The Place Where We Dug Potatoes

Greetings From Topeka Kansas. Who knew Topeka Kansas has so much to offer? I certainly didn't.  Topeka is a Kansa-Osage sentence that actually means "place where we dug potatoes".

First up was the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site. Brown v. Board of Education was a 1954 landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision where the court declared that state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students was unconstitutional. There were actually five different lawsuits from five different states that were all combined into one decision but Plaintiff Oliver Brown from Topeka was the one that they named the suit after that made it to the Supreme Court. Brown's daughter went to Monroe School, an all black school that was a couple of miles away from her house instead of the all white school that was only a couple of blocks away. This historic site is located in Monroe School and it is one of the better urban historic sites that I have visited.

Even though it is a 1926 school, the exhibits were state of the art. There were wrap around movie screens, interactive exhibits, buttons to push, classrooms to visit. One throwback to the early days was the kindergarten room which was lovely. It had a fireplace which added to the cozy feeling.

I had heard the state capital building was not to be missed. In fact, I heard that it was the only state capital where you could go up to the very top of the dome and walk around outside on a little platform. Views were supposed to be stupendous. Ok, I'm in for the tour. First though, I had to tour the first five floors of the building. Our tour guide, Larry, told us how lucky we were that we had him because he was the 'Singing Guide' and sing he did. Nice voice made nicer by the fact that the building lent itself to making sounds seem very grand. Larry sang in almost every different room that we saw. At one point, in front of the giant John Brown mural, he lead the group in a rousing round of Home Home On The Range. Larry took us from the basement up to the fifth floor where those of us who were going up in the dome got a spry younger guide. 

A very impressive, very tall building

Another beautiful dome

A very pretty building

A close-up of the very top of the inner dome

Let me explain a few things first. The dome is 304 feet tall which is taller than the U.S. Capital building in Washington. I think the guide said it was 25 stories tall. We had 296 steps to conquer to get to the top of the dome. There is an inner dome which is what you see when you look up from the floor of the rotunda and it has all the pretty murals on it. Then there is an outer dome which is what you see when you look at the building from the outside. 

Now, it is important that we all remember how heights sort of make me a perhaps little bit nervous. Ok, I'm lying – the truth is that heights terrify me and this fear seems to be getting worse as I get older. But, as I told the guide somewhere between the sixth and seventh floor, that Eleanor Roosevelt says that we should all do something everyday that scares us. This was going to be the scary thing I do that would count for not only today, but the week, the month and maybe even the whole year. The problem was that as you got above the inner dome, it was this huge very very tall open space and the stairs were just sort of hanging there in mid air. I soldiered on to the eighth or ninth floor and I realized that I could go no further. I had reached a small little landing and I was plastered face first against the wall. I was shaking, my stomach was all in knots, I have not been that scared in like forever. It was horrible. I told the guide to go ahead, save yourself, I was done. He and the rest of the group went on and I had to go back down by myself. I was grateful for that because it would have been too embarrassing to have anybody watch my pitiful descent. I literally sat down on the top step and scooted down the steps very very slowly on my bum. I could hear the others about three stories above me before I even got down the very first flight. I am glad to report that I survived, I'm glad I got as far as I did, but never, ever again. 

This is where we are climbing to.  I made it up to the landing on the upper right side.  Notice the tiny little stairway to the top and how it turns into a spiral staircase.  You are going to die if you go up there.  Well, I would - others maybe not.

That little platform underneath the statue is where you can go outside and view the sights. 

I made it as far as the square windows.