50 States, Day 123

Day 123, Harrisburg and Lancaster, 101 Miles

"Circumstance does not make the man; it reveals him to himself."

~James Allen

Okay, I lied. No Gettysburg. After getting a teeny bit lost, we toured the Capitol, since we ran into it. Tomorrow we tour Gettysburg, I don't promise.

'Ding ding ding!' We have a winner. I should have left it for the end and built some drama, but I couldn't wait. Hoist the flag, drop the streamers and launch the balloons. And Iowa, please step down from the pedestal. The Pennsylvania Capitol has burst into first place, Iowa a distant second.

How did they do it? Simple. They spent up to three times as much as the other states. But what a magnificent building. Massive pillars hold up gold leaf framed pictures, a giant quote from William Penn encompasses the sides, and

massive paintings adorn the upper walls.

The House, Senate and Court (it still meets here, another bonus) are lighted with four thousand pound chandeliers, the globes cut in diamond etchings so the lights diffuse it in x shapes. The camera can't pick it up, sorry.

Marble abounds, much of it from Italy, and handrails adorn the stairways, made from copper and marble.

Built in 1906, it took four years to erect, and replaced a building that burned, no surprise. A plaque on the floor designates where Teddy Roosevelt stood when the dedication took place. Speaking of history, the House hall bears former Speakers, and the oldest one is from 1729. Yep, from when it was a colony.

Another bonus, the Senate was in session. Actually they installed a new Senator today. But at least someone did something. No photos for that, for fear we'd sell them to the Russians or something.

And the icing on the cake came at the entrance. The peasants walked right up the front steps and in the front door.

Way to go, Pennsylvania! If you get a chance, check it out.

We wandered off to Lancaster to buy a new tire for the bike.

'Ding ding ding!' Hoist the flag again, more balloons, put in some happy women in evening gowns with flowers, crying. Lancaster Honda delivered. In a big way.  We stopped in after getting lost (that's like saying we were breathing), and Jim got the service started, a new tire and oil change. After all the paperwork, I asked him where we could eat close by. He indicated we could find a (PP!) Burger King a few miles away. Right. Don't think QG is walking four miles for lunch. A customer talked up Jennie's Diner, a trucker's dive with great food, service, and good portions. Where is it? Fifteen miles away!

But Jim talked to Kevin (great name) and he hooked us up with a '12 Gold Wing

demo bike to take to lunch. How cool is that?

One thing that bugs me with motorcycle oil changes is waiting for an hour or so for them to complete. But today we rode to Jennie's and ate a wonderful lunch, mine a chicken salad wrap and QG enjoyed a tasty ham 'n cheese club sandwich. And truck drivers abounded, the litmus test for good food. We enjoyed lunch and returned to the scooter, waiting for us.

And surprise! We bought the Gold Wing on the spot.  

Okay, maybe not. If they would have thrown in a free vinyl wrap...trailer hitch and wiring...armrests...and traded straight across...it was sooo close. But no, we took off with a new tire, not bike. And a Rant. The tire only lasted a bit over 11,000 miles. Wow. And $370 for an oil change and tire. Maybe I should have traded it in. Maybe trade it in on a fifty foot motor home, with cheaper tires that last longer. Okay, maybe not.

Back to the barn at a reasonable hour for a light dinner, reading and blogging.

Another beautiful day.