Cherry Blossom Festival in DC

Wow! I had seen pictures on TV, but the actual sight of the Cherry Blossom Festival was awesome! The trees were spectacular! The blossoms were so thick, the branches hung down. We took the metro (crowded was the word!) to downtown DC and got off at the Smithsonian. Over a million people also went that day. I have never seen so many cameras, ever. We charged right into the crowd and when we got to the tidal basin, the trees were so beautiful that there seemed to be a reverent hush over the crowd. The trees were given to us in 1912 by the Japanese. There are over 3,750 of them (different varieties). I will add a few pictures of the trees, but I could not capture the magnificence of their beauty. If you ever get a chance to go, don't miss it. This was our first time to see it, maybe this year was just a great year for the blossoms, but we loved it. We walked around the entire tidal basin which includes the Jefferson Memorial and the FDR Memorial. Awesome sight to see!

After we saw the trees, we hiked over to Pennsylvania Avenue and had lunch. Well, our lunch was at Potbelly (one of my favorite places to eat) next to the Renwick. We went to the Renwick Gallery to see the new exhibit which was "Ornament as Art", a metal jewelry exhibit. After that, we walked across the street to the White House and took some pictures. There was a pick-up truck parked in the driveway which we decided might belong to the President. We couldn't tell if it had Texas plates or not, but it did look funny to see a pickup truck parked out front. As we got there, a group of people were exiting the visitors' gate. We found out later on the evening news that Laura Bush had held a High School reunion there for her Midland, Texas classmates. There was also a war protest going on right out front. The protesters are always interesting to see with all their signs and such. I just love all the interesting things we get to see in DC. There are so many more places and events to explore. It was a fun day!