LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Love. Trust. Respect. They're the pillars married couples stand on to get to where Mary Ann and Tony Zierer are today.
"We've been together 32 years, but we've been married 28," said Mary Ann.
They are retired, enjoy having spirited discussions about flowers, and are still holding hands with every journey taken together. It could be considered rare. So many houses are divided.
Their walks are not reserved for a backyard or local greenhouse.
For years now, they've been happening with physical pillars in the background.
"We've always been interested in history," Mary Ann said.
From Juneau, Alaska to Augusta, Maine-- the Louisville couple has visited all 50 state capitols. They just got back in early August from Honolulu, Hawaii.
Why Capitols?
"Well besides being crazy?" Mary Ann asked with a laugh.
We had time on our hands," added Tony.
A trip to see a friend in 2014 took them to Pennslyvania, where they stopped by the statehouse in Harrisburg. The ride back to Louisville got them close to West Virginia's capitol, so they stopped there too.
"It became my bucket list, but then it became our bucket list," Mary Add said.
A little more than 12 years after their first stop, the coast to coast capitol loving couple has experienced plenty of action.
"For somebody who drives in Louisville, it's harrowing to get into New York traffic," Tony said.
There was even some scandal in the Midwest.
"When we went to Missouri, we were told we couldn't go in," Mary Ann explained. "We said 'why?' And they said well the people found out their governor was having an affair with his hair stylist."
They also walked away with opinions as strong as the lawmakers, who work under capitol domes visited.
According to the couple the prettiest capitol was in Massachusetts, and the ugliest was in Tennessee. They say the capitol with the best food is in Frankfort, Kentucky.
More than anything else, the trips gave the retired Louisville couple a chance to reconnect and realize, with each new face met: "You might have political differences, but when it comes down to it, everybody wants to help everyone else," Mary Ann said with a smile.
No amendments to that statement needed.
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