This can be a very nice time of the year to visit Washington, DC, not because another Presidential election season is about to begin, but because it’s National Cherry Blossom Festival time, the festival that commemorates the 1912 gift of 3,000 cherry trees from the Mayor of Tokyo to the city of Washington, DC. This year’s festival runs from March 20 – April 12.
We went to the National Cherry Blossom Festival last spring and were rewarded with warm sunny skies and cherry trees exploding in pink. There were also thousands of other tourists. Normally I’m not much for crowds, but they did add a necessary dimension to an event like this, especially for the parade.
In addition to the big parade, it was nice to walk around the tidal basin and admire the sight and smell of the trees, and check out other festival happenings. And, of course, if you’ve never been to DC before, there are many great museums, monuments, and memorials all around the mall that are worth visiting.