BILL TIMNICK: CAPITAL SUGGESTIONS >>>

For the South Sound traveler, Olympia’s Capitol Campus, anchored by Washington’s Capitol Building, is as good a place to start as any.  Although the campus is most visually appealing in the spring when the cherry trees are in bloom, there are year-round reasons to visit and explore the buildings and grounds. Staff members provide hourly tours of the Capitol Building throughout the week.  Even the Governor’s Mansion opens for tours â€" weekly on Wednesday, by reservation only.  Call 360.902.8880 for more information.

Other Capitol Campus attractions include a selection of memorials and monuments, devoted to Washington veterans from several wars, a large fountain, a “sunken” outdoor garden, a visitor center (for planning yet more adventures), and the nearby State Capitol Museum (seven blocks south of the campus at 211 S.W. 21st Ave.).  The museum, inside Olympia’s Lord Mansion, is open Wednesday through Saturday.  Among its permanent displays are exhibits highlighting South Sound Native American history and culture.  The museum also features a native plant garden.  Local history is also celebrated at the Bigelow House Museum, 918 Glass Ave. N.E., which preserves artifacts associated with one of the city’s founding families.  The museum is open weekends through Labor Day and by appointment.  Call 360.753.1215 for more information.

To discover still more reasons to visit Olympia, go to www.visitolympia.com, or call the Visitor and Convention Bureau at 360.704.7544 or toll free at 877.704.7500.