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Rite of Spring

Donna and I go to Washington every spring to see the cherry blossoms that ring the Tidal Basin.  It’s a rite of spring and, like the start of baseball season, signals the end of winter.  

 This year, after the winter we had, saying hello to spring was especially welcome.  I don’t think this past winter set any records, but standard-setting or not, it was awful.  Way too much snow, way too many frigid days, and way too long.  We had three big snows just in March—one on the 3rd, another on St. Patrick’s Day and the final indignity on the 26th.    I know, I know, cry me a river.

Today was the first 70-degree day we’ve had, and sunny with an azure-blue sky.  We decided to drive and made the trek and found a parking space (sort of legal, I’ll leave it at that) not far from the Jefferson Memorial in about an hour.  The TV news people had been telling everyone in the Washington viewing area that today would be the best day to come, and come they did.  There were an estimated two billion people (my estimate) on the narrow 2.1-mile path around the Tidal Basin.  School groups, tour-bus groups, families, strollers—lots of strollers—and a large majority of the two billion stopping abruptly to take pictures, causing backups on the path as walkers politely stopped to enable them to get an unimpeded shot.

 We were no different.  I took lots of pictures, as I do every year.  Every year, the same shots—framing the Washington Monument and the Jefferson Memorial and Donna in cherry tree branches, and Donna in the midst of the blossoms of hundreds of cherry trees.  I think next to Caneel Bay on St. John, Donna’s favorite place in the world is the Tidal Basin during the cherry blossoms.  She pretty much giggled her way around the circuit.

Afterwards, we drove to The Irish Inn, a favorite place of ours in Carderock, for lunch.  We sat outside on the patio and recounted the glorious morning.  I broke my training regimen to enjoy a pint of Guinness.  All in all, a pretty great way to spend a few hours with the one I love.

Here’s this year’s edition of the cherry blossom photo album…


















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