Our quick trip to the Governor's Mansion (and the Capitol)

An article in the Express-News about tours of the renovated and re-opened Texas Governor's Mansion was all it took to pique our interest and send us on a quick outing to Austin on an overcast, warm, humid December day.

Security for the tours is almost comically tight, with background checks, a multi-day clearance process and instructions to arrive no earlier (but also no later) than 15 minutes prior to the start of the tour. Absolutely no loitering!

However, when we got there things seemed a bit more relaxed and we loitered in front of the guard station with our fellow tourists. 

Groups are limited to 20 but there were only six others with us on our tour.

Construction on the mansion, the oldest west of the Mississippi, began in 1854 and Gov. Elisha Pease and his wife Lucadia moved in on June 14, 1856.

In 2007 Gov. Rick Perry and his wife Anita moved out of the house while some significant issues were addressed, including the installation of fire sprinklers. On June 8, 2008 - while the mansion was still unoccupied - an arsonist threw a molotov cocktail onto the front porch, starting a fire that came close to damaging the building beyond repair.

However, the fire also spurred the state to undertake a more extensive renovation. The Legislature ponied up $21.5 million for the project and Anita Perry led a campaign that raised an additional $3.5 million. The Perrys moved back into the mansion in July of 2012 and we can now attest that the place looks great; which, for $25 million, it ought to!

While we were there we also took a tour of the fabulous State Capitol building. I've been to 49 state capitols and can say without any hesitation that Texas has, by far, the best. While we have been in the capitol many times over the years this was our first time to visit when the Christmas decorations were up.

Following are several photos of the mansion and the capitol, plus a video from inside the capitol rotunda.

 

The carpet in the mansion dining room depicts the six nations that have ruled the state, including this one.

An appropriate ornament for the governor's Christmas tree.

The fabulous Texas State Capitol Building opened for business in 1888.

Our Brooklyn-born tour guide led a diverse group.

The Senate Chambers. Texas and California are the only states with fewer state senators (31 in Texas and 40 in California) than Congressional representatives (36 in Texas and 53 in California).

The House Chambers.

DPS troopers roaming the halls with assault rifles was something we had not seen before.

One of several memorials to anarchy on the Capitol grounds.

This photo sums up Austin pretty well.