National Cherry Blossom Fest 2016

The National Cherry Blossom Festival started as a tradition with my mom and I in 2008. The first year we went, we somehow managed to pick the perfect day -- all of the trees were bursting with beautiful pink blossoms, the sun came up in a crystal clear sky, and there were hardly any people. It felt like we had the Tidal Basin all to ourselves.

This year, there were more crowds. The blossoms weren't as pink as they were that time eight years ago. BUT we still had a great time. If you like the crowds, the festivities, and everything in between, always consult the National Cherry Blossom Festival's website for the schedule. The festival usually lasts for two weeks, guaranteed around the peak blossoms, and there are a lot of great things happening. One year, I met Alex Trebec (who is also my birthday twin)!

I'll admit, though, I'll share with you what my mom and I usually do when we go to see the blossoms. Hint: It involves missing most of the crowds.

Just as a background in case you're unfamiliar with the history of the National Cherry Blossom Festival, it began in 1912 when the Mayor of Tokyo City, Yukio Ozaki, gifted 3,000 cherry trees to the United States of America to symbolize the lasting friendship between these two countries. Obviously, World Wars I and II happened after that, and then there was the whole Japanese Internment Camp debacle. But now, things are much better, and when you walk along the Tidal Basin, underneath those delicate, soft pink blossoms, you can hardly remember that stained past.

For this year's excursion, I kept tabs on the cherry blossoms through the NCBF's Blossom Cam, as well as checking periodically on when their predictions for peak blossoms were. We went about a week after their prediction, and we certainly had full trees. Leaves were starting to appear on some, and it's important to keep in mind the weather. If it's cold, blossoms come later. If it's warm, they appear sooner. If it's windy or raining hard and often, they won't stay on the trees as long. So, there are a lot of factors to keep in mind when planning your trip.

We left at 5:30 AM from Hagerstown on a Tuesday, and arrived just before 7. It's important to note the "on a Tuesday." If you go during the weekends, you will undoubtedly experience much higher volumes of people. We parked in our usual spot by the Tidal Basin, and walked. And walked (our total for the day was 9.75 miles!). If you're planning on walking a lot, ditch trying to look fabulous and just opt to be comfortable. I saw a lot of cute outfits in the morning, but I know the people in them couldn't have been feeling cute after a couple of hours. I wore my Fabletics leggings, a big sweatshirt, and comfy sneaks.

After spending a good two hours walking around the Tidal Basin taking lots of pictures, we then walked toward the National Botanical Gardens. Since they opened at 10, we stopped at a local Starbucks on the corner of 3rd St SW and D St (or the Federal Center SW Metro Station stop) for breakfast. By the time we finished, after sitting in the sunlight at the Capital Reflecting Pool, the gardens were open to the public. It's almost without fail that the gardens have a spectacular display of orchids this time of year, and they did not disappoint. We spent a decent amount of time in the Botanical Gardens, and thoroughly enjoyed the sights (and smells!).

After that, we hoofed it to the Renwick Gallery behind the White House because I had wanted to see the new Wonder installation -- 9 artists that took everyday items and made extraordinary artwork out of them. I've seen the rainbow installation all over my Instagram, and had to see it for myself. It was incredible -- they all were. My absolute favorite one, though, had to be Folding the Chesapeake by Maya Lin. This piece was made from marbles that her father used to make when she was a child (I think -- I've linked info for the exhibits above for further info). She's known for focusing on natural wonders as a means of bringing attention to conservation. It was really spectacular to see my bay laid out in marbles across a room. Of course I was drawn also to the rainbow embroidery threads, the huts made from willow branches, and the fishing net meant to symbolize the catastrophic effects of the Pacific Ocean earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan. But they all were absolutely fantastic. If you have an opportunity to see them before they go, do it. Without question. Just do it.

We finished our day on that note. Our feet were thoroughly exhausted as we were literally dragging ourselves, by that point, back to the car. We were out of DC by 2:00pm, and had avoided the traffic. My mom isn't really a fan of public transportation, so we didn't take the Metro. However, that's another option if you'd prefer it.

We had a lovely time looking at flowers and art, or just art (depending on how you'd like to look at it). We went home, had a lot of Greek food, and then I slept from 9:00pm until 7:00am the following morning. If you've visited any of the above places, leave me comments on your experience!! Or, if you have other suggestions for what to see next, let me know! In April, my job is taking us on a behind-the-scenes tour of the Capital Building. As always, I'll be thrilled to be back in the heart of DC.