Mr. Behrendt Goes To Washington

Saturday, July 12, 2014

Jake in DC

Jake in DC
My brother Jake visited me for about a week starting on July 4th. He had some time visit me before he goes to the University of Iowa in the fall to pursue a B.S. in engineering. We were very active and saw many attractions.

On July 4th, we saw the Air and Space Museum, Native American museum, Botanical Gardens, Library of Congress, Supreme Court, White House, Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, FDR Memorial, Korean War Memorial, and Lincoln Memorial before seeing fireworks shot from the Reflecting Pool. We watched the fireworks from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. While waiting for the fireworks on the steps, Jake decided to take a nap.

On July 5th, we visited the Holocaust Memorial Museum, Jefferson Memorial, and George Mason Memorial. Next we had lunch at 5 Guys by the Verizon Center. We enjoyed our afternoon watching the Nats thrash the Cubs 13-0. Our seats were in left field behind some drunk Cubs fans. No homeruns to left field that game.

On July 6th, our first stop was church. After that we walked through Old Town Alexandria. After exploring the water front of Alexandria, we went on a river taxi ride from Alexandria to Georgetown and back. We were able to see many things including the Naval Research Laboratory, War College, Watergate, JFK Performing Arts Center, and steps from the Potomac to the Lincoln Memorial. In the evening we got Mexican food in Del Ray. That was followed up by some custard in Del Ray at Dairy Godmother's.

On July 7th, we saw the Declaration of Independence and Constitution at the National Archives, Presidential Portrait Gallery at the National Portrait Gallery and American Art Museum, Supreme Court, and the Capitol. We saw the Capitol via a tour from Senator Chuck Grassley's Office. We were able to see the new Iowa Statue of Norman Borlaug. The Capitol dome is under renovations. So part of the painting on the rotunda was blocked by a sheet to catch debris from the restoration. We watched the Senate in session from a Senate Viewing Gallery. Jake and I enjoyed the tour. After the tour we met Chuck Grassley in his Senate office. We were able to get a picture with the Senator. You can see the picture below. We took a long metro ride to DuPont Circle to get a dozen doughnuts from Krispy Kreme for Jake's dinner.

On July 8th, we went to the Washington Monument. We went all the way up to the top, 590 feet in the air. We got a wonderful view of the area. Before that we saw the WWI Memorial and White House from the South Lawn. The rest of the day in DC we took a very long walk. We went to American History Museum, WWII Memorial, Constitution Pond and Garden, Reflecting Pool, Vietnam War Memorial, and Arlington Cemetery. At the WWII Memorial, a tour guide talk about the Sullivan brothers. The Sullivan brothers were 5 brothers from Waterloo, Iowa who were all killed at the same time on the same ship during WWII in 1942. Before we went back to Alexandria, we visited the 9/11 Memorial at the Pentagon. In the evening, we relaxed. First we had dinner at Potbelly's. Next we watched Transformer 4. We both got a poster for Transformers 4. To finish the night, we went to Cold Stone.

On July 9th, we biked to Mt. Vernon. It is about 12 miles from my house. Jake was a very good biker. He was better than me. Then we went to the Zoo. At the zoo we saw birds, pandas, elephants, gorillas, wolves, and orangutans. One of the gorilla looked at Jake through a pane of glass. The gorilla was less than a foot away from Jake's face. We made another Krispy Kreme stop after the zoo. Jake likes Krispy Kreme.

Our last day together was July 10th. Since it was his travel day, we took the day easy. We slept in for the first time on the trip. After packing up we went to see the George Washington Masonic Temple and my workplace. Afterward we had lunch at Joe Theismann's by the King Street metro. We waited at my place until it was time for Jake to go to the airport. I got him safely to the airport. I had a really great time! Hopefully he did as well!

Jake Napping on the Lincoln Memorial Steps Waiting for July 4th Fireworks

July 4th Fireworks

Jake and I with Senator Chuck Grassley

East View from Washington Monument

North View from Washington Monument

North View from Washington Monument (Close Up of White House)

West View from Washington Monument

South View from Washington Monument

Jake with a New Friend at the Zoo

Thursday, July 3, 2014

New York City

New York City
I went to New York City from Friday, June 27th to Sunday, June 29th. I saw many cool places. My Amtrak train left the Alexandria Union Station early in the morning. After 4 hours, I arrived at Penn Station in New York City (NYC). Penn Station is below or right next to Madison Square Garden. I did not know that until I arrived at Penn Station. I walked up 7th Avenue through Times Square to my hotel on 50th Street near 7th Avenue. This is the first time I have been in NYC, since I went in high school on a choir trip about 7 or 8 years ago. I remember many if not all of the place we went on the my previous NYC trip, but I did not fully appreciate seeing them and I did not know where they were located relative to one another

After checking in to the hotel, I started seeing NYC. First I went to Ray's Pizza a few blocks from my hotel to get some NY style pizza. Next, I went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET). I was blown away by that place and that usually does not happen to me at an art museum. They had a lot of art and some of the art was done by people I have heard of before. There was art from Egypt, Rome, Greece, Europe, among others. They also had multiple rooms of famous artists including Monet, Picasso, Van Gogh, Matisse, DeGas, and Dali. I was not expecting to see their paintings. After the MET, dinner, and a change of clothes, I went to see the Phantom of Opera on Broadway. That was fun!

Saturday was by far the busiest day of the trip. I took the Staten Island Ferry to Staten Island and back to Manhattan at 7:30 am in the morning. We went right past the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Next, I mosied to Battery Park and the Charging Bull on my way to the 9/11 Memorial Museum. I really enjoyed the museum. I think if you go to Manhattan, you should try to make a trip to the museum. The museum is well put together. It was not crowded when I was there at 9:30 am. There are many articles from the World Trade Center site on 9/11. The museum even showed a film of people jumping off the World Trade Center. There was also a 15 minute video with Rudy Giuliani, George Bush, and Condoleezza Rice. The best part of the museum was a time line of the events of that day in maze with stuff from that time of day. The museum has the potential to move people emotionally. Next I went to Wall Street and the South Side Seaport. The South Side Seaport is under construction until 2016. That was a little disappointing. Then I walked part way across the Brooklyn Bridge. The bridge handles 6 lanes of traffic plus pedestrians and bikes. That is impressive for a bridge built in 1883. Then I strolled through Chinatown and Little Italy. Eventually I met up with a friend from high school. We went to see where he works and lives. We had dinner by his apartment on the Lower East Side. Then I went to bed before a big night of shootings in the city.

On Sunday, June 29th, I simply got on a train back to Alexandria Union Station. The quiet car is pretty nice on those trains. You can get a lot of sleep.

My phone is not letting me download the pictures from my phone to my computer. So I do not have any photos available to post right now. I will try to have pictures up in the near future.