In Full Bloom

Spring is by far my favorite time of year. And in DC, nothing says springtime like Cherry Blossoms at their peak! Last week, my friend Sarah and I headed down to the Tidal Basin for a little stroll around the beauties. A little bit of wisdom for any of you who want to see the cherry blossoms at some point in your life...GO EARLY IN THE MORNING!!! By noon, the crowds are ridiculous. As you will see, the number of people who had the same great idea as us is quite impressive...

In front of TJ--my favorite of the monuments/memorials!

In 1912, Japan gave the US 3,020 cherry trees as a gift to celebrate the nations' then-growing friendship. Some of these were planted in Manhattan, the rest were planted around the tidal basin. The gift was renewed in 1965 with another 3,800 trees. Thanks, Japan for making springtime in DC so awesome. (And thanks, Wikipedia for the helpful information and pertinent dates!)

Close up shot 1. When the wind blows, the pedals begin to fall and fly all around like pinky white snow...that's the kind of snow I can get used to!

TJ with the blossoms.

Again. You can obviously tell I was testing my "artistic ability".

I love the contrast of the light, bright flowers and the dark branches. There's just something so magical about these trees!

As you can see, this one is starting to lose it's flowers a bit. They bloom first, then the blooms fall off and the leaves come out.

One last shot of TJ.

They are so dainty and sweet!

The cherry blossom Bloom Period starts when 20% of the blossoms are open and ends when the petals fall and the leave appear. The Peak Bloom Date is when 70% of the blossoms on the trees are open. Typically, you have a 3-4 day window of "peak blooming", but these little lovelies are very temperamental and are affected by every little change in the weather. Therefore, when the National Park Services say they are at their peak, you jump up, grab your camera, and run out the door!

Sunshine through the blossoms.

Washie's in bloom!

Just in case you forget how to get to the Washington Monument...it's kinda easy to get lost around there sometimes...Every once in a while, I just want to put up a big sign that says "Trying to find the Washington Monument? Just look for the big pointy thing...can't miss it."

I know, I know...NOT cherry blossoms, BUT, the Japanese Magnolias were JUST as pretty and deserve a little shout-out. They always get overlooked!

As I mentioned, it was a little bit crowded down at the Tidal Basin.

And I have to say, the one ANNOYING thing about living in DC from Mid-March through Labor Day is the MASSIVE amounts of tourists that flood the area and walk around in a state of confusion, anxiously gripping their metro maps in fear of forgetting what train they should take to get from one attraction to the next. I'll give you $1 if you can spot the most obvious tourists in this picture...

Holy Guacamole look at all the people! This was when they closed off Independence Ave. and the cross street to prepare for Joe Biden's motorcade--which is just another perk of living in the nation's capital. By the way, this was quite humorous...the tourists were lining the streets with their cameras out and at the ready to take shots of the parade of cars...don't you know that getting to see a motorcade on your vacation is a BIG DEAL?!?!?!