Cherry Blossoms!

Better to be lucky than smart, they say.  Oh, yes!  When we planned our itinerary back up to the Philly area from Florida, we were sure that we would be arriving in the D.C. area too early for the cherry blossoms.  Well, climate change, which seems to be bringing Spring early everywhere (daffodils two weeks early, for goodness sake) --- 

 

 

-- blessed us with early cherry blossoms in Washington, D.C., and it turned out that our free day to visit the Tidal Basin was the very day the blossoms peaked.  Not only that, but the rainy forecast magically turned to sun.  So, as we said...

After running an errand, we drove over to the local Metro stop and rode in to the L'Enfant stop, aiming to have lunch on The Wharf before walking over to the Tidal Basin to see the blossoms.  It was a cheery, breezy, sunny day on the waterfront:

We happened to pass by Union Stage at Pearl Street Warehouse, and, who should be shown on the marquee for an upcoming performance but Barenaked Ladies!

 

 

It called to mind our 1996 trip to Boston with our kids and good friend Darla, where Darla and Kathy obligingly posed for a lighthearted photo -- not knowing it would echo down the years:

We had a scrumptious lunch on an outside veranda, then walked over to the Tidal Basin, where this was our first look at the cherry blossoms:

It seemed everyone and everything were coming out here today, including these beautiful little residents sitting quietly on one of the trees along the basin:

We always enjoy returning to Washington, D.C. to walk as far as we have time, and to see our favorite monuments and memorials in ever-new perspectives.  This was the Jefferson Memorial in pink-and-white splendor ---

--- and this the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial surrounded by admiring visitors and admired flora:

These were the best photos we have to share from the day.  We might have taken more, but we were too busy admiring the beautiful blossoms and people.  Everyone at the Tidal Basin was in glorious humor and unfailingly polite to each other, enjoying this burst of sunny weather and the peak of the season.

Happy Spring!