Pierre, South Dakota

This weekend was a 4 day long weekend.

School was closed on Friday and Monday was a public holiday, Presidents Day.

So here is were Aussies and Yanks differ -

In Australia public holidays are coveted holidays by all. We can't wait for the next long weekend. We love that we get a day off AND still get paid for it - genius! We love the first half of the year because about 90% of our public holidays occur then. And if you want us to work on a public holiday it's going to cost!

In the US it would seem that public holidays are optional. They are set at a federal level but for some reason each work place, unless you work for the federal government, gets to decide whether to adhere to the holiday.

So long story short, Ewan worked on Presidents Day!

We decided since our last little field trip went so well that we would head out to the states capital, Pierre (everyone calls is Pier but is was settled by the french so I call it by it's correct name in my best Frenchy accent!).

It's about a 4 hour drive from us and it you blinked you would just about drive right through it and not even notice it! Kind of sad given it's the capital of South Dakota.

Anywho....we arrived at our hotel in Fort Pierre, unloaded and then crossed the Missouri River and went to the capitol building.

As it was a Saturday, a very cold Saturday, we pretty much had the place to ourselves.

Except the geese had claimed the parking lot and memorial as their own

The building was built in the early 1900's and was constructed from local and imported materials.

Inside, the building is so ornate. From the marble staircases and Italian terrazzo flooring to the spectacular rotunda with it's inlaid glass, it most certainly is a credit to those that worked on this building and their craftsmanship.

Next we headed for the Missouri River where the kids and Ewan got to walk on it (and slide - well done Rowan) thanks to the numerous inches of ice.

As I said, it's a small town and really not a great deal of sightseeing to do, especially in the winter. A little drive around town and we were pretty much done.

The rest of the evening we spent back at the hotel thawing out in the indoor spa and pool.

Either my kids are easy to please or they live a sheltered life, but the highlight for them was the hotel. They loved the adventure of sleeping somewhere else and all together in one room. Every time we left the room they would fight over who would use the electronic key to open the door to our room. They loved the idea of having the pool just down the passage way. And we all loved the continental breakfast.

The drive back home took us a little longer thanks to the blizzard. But thanks to Ewan's careful driving we made it safely.

So Pierre, we've been but it'll probably be the only time.