Cherry Blossom Festival

I have been able to cross something off of my "bucket list". (You know....the list that you keep of things you must see or do before you die.) Dave and I went to the Cherry Blossom Festival in D.C. during one of the "peak bloom days" this year. Amazing beauty!!!! Dave and I decided to take advantage of our proximity to the Capital city and go for the day. It was a very spur of the moment decision on what turned out to be an incredibly windy day -- we're talking hurricane force! But it was wonderful!

Here I am along the Tidal Basin with the Jefferson Memorial across the basin.

I must say that the trees in their full glory is probably one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. It literally took my breath away.

Two years ago (our first year in VA), Dave took the train to D.C. and took in the sights of the Cherry Trees in full bloom. I had to work. :-( I have heard about this trip for 2 years and have been quite jealous! But now I too have been, so to mark the occasion, I took the exact same picture that he took 2 years ago. {However, I think mine is better!}

I am MOST proud of this picture!!! Fit for a calendar if you ask me!!

Looking up into a blue sky and a sea of white cherry blossoms!!

As we looped around the tidal basin, we found a beautiful patch of trees and almost no one around. Unbelievable!!! Here is Dave amongst the blossoms.

This is Dave's favorite picture of the day (but then, he's biased).

Tips if anyone goes: 1) DO NOT DRIVE into D.C. You will be extremely frustrated if you do as they close off a lot of the streets around the area and the traffic was a nightmare! 2) Drive to Arlington, VA and park at the Roslyn Hyatt parking garage. You have to pay but you'll be thankful you park here. And literally around the corner from the hotel is the Roslyn Metro Station. 4 stops later and you're at the Smithsonian Station.

It was an amazing day!!! As soon as we hit D.C., we went straight to the Tidal Basin and we were smart to do so. Little did we know but at the very same time was the Cherry Blossom Festival Parade. So, even though we still had to deal with throngs of people, it wasn't even close to what it would've been had we gone to the Tidal Basin in the afternoon. We then visited the US History Smithsonian which just reopened. And then of course we had to visit our favorites at the Art Museum. :-)

I have had many "favorite" trips to D.C. but I think this one is at the very top!!!