Charleston at its Finest

This weekend, Marty and I found ourselves in Charleston, WV,  as part of the wedding festivities of a very special young man and his bride.  The wedding was scheduled for 1:30 in the Cathedral in Charleston, but we tend to be early risers, and with several hours to kill prior to the ceremony, we decided to head into this fair city and do what we do best:  some serious gallivanting.

First stop:  The state capital.  

You have to admit,  that is certainly some spectacular scenery!

Marty wanted his photo taken next to Stonewall Jackson  (just look for the yellow tie)

Walking around the grounds, we spotted a statue of President Lincoln  in the very front of the building

 and just to the side is a Civil War monument honoring the casualties of West Virginia.

On one side is Lincoln's Gettysburg Address

Another side pays tribute to the 32,000 soldiers from West Virginia who served in the Civil War. 

Continuing our walk around the perimeter of the Capital Building, I was surprised to find that the building was open today, and we were actually warmly welcomed inside,and were told that we were free to tour the building at our leisure.   How's that for southern hospitality?

We spotted some interesting displays, this one featuring some personal items from the early 50's, including a pinewood derby car and some musical instrument patterns. 

This display included a doll of Julia Pierpoint who is credited with the origination of Decoration aay, later known as Memorial Day, as well as a  glass etching of President Lincoln. 

The dome itself is under renovation, but when we got to the spot where it stands, presently blocked off from visitors, we were greeted by a guard in the building who was eager to take us upstairs to see the Chambers, and then offered to take us out on the roof to get a closer look at the dome!  Now I ask, when does something like that happen?  Of course, we didn't hesitate taking him up on his offer!

So, here you see the dome from the roof.  The guard also offered to take us up to the very top for a look around, but I was dressed for the wedding, and the last thing I wanted to do was to hike up a bunch of steps in the heat!  And, for the record....it was quite hot!

But it certainly was nice of him to offer, don't you think?

Here you see the view out over the river from the roof below the dome.  That's the same statue of President Lincoln that stands in the front of the building. 

Once back downstairs, I spotted this tribute to John F. Kennedy upon one of the walls.

The building was filled with all kinds of interesting paraphanalia, as you can see for yourself.

The man in the yellow tie was with me.  His newfound friend was not.

At this point, we decided to head over to the museum that stands adjacent to the Capital building.  Walking through the doors we found ourselves in a lobby with many quilts on display, each unique and very different.

Then we headed down the escalator to check out the living history display.

 Now, I've been through a LOT of museums, and I have been quite impressed with many, but the set up of this particular museum is just fascinating!

One begins in prehistoric time, entering a cave that is filled with future coal deposits, and walking along one precedes through time, clearly marked on the floor.

This is an original log cabin from Logan County built by the Vance family in the 1870's.  It was donated to the museum and carefully reconstructed from its original state for viewing.

Turning the corner and continuing our walk, we were greeted by this Civil War soldier along the side, who began telling us his story

and this tent scene really captured the conditions of the time.

Moving along, we found ourselves in the time of railroad building

and coal mining

Then we walked through displays of World War I, then onto World War II

What better way to teach about history than by immersing one right into sets of that time period?

Honestly, it was all quite fun, but we were on a limited time schedule, so we actually made our way through in record time, and headed grudgingly back out into the heat.

On the way to our car, we passed this beautiful war memorial that commemorates soldiers from World War I, World War II, Vietnam and Korea

The middle of this memorial consists of marble walls, that have the inscription of the names of the soldiers who died in battle for each particular war.  

I found it startling to note that the World War II casualties actually totaled more than all three other wars combined.  

One doesn't often see this kind of detail in war memorials, and I was quite taken by the beauty of this magnificent monument.

I was certainly glad that Marty and I had made the decision to explore the town prior the ceremony.  There weren't many people out and about, and we certainly managed to cover a LOT of ground in short time.

The wedding was a few blocks away at the Co-Cathedral in Charleston.  Here are some highlights:  

The church was beautiful

the flower girls devine

the bridesmaids were lovely

and the bride was exuberant

The ceremony was solemn

and the couple was presented:  hand in hand:   Mr. and Mrs.

And, you can tell by our faces that we were thrilled to have shared in this blessed event!

Quite the adventure for one day....don't you think?

So, tomorrow we head home......but who knows if some excitement awaits?

That's the wonder of gallivanting.

I'll be sure to keep you posted!