A few weekends ago, I visited my friends, Patty, Dave and their kids, in Washington, DC. I hadn’t planned on seeing the famous cherry blossoms because they normally bloom later in the spring, but the unseasonably warm winter/early spring brought them out for my trip.

The last time I was in DC at the same time the Cherry trees were blossoming was in 1987, when I visited Pam Troxler and Merrie Neurock during Easter of my freshman year at MIT. Pam was attending Georgetown University, and Merrie was still in high school, having moved from Texas to the DC area. I recall thinking they were very pretty back then, but now that I am older I think I appreciate them more(the misplaced modifier is totally intentional; it works both ways).

I took all these pictures on the last day of my visit. Patty dropped me off at The Washington Monument on her way to work that morning.

I walked from there to the Jefferson Memorial, which includes The Tidal Pool, where the majority of the Cherry trees are planted.

They were a gift from the Japanese government shortly after the turn of the century. I found out the first shipment had to be destroyed because of infestation and disease problems, but a delicate diplomatic crisis was averted with a second shipment, and these are the trees that stand today.

As you can see, the weather was absolutely gorgeous. The day before, Sunday, this place was far too crowded, but this morning, it was perfect.

There was a cute little girl having her picture taken by her mom, so I borrowed the subject, placing the Jefferson Memorial in the background.

There were people in paddle boats, like this one:

The dome of the Jefferson Memorial reminds me of the Great Dome at MIT.

The memorial itself is solemn and impressive. Hope you enjoyed the trip with me!