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

From My Bench To Yours

Have you ever been walking through a city and stopped for a moment and take in the sights, sounds, and smells? I do this in every city I visit. I find a bench, which I declare to be “my bench”, and sit a while. I sit and absorb the city for what it is; a wonderful and sometimes chaotic world where people rush from here to there not seeing the beautiful park they’re going past. Sometimes, I catch a person pause and take in the music the man on the corner is playing, or smell a flower that caught their eye, they give a genuine smile and you can tell they’re happier in that moment. Maybe it reminds them of a childhood memory, or of a loved one. There’s a great deal to be seen while sitting on a bench watching everyone go about his or her way. I’m here to share my benches with you and to show you what I see in the cities I visit.