Cherry Blossom Festival in DC

looks like a great time

These are lovely...

And wow, the crowds!

I've always wanted to visit & see the cherry blossoms. Some day maybe I'll make it

I love DC and it is a treat to be reminded of its beauty

GREAT pics, and amazing you got there so early.

CONGRATS! And I'm glad you got such a good day. Tomorrow for me.

already it's not. I know how crowded it gets, I try to go every year, it's a few blocks from my old office and today taking Metro rail to Smithsonian. Charging camera battery now.

probably due the confluence of: Cherry Blossom Parade Saturday, Peak Bloom Friday/Saturday, WEEKEND, + PERFECT weather! I walked a couple of miles (NOT as much as you did,) but decided not to elbow my way through the crowd TO the Tidal Basin. DID get a picture of my old office, next to Federal Triangle Metro. Returned via Smithsonian Metro station. QUITE a day! Glad I did it, but I'm sorry I didn't make it TO Tidal Basin. VERY glad you did!

I couldn't believe all of the tour buses parked around the Lincoln Memorial & Smithsonian on Wednesday & Thursday. I always wanted to go to the Museum of the American Indian, but it was just too crowded to appreciate it. It requires a LOT of reading & I really couldn't get close enough to read things. The architecture is spectacular, though.

but wanted to come back in the late afternoon for a picnic supper under the cherry trees.
She said they WALKED from Arlington Cemetery to the Tidal Basin--almost 2 miles--then
up to the White House! Yikes!

She also said her son usually can get out of town in about 5 minutes and on Saturday
it took him an hour! Traffic was horrible.

The concierge at our hotel told me--while I was waiting for husband to bring his suitcase down
to check out--the final weekend of Cherry Blossom Festival is always their busiest weekend
the entire year at their hotel...and that the past three weeks of spring vacations are their
busiest period in the year due to all the trips made by parents with school age kids.

I certainly have never seen so many people in DC, except en masse the time I went to
attend one of the Iraq War protests.

Everyone was nice, good, and kind, a pleasure to hang with We the People!!! (But the litter was AWFUL!)

DC is on my bucket list. One of these years I'll get there.

from the Lincoln memorial to the Vietnam & Korean memorials to the MLK memorial to the FDR memorial, & around the basin to the Jefferson, Washington monument, WWII memorial to pay respects to my dear, late Marine dad, then back to the Lincoln. We are in PA now on our way back to MI. It was an awesome trip to DC.

past the Washington Monument around the Tidal Basin--Jefferson, FDR, MLK, Jr. Memorials
and then to the Lincoln Memorial and up 23rd St. past State Dept. to Foggy Bottom
metro stop to meet my friend for brunch. Our hotel was about a 10 minute walk
from where we had brunch. So, my feet were pooped by the afternoon!

I have seen all the war memorials on other trips.

We canned it because Sakura was going to be late due to the cold winter. We went to the Baltimore Aquarium and Philadelphia instead.

I have still never seen Sakura in DC!

At least I have seen it in Kyoto!!