Places to Go - The Cherry Blossom Festival (Washington D.C)

On Sunday afternoon, we drove the whole family to the Tidal Basin for the Cherry Blossom Festival. The early morning snow must have discouraged visitors because crowds were (oddly) lacking, despite the late-day sunshine and warm(ish) temps (low-50s). We even found parking in the B lot of the Jefferson Memorial and extra spots were available (usually during Cherry Blossom season I end up finding a spot towards the end of Hains Point and taking the free shuttle to the blossoms). Unfortunately, a super-fussy T made the short walk to the Jefferson Memorial trying at best (why when a baby screams in public do strangers feel the need to stare at you with evil eyes of disapproval? As if the unhappiness of your child wasn't enough punishment in itself). Luckily, across the street from the Jefferson Memorial parking lots the trees were in full bloom. So we sat and the kids ran. And we spent a beautiful afternoon this way. If you can make it, I highly suggest paying the blossoms a visit. And don't worry, we didn't pick any, P rebuked T for trying to touch them with a stick by yelling (loudly) "STOP! You're hurting them. Don't hurt them!" Apparently the National Park Service's anti-blossom-picking campaign was a success with the girls (the cute beaver mascot especially won their hearts).

For more info on the festival, Kid-Friendly DC has the scoop, click here. And if you don't feel like dealing with the tidal basin crowds, you can also see cherry blossoms in bloom at the National Arboretum (Washington D.C.) and Meadowlark Gardens (Vienna, VA), both of which are incredible places to visit.