The New Hampshire State Capitol On Friday Judi, Glenn, and I drove down to Concord, New Hampshire's capitol. Our first stop was the Capitol building. Our first surprise, on entering, was what we didn't see: Metal detectors. As in, none present. No metal detectors. No bomb-sniffing dogs. No searches of our persons. Not even any guards, really. There was a nice young man in a crisp white shirt who was obviously posing as a guard, but he looked more like an information guide. He didn't stop us or even speak to us until we spoke to him: "Where are we allowed to go?" we asked. "Anywhere you like," he said, spreading his hands expansively. "This is the People's house." Wow. Very democratic. Thomas Jefferson would have approved. But also, in the wake of 9/11, very strange. And, I guess, courageous. Or maybe stupid.... Is there a difference? Whatever. The fact is that the Capitol is pretty much open. You can't go on the floors of the Senate or House chambers (more on that in a minute), but even in those rooms there are roped off areas just inside the doors where you can take pictures. And you're free to go up in the galleries. And the Governor's office is off limits, but you're encouraged to wander into her private secretary's office. You can peruse it's historical artifacts while her secretary tries to get some work done. Senate Chamber (from where we weren't supposed to be) Senate Chamber from a legal viewpoint I mentioned that you're not supposed to go on the floors of the Senate or House chambers. Well, Glenn had us trespass into the empty Senate chamber. "They won't mind," he said, when Judi and I pointed to the signs. Glenn has a way of making wrongdoing seem genial (just kidding... I think). That's how I got the picture on the left. The one below that was taken from the gallery, where it was okay for us to be. When we got to the House chamber, Glenn tried to pull the same stunt: Let's walk around the signs that say "No visitors past this point." Judi and I didn't bite. We stayed in the roped off area. Good thing, too, because Glenn got busted. A short, middle-aged, lady state employee with an attitude was charging by in the corridor and noticed Glenn. She chewed him out while Judi and I wandered nonchalantly down the corridor and pretended we weren't with him and had no idea who he was. All in all we had a great time. The picture on the right below is the House chamber from its gallery. Sorry it's so dark, but the light wasn't great. All we had was winter light coming in through the tall windows in either wall of the chamber. The picture on the left is Judi, acute sufferer of vertigo, in the Senate gallery, smiling bravely. All she could do in the galleries was sit in a seat in the very back row and wait while Glenn and I looked around and took pictures. She is such a trooper, though. Vertigo-suffering Judi in the Senate gallery House Chamber, from the gallery Branching Birch Tree This strange-looking birch tree stands in the yard in front of the Capitol. The white birch is the New Hampshite state tree, so having a birch on the Capitol grounds seems natural. But this one... well... it's branching. I've never seen a branching birch tree before. And I was a Boy Scout while growing up in New Hampshire, so I've seen my share of birches. Why does this one branch? There must be a story behind this tree, but I don't know what it is. Sorry.