Mr. Behrendt Goes To Washington: 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!