DC Cherry Blossoms

- 100th Anniversary...

It has been 100 years since Japan donated 3000 Cherry Blossom trees to the United States. It is well worth a trip to DC to see these trees in bloom - Timing a visit at just the right time can be challenging - The park service had to revise the bloom time (backwards) twice this year because of the unusually warm weather.

I left the house at 5:30 a.m. today so that I could get a parking spot near the Tidal Basin. When I arrived at 5:50, there were already a good number of people out. While I waited for the sun to come up, I nursed a nice hot cup of coffee and took pictures of the Washington and Jefferson memorials.

Unfortunately, the sun did not come out and had a solid layer of clouds that was just slightly brighter than the cherry blossoms. As a result, the pictures that I took were not as dramatic as I had hoped. Of course, as I am typing this, the skies are blue and very clear and I am sure a ton of people will get some great photos as the sun sets....

This close up shot was one of my favorites. This cluster of flowers seems almost perfect and I like the "white" bokeh from the flowers in the background.

Cherry blossoms only come once a year, so if time (and work) permits, I will try to go back this week and take some additional shots.

I updated my Blip Profile with a picture that I took of myself with the Thomas Jefferson Memorial and Tidal Basin in the background.