DC Day Trip: National Cherry Blossom Festival in DC
This is the first post for a new series I'm working on, called DC Day Trip. I will share all of my favorite spots to walk, rest, eat, and drink all over the city. Any places in particular you want to hear about? Let me know!
For all of the years that I have lived near Washington D.C., this is the first year I have ventured out to the Tidal Basin to see Japan's gift to the United States in 1912: 3,000 Cherry Blossom trees.
Immediately as we turned on Main Ave. toward the Jefferson Memorial parking areas, I was completely taken in by the magic of how a mass of tiny pastel pink flowers could create such a statement.
If you do want to head into DC to experience the blossoms firsthand, I would recommend going during the week if possible, and in the earlier hours of the day to ensure easy parking. We arrived at 9:45am, then parked in parking lot A for the Jefferson Memorial, a short walk from the East Potomac Park side, which is free! At that time, there were many spots open, but when we returned around 11:30, it was super crowded.
This coming weekend, April 8th, 2017, there are more events going on for the Cherry Blossom Festival, so be sure to check out their website to see all of the information on tours and more.
I can't believe how beautiful these flowers looked against the Washington Monument, Tidal Basin, and Thomas Jefferson Memorial. We were even greeted by two mallard ducks, who followed us along the sidewalk for most of our walk, which made my 3 year old's experience pure magic.
Here are a few of my favorite shots (please do not re-use these photos without written permission.)
