Goin' to the Chapel and we're gonna...

... climb to the top!

A week before Welford's graduation, on 5/6/2009 Duke Chapel Tower was open for grad students to climb to the top of the bell tower. We decided it would be an experience, and fought the heat and the two hour wait. The spiral staircase leading to the top was extremely small and narrow, often making me dizzy during the climb, with a dank stillness that was certainly something to remember. I thought the concrete corkscrew would never come to an end. Towards the top, there was a door with a small window viewing the bells, seen here.
We did make it to the top, a bit out of breath and red faced... well, at least I was. The officer on duty at the top was not too happy that I climbed up the stairs and suggested we take the elevator back down. I told him not to worry about it, that I'd be okay. He really didn't want to deliver a baby that evening! :) So we reassured him, and asked if he'd take a picture of us...

The view on the top of the tower was really great. The sun was setting, a storm was on the horizon, and there was a nice breeze for a bit of coolness after waiting in the heat for so long.





This is a photo of the side of Duke Chapel on the left, and on the right is Duke Divinity School.







With the storm on the horizon, being on top of the tower did not give you a good feeling... the lightening rods and grounds were ominous and the officer said as soon as he saw lightening we were all out of there. I don't blame him, getting caught up there in a storm would certainly not end on a happy note.

Living in Durham, you would never stop to think that Duke Chapel sits on a hilltop. There are only a few places that you can actually see a majority of the Chapel... the nicest place is coming south on 147 from Hillsborough. While on top of the Chapel, we could see all of Durham and even Chapel Hill. It was amazing how far in every direction we could see. Even a few foothills off in the distance. Very neat.



A photo of me, in the background the courtyard in front of the Chapel.














Welford is standing on the lookout platform on top of the Chapel Tower.

















When the tower was closing the officer got everyone off the top and insisted that we ride the elevator back down with him since we were the last group.


In doing so we got to go under the bells and got a few photos of them. The elevator itself was pretty small and the three of us were very cozy as we rode down. Here is a photo I took of us... as well as the elevator buttons & door. It was a pretty neat elevator.

All in all, a wonderful experience. I'm sure not many people can say they've climbed Duke Chapel Tower, visited the bells, and rode the elevator in the tower.... all while 9 months pregnant.