Weedy Acres, You did a great job!
A couple of questions, Did you just use lag bolts to mount the 4x4's to the joists, or did you use hardware? What do you think about the possibility of adding a back to the benches? What did you bolt to where when going perpendicular to the joists?
Glen, I'm not actually building a new deck, I've got an existing 4x8 deck, but have a few projects associated with it - I'm adding that little extension (to make a little more room for the benches), re-doing the stairs, adding the benches and at a minimum resurfacing the decking if not replacing it.