National cherry blossoms

I’ve been waiting approximately eight years to see the cherry blossoms in bloom around Washington D.C.’s Tidal Basin. For one reason or another, it just hasn’t happened — missed the blooming window / was out of town / no one wanted to go with / bad weather. Well, this year was serendipitous in that Aimee and I were already planning a weekend together and our plans changed from PA to the National Harbor. In addition, Aimee’s a damn awesome friend and after telling me that she wanted to go to Bobby McKey’s, she asked if there was anything I’d like to do… and didn’t flinch when I suggested a quick Metro into the city! Yay!

As our plans for the weekend shaped up, so did a nice rainy weather pattern. Spring in Maryland does mean a lot of showers and temps that flip-flop from the 40s to the 70s on a daily basis. We got blessed with mid-50s for temps, and the rain held out long enough for us to get just about halfway around the basin. We were close enough to the Jefferson Memorial to run, huddled underneath my tiny pocket umbrella to block the small bits of hail (yes, hail!), out to the road and back around to the front of the memorial and climb its steps. (Construction fencing stopped us from simply following the basin trail straight to the steps, which would’ve been much more efficient!)

As Aimee predicted, as soon as we were safely under the massive structure’s protections the sun popped back out and the rain stopped — but dark, massive clouds on the horizon suggested that another wave of drenching wasn’t too far away. Instead of finishing our loop around the basin, which would’ve taken us toward the forbidding sky, we retraced our steps quickly and rushed for the Smithsonian Metro, pausing only for a minute or two to watch a rugby match.

Safe, sound and only slightly sopping wet, we boarded the train and headed away from Japan’s gift, happy to have witnessed how beautiful these delicate white and pink flowers — juxtaposed against the massive architecture of the monuments and the deep calm of the basin’s waters — really are.

 

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A break from misery

For the past six days, I’ve been holed up inside my house wrestling with the nastiest stomach virus ever known to mankind. In my 31 years, I have never experienced intestinal discomfort and exhaustion quite like this past week (and I hope to never become acquainted with these feelings again). Marathon naps, ginger ale and popsicles, and a subscription to Netflix got me through the week, but I knew if my body didn’t get vertical and move a bit — soon! — that my old friends Tight Hips and Lower Back Pain were going to visit and make me even more miserable.

This morning I woke to snow — snow! — on the ground and still lightly falling. By 3 p.m., most of the snow had melted and I pulled on my sweats and sneakers for a walk around the neighborhood. Because Mom had driven me to the grocery store the day before, I knew that most of the cherry blossoms, forsythia and magnolias were blooming, so I grabbed my little pocket camera before locking up the house behind me.

I’m definitely still not 100%, but the fresh air made me feel better and the walk eased some of the tension from my bedridden muscles. It was a good idea to take a walk today and get out of the house… and looking at this photo makes me feel about 43.6% better than I did when faced with a sink full of dirty dishes and empty ginger ale cans.

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Pink on the Pearson

Pearson Creek, that is…

Another gorgeous fall sunset that made me stop the car in the middle of the road to take a picture. What a beautiful moment in the evening before the blanket of stars gets pulled across the heavens, putting these colors to bed.

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Sunset View

Alice and John were friends with my parents before I was born, and thus have known me my entire life. They live relatively close by, but we don’t visit them near often enough. Their homestead is called “Sunset View,” and evening skies with colors like this are just one of the many benefits of spending time with old friends.

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Weekend warrior

New York, New York
June 4, 2010

Hilton Head, South Carolina
June 10-13, 2010

Cucumber Falls, Ohiopyle State Park, Pennsylvania
June 25-27, 2010

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A gorgeous delay

Certain evenings, the drive home takes just a little bit longer… like those nights when you have to stop the car three times to get out and take pictures of the sky — the impressive clouds, the streaming light, the glorious color!

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