Two states: Two Capitols

Day 267
​Hartford CT- Providence RI

Cabela's in Hartford turned out to be a restful night. The lot was quiet and dark enough to sleep. Temperatures dipped down into the upper 40's which made things a bit chilly in the AM. We typically don't bother turning the furnace on at night. By morning the inside of the RV was 53 degrees. Coffee gets made and breakfast cooked up. Eli is ready to get out and stretch those dog legs.

Across the street is Rentchler Stadium for the University of Connecticut. This 40,000 seat arena hosts football, soccer, and other various events.

With the walk finished up it's time to hit the road. An hour and a half to the east lies our next state of travel curiosity. Rhode Island has a casino in the capitol city of Providence that allows overnight parking. This was not something we expected to find out here on the crowded east coast. Rhode Island is 48 miles wide and 37 miles tall. The total population for the state is a hair over one million residents which makes this the second most densely populated state in the country. States with a lower population than Rhode Island: Wyoming, Vermont, Alaska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Delaware, Montana. Another way to put this into terms is population density. Wyoming averages 6 people per square mile of land, Rhode island 1,017 people per square mile. Katie parks the Jeep and gets out to pay at the meter. A man with a cane approaches her and I exit the Jeep to see what's going on. He's an older guy and offers a smile and some help with how the credit card parking meter works. He asks where we are from and what we are going to see today. Then he asks for money. Damnit. We have been trapped by a begger and I didn't catch on quick enough. We should've know better. On the drive in we saw at least a half a dozen people begging for change on the corners.​They better have a nice capitol building.

At first glance it doesn't look to shabby. Considering the structure was built in 1904 it has aged quite well. White Georgia Marble totaling 327,000 cubic feet assembles the building with the help of 15 million bricks and 1,039 tons of iron floor beams. The all marble dome is the 4th largest self supporting dome in the world. The building in the top three are the capitol of Minnesota, St. Peters Basilica in Italy, and the Taj Mahal in India.

This is the second capitol building we have visited with stuff going on inside. Legislators are just finishing up a day of yelling at each other and exit the building while we are walking around. This place is small and doesn't have much to show us. We head out the doors and are immediately greeted by window units in the office windows. There is an air conditioner in almost every window on the front of the building. Real classy Rhode Island, beggars on the streets and window units in what is supposed to be the crown jewel of the city.

Walking downtown gives us a weird impression of this place. The city rings in at roughly 1.6 million people (some of it is in Massachusetts) and there isn't any vibe to the river walk. It was built in 1990 and stretches a few blocks of the river. No stores or restaurants. Empty glass windows line the walkway. Streets are clean and well landscaped, but there's no commotion, no soul. Maybe it's the dark grey skies and the fact that it is 3 pm on a weekday. Still... something feels off. Nothing to see here. Time to go home and check out the casino. That's all folks. Another day down.