Cherry Blossoms
Cherry Blossoms
April 2005
Washington, D.C.
Once a year in a celebration of spring the Potomac River Tidal Basin area of Washington, D.C explodes into a sea of white and pale pink as the National Cherry Blossom Trees reach their peak bloom. A gift from the Japanese people to the US in 1912, the more than 3,500 trees provide a spectacular elemental gala of life and color as hundreds of thousands folks from around the world turn out just to stroll under their magnificence.
Cherry Blossom viewing is a family event. Many follow the Japanese traditions of Sakura, holding a family picnic beneath the blossoms as part of their festivities. The city of Washington, D.C itself is the perfect host holding a multitude of public cultural and social events. But it is the Cherry Blossoms themselves that are at the stars of the several week long celebration. The National Park area of the Potomac River Tidal Basin is well groomed and each tree is a pampered national treasure Gracious clouds of delicate Yoshino and Kwanzan cherry blossoms and gentle warm breezes from the Tidal Basin make a perfect spring combination.
If you go, do as my son and I did. Take a picnic lunch and plenty of cool drinks in your backpack. Wear comfortable shoes, sun block, and be prepared to stroll along under white clouds of delicate petals with a hundred thousand or so others. Weekends are crowed and parking is non-existent. Take the DC Metro to the Smithsonian stop and follow the crowd down the hill past the Washington Monument. Once there you will discover why these trees are so incredible. You will want to walk completely around the Tidal Basin enjoying an elemental feast of unparalleled proportions that make the national monuments and memorials of the area pale in comparison. Plan to spend the day and enjoy a leisurely pace. My son had many other children to play with along the way. I easily conversed with other parents, all of us marveling at how spectacular the magnificence of a simple cherry blossom.
For more information, see the US National Park and the National Cherry Blossom websites.
http://www.nps.gov/cherry/index.htm
http://www.nationalcherryblossomfestival.org
LA. Judge / nodecaf
VC Magazine Editor
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