Cherry Blossom - Washington DC

This is the time of year that Washington DC comes alive with PINK!  The city is famous for its Cherry trees and the annual 3-week Cherry Blossom Festival. More than 700,000 visit Washington each year to enjoy these beautiful blossoming cherry trees. 

In 1912 the mayor of Tokyo gave 3020 cherry trees to the city of Washington to enhance the growing friendship between the US and Japan. 1800 of these trees were planted around the Tidal Basin. In 1965 another 3800 trees were given by Japan.

The timing of my trip was almost perfect as the peak for this year's blossoms was just 5 days ago.  With good weather, the blossoms were still looking good and today was just a perfect, sunny day!  I didn't have much time as I had an appointment late morning that couldn't be changed, so early this morning I hopped in a cab and raced down to the Tidal Basin where I had just over an hour to enjoy the blossoms and take a few pictures before heading back again to the hotel in another cab!  Storms are in the forecast for the next couple of days, so I didn't want to count on the blossoms still hanging on for my next trip this weekend. A heavy rainfall or wind storm can quickly cause all the blossoms to fall.

This view is of the Jefferson Memorial and the Tidal Basin. I will put a few more in 'Extra photos'.