Sorry for the delays that are going to occur with the site. Something happened over the last couple of days that now make it difficult to get to the blog every day. Still, I will attempt to keep things up to date as often as possible. Thanks to those who still come here and check out the site.

We are going to visit the last capital on my list - Olympia, Washington. I remember Olympia Beer from years ago.

The photos are: 1) downtown Olympia and Mt. Ranier; 2) the Washington State Capitol Building; 3) the Olympia Brewery; 4) a view of Olympia, with the Capitol Lake, Percival Landing, and Olympic Mountains in the distance; 5) the Capitol Theater; 6) a Summer Art Exhibition at the Yashiro Japanese Garden; 7) a native totem pole on the grounds of the State of Washington Office Building; and 8) a view of the Olympia Waterfront.

Olympia is the capital of Washington and is the county seat of Thurston County. It was incorporated on January 28, 1859. The population was 44,460 at the 2007 census. Olympia is a major cultural center of the Puget Sound region.

Olympia is situated at the extreme southern tip of Puget Sound on Budd Inlet. The site of Olympia was home to Lushootseed-speaking peoples for thousands of years. The abundant shellfish in the tideflats and the many salmon-spawning streams entering Puget Sound at this point made it a productive food-gathering area. Many tribes shared access to these resources, including Squaxin, Nisqually, Puyallup, Chehalis, Suquamish, and Duwamish. According to early settlers' accounts, natives called the present site of Olympia "Cheet Woot", meaning "place of the bear."

The first recorded visit by Europeans was in 1792 when Peter Puget and a crew from the British Vancouver Expedition charted the site. In 1833, the Hudson's Bay Company established Fort Nisqually, a trading post at nearby Sequalitchew Creek in what is now Dupont. As the fur trade declined, the HBC diversified, forming a subsidiary called Pugets Sound Agricultural Company to convert former trade posts including Fort Nisqually into working farms. The U.S. Exploring Expedition under Lt. Charles Wilkes explored the Puget Sound region in 1841 and named the bay Budd Inlet after expedition member Thomas A. Budd.
At the request of the Hudson's Bay Company, French Catholic missionaries established Mission St. Joseph of Newmarket and school in the 1840s at Priest Point near the future townsite for the conversion of natives to Catholicism.

American settlers also came to the area in the 1840s, drawn by the water-power potential of Tumwater Falls and established nearby "New Market," now known as Tumwater, the first American settlement on Puget Sound. The site was the northern end of the "Cowlitz Portage," the overland trail between the Cowlitz River and Puget Sound. In a time when water travel was the easiest form of transportation, Olympia's location on the main north-south route through the region made it a crossroads for regional trade.
Edmund Sylvester and Levi Smith jointly claimed the land that now comprises downtown Olympia. Smith built his cabin on what was then a narrow peninsula, near the current intersection of Capitol Way and Olympia Avenue. Smith's untimely death in 1848 left Sylvester the sole owner of the land on which he platted the future townsite. Early names for the settlement included "Smithfield" and "Smithter" in honor of Levi Smith. In 1853 the town settled on the name Olympia, at the suggestion of local resident Isaac N. Ebey, due to its view of the Olympic Mountains to the northwest.

In 1851, the U.S. Congress established the Customs District of Puget Sound and Olympia became the home of the customs house. In 1854, the customs house moved to Port Townsend at the entrance to Puget Sound to better monitor shipping activity. In 1852, Olympia became the county seat of the newly organized Thurston County which at the time was still part of Oregon Territory.
By the early 1850s American settlers began agitating to separate the area north of the Columbia River from Oregon Territory. The agitation resulted in Congress creating Washington Territory. Isaac I. Stevens served as its first governor. Upon his arrival in 1853, Stevens designated Olympia capital of the new territory.
The city grew steadily until 1873, when the Northern Pacific Railroad unexpectedly bypassed Olympia, choosing Tacoma as its west coast terminus. Alarmed by the loss of the railroad, Olympia residents set to work building their own rail connection to the main line at Tenino. Citizens formed a private corporation and used both volunteer labor and contract Chinese workers to complete a narrow gauge line by 1878. The little railroad served as Olympia's only railroad connection until the Northern Pacific built a spur to Olympia in 1891.
After Washington achieved statehood in 1889, Olympia continued as the state's capital city. Construction of the current Washington State Capitol began in 1912, with the prominent Legislative Building, one of the largest in the nation, completed in 1928. The building's dome is the fourth largest free-standing masonry dome in the world.
Aside from its role as the seat of state government, Olympia was a fairly typical Pacific Northwest town. Early on, extraction industries such as logging and oystering were the basis of much of the economy. By the twentieth century, sawmilling, fruit canning, and other industrial concerns comprised its economic base. Olympia also served as a shipping port for materials produced from the surrounding countryside, including sandstone, coal, and agricultural products.
Olympia is often associated with the Olympia Brewing Company, which from 1896-2003 brewed Olympia Beer, even though the brewery was actually located in Tumwater. The Olympia Brewing Company began producing beer in 1896 at a site along the Deschutes River and continued until Prohibition. After Prohibition ended, a new brewery was erected just upstream from the original site. This brewery was eventually purchased by SABMiller and closed on July 1, 2003.
Scandinavian immigrants founded two cooperative plywood mills after World War I. During World War I and World War II, there were also increased influxes of labor attracted by wartime industries including shipbuilding.
Periodic earthquakes rock the Olympia area. The 1949 earthquake damaged many historic buildings beyond repair, and they were demolished. Others were retrofit with new facades to replace the damaged Nineteenth Century wood and glass storefronts. Subsequently, much of Olympia's downtown reflects mid-twentieth century architectural trends. In 1965 and 2001, Olympia suffered damage from significant tremblors. It was the closest major city to the epicenter of the 2001 Nisqually earthquake.

In 1967, the state legislature approved the creation of The Evergreen State College near Olympia, mostly due to the efforts of progressive Republican Governor Daniel J. Evans. Evans later served as president of the college, leaving Evergreen in 1983 when he was appointed to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by Senator Henry M. "Scoop" Jackson's death.
Because of the college's presence, Olympia has become a hub for artists and musicians (many of whom have been influential in punk, post-punk, anti-folk, lo-fi and other music trends. Olympia was recently named one of the best college towns in the nation for its vibrant downtown and access to outdoor activities.
Olympia is a regional center for social justice and environmental activism. Olympia was the hometown of human rights activist Rachel Corrie. Olympia has been the site of direct-action opposition to the Iraq War.
Olympia hosts the state's largest annual Earth Day celebration, Procession of the Species, a community arts-based festival and parade. Also popular is the Olympia farmer's market, the second largest in Washington State, as well as the locally based Olympia Food Co-op.
Olympia based independent media outlets, such as: KAOS FM 89.3, Free Radio Olympia 98.5 FM, and Olyblog as well as independent publications, such as Works in Progress, keep local residents informed.

Today's Jumble (01/22/09):

REDOO = RODEO; OAQUT = QUOTA; UNGLIB = BLUING; GLABEM = GAMBLE

CIRCLED LETTERS = ROQOBUGAE

The piano player quit the pop band because he wanted to ---

"GO (FOR) BAROQUE"

Today is National Blonde Brownie Day and Answer Your Cat's Question Day.

Other things on this day in history:

565 - Eutychius is deposed as Patriarch of Constantinople by John Scholasticus.
1506 - The first contingent of 150 Swiss Guards arrive at the Vatican.
1521 - Emperor Charles V opens the Diet of Worms.
1771 - Spain cedes Port Egmont in the Falkland Islands to England.
1824 - Ashantis defeat British forces in the Gold Coast.
1863 - The January Uprising breaks out in Poland, Lithuania and Belarus. The aim of the national movement is to regain Polish-Lithuanian-Ruthenian Commonwealth from occupation of Russia.
1877 - Arthur Tooth, an Anglican clergyman is taken into custody after being prosecuted for using ritualist practices.
1879 - Anglo-Zulu War: Battle of Isandlwana - Zulu troops defeat British troops.
1879 - Anglo-Zulu War: Battle of Rorke's Drift - 139 British soldiers successfully defend their garrison against an intense assault by four to five thousand Zulu warriors.
1889 - Columbia Phonograph was formed in Washington, D.C.
1890 - The United Mine Workers of America was founded in Columbus, Ohio.
1899 - Leaders of six Australian colonies meet in Melbourne to discuss confederation.
1901 - Edward VII becomes King after his mother, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, dies.
1905 - Bloody Sunday in St. Petersburg, beginning of the 1905 revolution.
1906 - SS Valencia runs aground on rocks on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, killing more than 130.
1917 - World War I: President Woodrow Wilson calls for "peace without victory" in Europe.
1919 - Act Zluky is signed, unifying the Ukrainian People's Republic and the West Ukrainian National Republic.
1924 - Ramsay MacDonald becomes the first Labour Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
1927 - First live radio commentary of a football match anywhere in the world, between Arsenal F.C. and Sheffield United at Highbury.
1931 - Sir Isaac Isaacs is sworn in as the first Australian-born Governor-General of Australia.
1941 - World War II: The United Kingdom captures Tobruk from Nazi forces.
1944 - World War II: The Allies commence Operation Shingle which was an assault on Anzio, Italy.
1946 - Iran: Qazi Muhammad declares the independent people's Republic of Mahabad at Chuwarchira Square in the Kurdish city of Mahabad. He is the new president; Hadschi Baba Scheich is the prime minister.
1946 - Creation of the Central Intelligence Group, forerunner of the Central Intelligence Agency.
1947 - KTLA, the first commercial television station west of the Mississippi River, begins operation in Hollywood, California.
1952 - The first Jet airliner, the de Havilland Comet, enters service for BOAC.
1957 - Israel withdraws from the Sinai Peninsula.
1957 - The New York City "Mad Bomber," George P. Metesky, was arrested in Waterbury, Connecticut and was charged with planting more than 30 bombs.
1962 - The Organization of American States suspends Cuba's membership.
1963 - The Elysée treaty of cooperation between France and Germany was signed by Charles de Gaulle and Konrad Adenauer.
1968 - Apollo 5 lifted off carrying the first Lunar module into space.
1973 - The Supreme Court of the United States delivers its decision in Roe v. Wade, allowing abortion
1973 - A chartered Boeing 707 explodes in flames upon landing at Kano Airport, Nigeria killing 176.
1984 - The Apple Macintosh, the first consumer computer to popularize the computer mouse and the graphical user interface, was introduced during Super Bowl XVIII with its famous "1984" television commercial.
1987 - Pennsylvania politician R. Budd Dwyer shoots and kills himself at a press conference on live national television, leading to debates on boundaries in journalism.
1990 - Robert Tappan Morris, Jr. is convicted of releasing the 1988 Internet Computer worm.
1991 - Gulf War. Three SCUDs and one Patriot missile hit Ramat Gan in Israel, injuring 96 people. Three elderly people die of heart attacks.
1992 - Rebel forces occupy Zaire's national radio station in Kinshasa and broadcast a demand for the government's resignation.
1992 - Space Shuttle program: STS-42 Mission - Dr. Roberta Bondar becomes the first Canadian woman in space.
1995 - Israeli-Palestinian conflict: In central Israel, two suicide bombers from the Gaza Strip blow themselves up at a military transit point killing 19 Israelis.
1999 - Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two sons are burned alive by radical Hindus while sleeping in their car in Eastern India.
2002 - Kmart Corp becomes the largest retailer in United States history to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
2006 - Evo Morales is inaugurated as President of Bolivia, becoming the country's first indigenous president.
2006 - Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant scored 81 points against the Toronto Raptors at Staples Center which is the second most points in a single-game in NBA history, only behind Wilt Chamberlain's 100 points in 1962.
2007 - The jury portion of the trial against Robert Pickton, accused of being Canada's worst serial killer, opens in New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada.