I attended a conference Washington, D.C. about a month ago. Coincidentally, I visited D.C. around the exact same dates last year. This time, however, I took a couple side trips to the Pennsylvania and Virginia state capitols in Harrisburg and Richmond, respectively. You may recall that one of the items on my bucket list is to visit all 50 state capitols. I’m tad behind on editing (especially for Massachusetts and Louisiana), but slowly catching up.

Pennsylvania is by far the most extravagant of the capitols I have visited. Nearly every room has some form of 1000-pound lamp post or chandelier. We visited on a Saturday so the lights in the legislative chambers were dimmed. Nevertheless, the chambers are simply jaw-dropping.

The rotunda—both inside and outside—is definitely one of my favorites. I’m still not quite sure where this capitol ranks among the others, but it’s close to the top. If you’re in D.C., consider visiting. The drive is about 2 hours, and the tour is pretty good.