I'm so glad you got to see at least part of the Capitol complex. It WAS a fun place to grow up. I lived up Capitol Way while they were building Interstate 5 next to my school (we were way up on the bank over the freeway but my friends and I scooted down the big cliff to watch the construction).
The Capitol grounds were our park and second home. It was as if all the kids in our neighborhood had a mansion with its grounds for a back yard, and professional gardners to make it all look gorgeous as the seasons changed. My parents, on pleasant summer nights at dusk or early dark, sometimes piled us in the car in our PJ's and drove us to the fountain and let us run around to blow off energy while they sat in the waning light and enjoyed the quiet beauty. There was a Dairy Queen a couple blocks away ... and Capitol Lake for swimming just down the hill from the Capitol grounds.
It was all just the right size for kids to feel free to play, roam, learn, enjoy.
How wonderful! I noticed how pristine that area is, with gardeners working here and there. Mt. Ranier showed itself that day, too!