Cherry Blossoms

It's become an annual tradition for the family to make a trip to the Jefferson Memorial and Tidal Basin when the cherry blossoms are in bloom.  Typically, we try to go when the blossoms are in peak bloom, and that means we wake up as early as we possibly can on a Saturday morning, drive to Hains Point, park the car,


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load up the stroller and walk 15 minutes to the Tidal Basin where we find a spot to lay out a blanket and eat breakfast before the crowds arrive.

Usually Ah-ma and Ah-gong love to come see the cherry blossoms at peak bloom, but because this past winter was SO mild, the cherry blossoms around our neighborhood have already started blooming. Plus, the weather this past week was almost May-like. I decided that since we didn't have any plans for Saturday, that it would be a great day to go in to DC. So on Friday night, I prepped everything for our breakfast on Saturday -- I baked a batch of black-bottom cupcakes, washed some berries, got paper plates, napkins, utensils and everything in a reusable grocery bag -- with the intention of waking up as early as possible to head to the cherry blossoms.

In years past, when we go at peak bloom, we have to leave the house at around 7 am to avoid the crowds of people.  However, yesterday, we didn't quite get out of the house as early as we usually do.  It ended up being okay though.  JoJo met us at our house and we all drove together and arrived at Hains Point at 10 am.  Parking was surprisingly easy to find and JoJo didn't even mind the 15-minute walk to the Tidal Basin because the weather was so perfect!  It wasn't too crowded either, but then again, the trees weren't in full bloom so the colors weren't nearly as vivid.  All in all though, it was a gorgeous day and I'm glad we went.  The girls were excited about feeding ducks.  Literally.  The entire walk towards the Tidal Basin, Kayla was asking to feed the ducks and geese we saw along the Potomac River.  We spent less time walking around the Tidal Basin than we did feeding three ducks.  So if you scroll through the pictures on Flickr, be prepared to see a lot of photos of the girls feeding the ducks and peering over to see the ducks.