Nothing signifies the arrival of spring in the District of Columbia quite like the blooming of the cherry blossom trees. Having returned to Virginia on Wednesday, we took the Metro orange line into the District to the Smithsonian Station.
From there it was short walk to the Tidal Basin and the Cherry Tree Festival complete with blooms and petal showers! This is the final weekend, but visiting during the week it was un-crowded and in FULL BLOOM!
The first cherry trees were a gift from the Mayor Yuko Ozaki of Tokyo City to the city of Washington, DC. The Mayor donated the first trees to enhance the growing friendship between the US and Japan. Of the original trees only a few remain but a lot more that have been added over time around the Basin providing LOTS of color and blossoms.
Occasionally there were showers of blossoms as the breeze picked up and moved the petals around.
While the overall target date for the Cherry Blossom Festival is set each year, when they actually bloom is anyone’s guess. We were incredibly lucky to return to Virginia and have the opportunity to see these flowers in full bloom – rain is expected on Monday and I expect that will wash away any that remain.
We walked completely around the Tidal Basin, passed the Thomas Jefferson Memorial, the Franklin Delano Roosevelt memorial and Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial before returning to the Metro for our train home. All in all we completed a 4-mile walk!
Great pix!
Lovely blossoms.
Here’s to whoever invented the selfie stick!!
XXOO