Cherry blossoms

Roughly ten years after an end-of-the-school-year school-trip to Washington D.C., and not flying anywhere, in the Spring of 2008 I boarded a Southwest flight to the nation’s capitol.  It wasn’t so much an educational-themed trip this time around.  It was instead at the peak of the Cherry Blossom Festival.

Every spring, the city salutes its famed cherry blossoms with a parade down Constitution Avenue.  The parade includes marching bands, giant balloons, and floats.  Blocks and blocks are lined with people sitting and standing along the sidewalks.

This was also my first time improvising.  Those black garbage bags (used in Long Beach and at JFK last September) that are so compact and light weight?  I had packed a couple for things like dirty laundry. I took one along when it was forecast to rain.  I was quite dry and warm as everyone else pulled out umbrellas and ponchos.