Sorry to leave y’all high and dry for the last few days, but between starting my new job and going to D.C. for the weekend I have been a busy, busy bee! Like I told y’all on Wednesday, I LOVE my job. It is truly amazing and I am really lucky to have found it, but I must tell you that waking up earlier is not that enjoyable. I’m sure in a week or two I’ll be used to waking up early again!
This past weekend I went to D.C. since the Cherry Blossoms are in season (plus D.C. is one of my favorite cities)! The Cherry Blossom Festival in D.C. goes from March 20th- April 27th and this year was the Bicentennial Celebration. Just a little history lesson (in case you don’t know), but Japan gave the U.S. Cherry Blossom trees back in 2012 and each year they bloom symbolizing the friendship between our two countries.
Unfortunately, I didn’t get to see a lot of Cherry Blossoms as the peak bloom date this year was the weekend before I showed up! The peak bloom date changes every year and it didn’t help that last week the Northeast had a lot of cold and rainy weather. It was a bummer because I was really anticipating seeing Cherry Blossoms surround the Tidal Basin. The only ones I got to see up close were by the Capital and the Supreme Court. I think Cherry Blossoms are really magnificent when they are in full bloom. I guess next year I’ll have to plan my Cherry Blossom trip better so I know the exact peak bloom weekend. The only awesome thing about being here this weekend though was that they had a Kite Festival going on around the Washington Monument and some of the kites were pretty awesome!
Apart from seeing a few Cherry Blossoms, I got to brush up on my history and go to all of the museums and sites that I love to see. D.C. really is one of my favorite cities because there is so much history there. Yes, my nerdy ex-history teacher side is coming out, but I just can’t help it! I’ve been to D.C. quite a few times and every time I come back I still go to the Smithsonian museums, War Memorials, National Archives, etc. It’s ridiculous the amount of times I’ve seen the exact same exhibits! My favorite place to visit by far though is the Library of Congress. The architecture and murals are AMAZING. If I lived in D.C. I’d probably go there every week just to hang out and enjoy the ambiance. When I go back to D.C. I’m constantly shocked at how well the buildings and statues are made considering they are so old. It really makes you appreciate fine handy work, especially when you see intricate sculptures and realized that everything was done by hand. Since I have been to D.C. so many times, I can literally walk the streets without a map and know exactly where I am going, which I proved again to myself this weekend.
Below are a few of the pictures I took this past weekend.
The Capitol and the National Mall
My favorite sculpture in the Sculpture Garden – ‘Thinker on a Rock’
A trip to D.C. is not complete without a chili dog and chili cheese fries from Ben’s Chili Bowl on U-Street!
The Washington Monument and the Kite Festival!
The White House
What’s left of ‘Occupy D.C.’
Top Gunning it at the Air and Space Museum
Enjoying my old-fashioned photo shoot in the American History Museum
Some of the gorgeous tulips that were all around D.C.
The Capit0l
Me posing with the Cherry Blossoms outside the Supreme Court
Another picture with the Cherry Blossoms
Gorgeous Cherry Blossoms!
At the Lincoln Memorial
Even though I just got back from D.C., I can’t wait to go back for another visit! It’s been almost 2 years since I did a week-long visit in D.C. and literally got to see everything and I definitely want another trip like that. Since the likelihood of me being there for a week is so small, I’ll just have to stick to a few weekend trips! Next time I go back I’m going to have to revisit Mount Vernon and hopefully I can finally make a trip out to Monticello to see Jefferson’s home.
Until next time DMV…
julieupclose 