The Cherry Blossoms surrounding the Tidal Basin and decorating the National Mall are just one of the things that immediately come to mind as "quintessential DC" and when I moved to Northern Virginia in 2014, I had somewhat grand plans that I'd make my way into DC every year to see them!
Obviously my goal of coming to see the cherry blossoms every year hasn't quite manifested but that's alright. I've seen them three times in the six years that I've lived in Northern Virginia, so that seems like a pretty good ratio. This year was one of the earlier peak blooms - the dates for peak bloom were predicted to be March 19 - 23 and they stuck to that prediction and peaked on Friday the 20th!
A lesser known gem in the DC area, right alongside the Tidal Basin and the Cherry Blossoms is the Tulip Library - and it usually blooms around the same time as the blossoms! I've seen more blooms before, but the tulips that were peeking out this year were no less gorgeous!
Seeing the blooms this year was something I went back and forth over in my mind. It just didn't seem like a great idea but then I talked to a friend on Twitter who had been and she assured me it was very uncrowded and really posed no issue. That helped with some of my anxiety about the whole thing but then I kid you not - I woke up panicked about it on Saturday and we changed our plans.
Saturday actually turned out pretty cold and gray - so we found other things to do. Once I discovered the cherry blossoms at Nationals Park on Saturday night, it was decided that we'd go see those - no people but still, perfect blooms. When we finished there on Sunday and had grabbed our sandwiches to-go from Potbelly, my parents said since we were so close - it made no sense to not go peek at the Tidal Basin.
The Tidal Basin was certainly the least crowded that I've ever seen it. I suppose that's no surprise. Everyone that was strolling around and viewing the blooms was keeping their distance - no one got too close to anyone else or tried to shove people out of the way for pictures (I've seen it - more than once) - so it was really easy to see the blooms without people being all in your space.
We took our time looking at the blooms - being aware of people around us and making sure not to crowd anyone or get to close to anyone. Again, it was pretty easy to do because other people were also doing the same thing. We chose not to walk the entire path around the Tidal Basin - no need to overdo it or anything, right?
All the roads near the Tidal Basin were closed, so we ended up parking near the Spy Museum and walking over - which was nice because the weather was good and it never hurts to get in some extra steps here and there. We were also across from the Smithsonian Castle and the garden there were in bloom, so I couldn't resist a picture or two of those blooms!
So - there you have it. We went to see the Cherry Blossoms and if I'm being honest, there is a part of me that's still a little conflicted about it, but like my Mom said "it's over and done with - so you need to let that feeling go." I'm glad I got to see them - they are stunning every year and this year was no exception.
And - just for posterity's sake - a final picture that I snapped attached to the gates of the Smithsonian Castle....
What a time to be alive - am I right? We are certainly experiencing something completely....new and different. *sigh*
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