When we took the trip to Annapolis and the Eastern Shore, I learned all about the colonial days in Maryland. Daddy and Mommy and I went to Annapolis together, and we went sightseeing. Daddy told us about the history of the navy, and he talked about the Attack Transport he was on in the war.

As we drove towards Annapolis, I saw the green dome of the State House. I don't know why it seemed to me I had seen it before in a dream I had in Urbana. I didn't tell Mommy about that until much later. The view was so beautiful, with the waters of the Severn River reaching out before us, all shining.

First we had lunch in the coffee shop at the Carvel Hall Hotel. Then we went to the Naval Academy Chapel where the father of the American Navy, John Paul Jones, is buried. A big American flag was draped over his tomb. This chapel was domed too. I once dreamed about buildings with domes, like these domes in Annapolis.

The guide in the State House in Annapolis told us:

It is the oldest capitol in daily use, and it was finished in 1774. George Washington resigned as commander-in-chief of the American army in the room of the old senate chamber. In the same room, the Continental Congress ratified the treaty with Great Britain that ended the war.

The dome that tops the building is the only all-wooden dome in America. In the building is the only American Flag, 'Old Glory,' that was carried in the Revolution and the War of 1812.

The capitol of Maryland was first at St. Mary's City in Southern Maryland. The early settlers from the Ark and the Dove had landed at St. Clement's Island on the 25^th of March in 1634. There were 320 people who landed from these two ships that left Southhampton, England, November 22, 1633. The Indians were friendly, and there was lots of food, for the land was rich and the streams and bay full of fish. A Jesuit priest, Father Andrew White, said mass.

St. Mary's City had the first State House. The State House in Annapolis was built from 1772 to 1774. Annapolis has circles and narrow old winding streets, and it's quaint and quiet and peaceful and lovely. The sidewalks are uneven bricks, and there is ivy over the old buildings.

Annapolis is on the Severn River at the mouth of Chesapeake Bay. I liked to watch the sailboats in the breeze. The guide gave us two booklets. One told how Maryland was started, and the other one told all about the State House. I learned a lot of history from them.

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