas blocking iLicenses for any immigrants. I stopped and grabbed a few photos.
Texas Independence
There was a separate demonstration going on down the hill involving the Texit movement. This group is advocating for a hypothetical scenario in which Texas would secede from the United States and become an independent nation. I’ve read that about 1.5 percent of Texans favor this. It builds on ideas that have existed since the civil war.
I tried to take photos of these people and interestingly, the men looked away when I lifted the camera. On the other side of the walkway, was a guy with a Texas flag standing inside a monument to fallen soldiers at the Alamo. He would periodically yell something about Texas independence and being tired of various things. I thought to myself, we fought a war to build a new country, fought a war to keep it together, and fought together so that we could continue to enjoy the freedoms we have to day. Somehow none of this makes much sense to me.
The capital grounds are fairly large with monuments scattered all around. I didn’t visit all of them for various reasons. Here’s a rundown of some of them:
The Capitol Building Inside
I saw some people coming out of the side doors of the capitol building and realized it must be open to the public. There was a self guided tour which I did. There were also paid tours available. There were hundreds of people in the building.
The inside of the building is grand and ornate, with many beautiful details and decorations. In the center is the very large rotunda that rises 266 feet above the ground floor. The rotunda is decorated with intricate murals that depict important moments in Texas history, and the ceiling features a stunning dome a star and “TEXAS” spelled out. On the balconies below the rotundra are pictures of “Presidents” and Governors. In this case, the governors were referred to as President before Texas joined the union.
I sat in on a mock session of the Senate as well.
I left the capital area around 1:30 pm and drove back to Round Rock to the library. It was one of the few libraries open anywhere around the capital and it was open until 6:00 pm. There were several accidents so I took back roads to avoid them. Getting close to Round Rock, I passed through the huge Dell Technologies Campus in Round Rock. This explained why they had such nice facilities in the town.