The green and white road signs kept teasing us along with mentions of Capitol Street so many miles ahead, and we strained our eyes for a glimpse of the gold leafed dome, like Columbus looking for a continent. Then...there it was, and I know it was better than all three of us figured it would be. The capitol building sprawled gray concrete like a regal queen spreading her petticoats, and its giant dome glittered pure gold in the morning sun. I felt in me an embarrassing sense of pride that she was ours. That we weren't shut down old coal mines and people on welfare like the rest of the country wanted to believe we were. We were this majestic, elegant thing sitting solid, sparkling in the light.

Identify the figure of speech in the underlined sentence.

A) exaggeration

B) idiom

C) onomatopoeia

D) simile