Washington D.C.

Three cheers for the Red, White, and Blue! I went to DC at the beginning of the month because I wanted to visit some museums. There are one or two there that you can visit haha. I happen to love art museums, I find them very relaxing and I can figure out solutions to problems I’m facing. In DC you can visit the National Gallery, where you can find any style of artwork that you prefer. I am a big fan of impressionism (19^th century French art movement including artists- Seurat, Monet, Pissarro, Van Gogh, and many others). I found a bench, really it was a comfy couch, in one of the East Wing rooms in which a few Pissarro paintings are hung together. I sat there for a while and enjoyed the views of Paris that Pissarro painted. I find myself escaping to that time and wondering where the people are going and if those dresses are comfortable at all. I also spent some time in the beautiful rotunda where there is bench seating along the outside and you can view the gorgeous fountain in the center (there is also free wifi in this area). If you are a museum loving person, like me, I highly recommend visiting the National Mall and going through the Smithsonian museums. The National Gallery and Air and Space Museums are my all time favorites. There are benches everywhere in DC so if you visit and find a cool bench let me know so I can check it out too!

Entrance to the National Gallery

The Rotunda

Pissarro

Indianaplois

I apologize for the tardiness of this post. Life has gotten a bit crazy the last few months, and today I finally sat down and reviewed what I wrote so I can post it.

On to Indy!

Indianapolis, home of the Colts. Well, I am a Bengals fan, but we’re not here to discuss football. I was excited to explore the downtown area for the first time a while back. I fell in love fairly quickly with this bustling city. I went to the Circle Center Mall, which was massive! The streets in the surrounding area of the mall have every available food option you can think of. I walked around a bit then decided to head back towards the hotel I was staying at due to weather possibly moving in. I went to the Monument Circle and was blown away at how people centered the area is. This is where I found my “bench”. I say “bench” because there weren’t any real benches in the area, but there were these little table and chairs set up everywhere along with picnic tables. This is part of an experiment being put on by Big Car in conjunction with the Indianapolis local government. They have ‘parklets’ which are wooden deck-like platforms that have bistro style seating available. They also has various activities set up around Monument Circle for everyone to enjoy and escape work on your lunch break or to enjoy while visiting the city. They have games like giant Jenga, ping pong, chess, checkers, a bookmobile, and different activities each night of the week. They have a list of activities on their website, which I’ll include at the end of this entry. I found a spot at one of the parklets and enjoyed the live music, and people watching. I honestly sat there for about three hours just watching business people taking their lunch breaks and playing Ping Pong or the giant Jenga. Not only is having these activities available fun, it’s also great stress relief. I guarantee that anyone that left work and took their break decompressing outside with friends, or alone if desired, when back to work in a much better mood thus being more productive. I think that it’s a fantastic initiative and you all should check it out. Since it is an experiment it’s only running from August 1, 2015- October 16, 2015.  Check out the list of activities, all of which are free!

Pano from my seat

Giant Jenga

Link to information about Spark: Monument Circle: http://circlespark.org

The Heart of Texas

“The stars at night are big and bright, deep in the heart of Texas!” Welcome to one of my favorite places stateside! Austin, Texas is one of my all time favorite cities to spend a day in. My bench is located on the Capitol grounds and it’s a beautiful sight. The capitol building is the largest capitol next to the United States Capitol building, and is the only exception to the rule that no capitol building shall be as big or bigger than the US Capitol building. That’s pretty cool in my book. You can take free tours of the Capitol and walk the grounds, which are beautiful.  There’s a rose garden out back that has the Yellow Rose of Texas on display, these flowers come from Tyler, Texas. You can also stop at one of the dozens of food trucks (which are famous here) for a great lunch and enjoy it while sitting on a bench watching tour groups of children and those from out of state enjoy the rich history that the area offers. I love to sit here in the shade and read a book. The University of Texas is right down the road, you can’t miss the football stadium. It’s HUGE! College Football is a religion down here, so if you have the chance to experience the craziness that can only be experienced with Texas football go to a game. Sixth Street is where all the college and alumni students hang out (it’s the bar scene). I usually head over to the restaurant called Moonshine, it’s at 3^rd Street and Red River Street, they have a fantastic atmosphere and menu. I always get the Green Chili Mac and if you want an appetizer I recommend the corndog battered shrimp with the blueberry infused mustard. Sounds weird but trust me it works. The portions are very generous so you’ll be able to share or have some awesome leftovers. I love Austin and there’s so much more to see than what I have mentioned, but these are my favorite things to do, I hope that you’ll find yourself there one day and experience the greatness of Austin, Texas. Keep Austin Weird!! (that is the city's motto)

View of the Texas Capitol from my bench

Deep in the heart of Texas Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGF4ibgcHQE

Capitol Building Info: http://www.tspb.state.tx.us/tspb.htm

Food Trucks and Austin Info: http://www.austintexas.org/visit/food-and-drink/food-trucks/

Moonshine Website: http://moonshinegrill.com

Norfolk-Town Point Park

I recently traveled to Norfolk, Virginia and fell in love... With the city that is! It’s a city built on the Port of Virginia, which happens to be the deepest port on the East Coast. I will admit that I haven’t explored the city in its entirety yet, but I plan to in the near future. I found this particular bench while on a stroll along the port. It is on the edge of Town Point Park where there’s a marina from which you can watch sailboats, naval ships, and tour boats cruise on by. I sat here for a while and watched the joggers run by while the crew of the tour boats cleaned and prepped for the day’s excursions. There were a bunch of tents up in the park along with a stage leftover from the previous night, so maybe they have some festivals in the park. As you explore the city you may see a bunch painted mermaid statues. These are Norfolk’s version of the painted cows in Chicago or the Flying Pigs of Cincinnati [There’s a link at the end with history of the Mermaids]. It was a toasty and humid 90 degrees for the day, which is a bit hot for me. So I decided to walk to the nearby museum, Nauticus, which has the USS Wisconsin available for touring. I had a few hours so I spent majority of that time onboard the USS Wisconsin. IT’S MASSIVE! I’ll admit to getting lost since I was one of about ten people onboard that morning. I recommend visiting the ship first if you’re there during the summer as the ship is only partially air-conditioned and gets pretty warm through out the day. The museum itself you could spend an entire day in. It has a lot of history available to view and read about. There are also interactive exhibits for children or the child in you if you’re like me. They even have a mini aquarium where you can interact with sharks and horseshoe crabs! I only had limited time available to explore, so I stuck close to the museum. I intended to go more into the city later this month and may have another bench for you from the great city of Norfolk.

Panoramic view from the bench

Town Point Park

Norfolk Mermaids: http://www.norfolk.gov/norfolkmermaids

Nauticus/USS Wisconsin: http://www.nauticus.org

A Historic Bench

The first bench I’m going to share with you is from the Birth Place of Aviation. You know where that is right? If you said Dayton, Ohio then you are correct! I chose this bench to be my starting point because without the Wright Brother’s invention of the airplane I wouldn’t be able to have benches in other cities, let alone a job. So a big Thank You to Orville and Wilbur Wright. This particular bench is right downtown. There are a lot of historical sights nearby and this is a great place to pause and admire the sculpture dedicated to flight right across the way. There is a lot to do and see in Dayton. If you like museums you should check out the Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB). I’ll include a link at the end of this post. You can spend a week in this museum and still not see everything. I also recommend heading to a Dragon’s Game if you’re into baseball. The stadium is one of the best minor league stadiums I’ve ever visited and there’s not a bad seat anywhere. I love Dayton, I’m biased since I lived there most of my life, but it’s a great city that is working hard to rejuvenate itself. So, stop on by and give this bench a try.

Bench dedicated to the Wright Brother's 

Air Force Museum Link: http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil

Dayton Dragon's Link: http://www.milb.com/index.jsp?sid=t459

Dayton Aviation Heritage Park: http://www.nps.gov/daav/index.htm