Cherry Blossom Time!

 

On April 2^nd I drove down to DC. This was the first time I had done the drive by myself. It was a very long drive and pretty boring. Thankfully I had several audio books downloaded to listen to on my trip. Once I got to the DC area I met up with my cousin Kristen, brother, Laura, and my brother's friends. We visited for a while before going out to brunch. After brunch we headed into downtown and went to the National Portrait Gallery. This was Cherry Blossom weekend, so this also meant that they had orchids on display in the National Portrait Gallery. We spent several hours wandering around there. That evening we had game night back at my cousin's place, staying up well past midnight.  

The next morning, we all met again for brunch, this time over in the area of Arlington. Lindsey came by for brunch as well. Afterwards we headed into Arlington Cemetery. We walked through different areas of the cemetery. I have been up to the tomb of the unknown soldier but I have never been able to walk through the cemetery, so I enjoyed that. It started to rain so we ended up decided to do a little shopping, Lindsey, Kristen, and myself. Justin and Laura headed back to State College. 

The next morning Kristen and I got up really early and headed down to the Tidal Basin. We watched the sunrise there and took lots of pictures of all of the Cherry Blossoms. We were at the very end of the season but I was still able to get some beautiful shots. The best part of the morning was that Marine One flew overhead while we were taking our photos. After surviving the cold and early morning at the Tidal Basin Kristen and I headed for coffee and doughnuts. 

Kristen had to work so I decided to stop by the National Zoo. I have never been to the National Zoo. There were many interesting animals there. I have seen lions and penguins, and elephants before but this was my first time seeing the pandas. I also got to experience some other mammals from areas of Asia and Africa that I had not seen before. There was lots to do at the zoo. Since the day was one of enjoying being at the zoo I treated myself to a Dip-N-Dots sundae while walking around. I took well over 1000 photos at the zoo, and part of the way through my phone died. Oops. 

Besides going to the National Zoo I decided to stop by the National Arboretum and walk around. It was interesting. The gardens were not a nice as I was expecting but it was cool because there were several areas where there was clear Greek influence. There was also an Asian inspired area with trees indigenous to China and Japan and other Asian counties. I sat and read Sara's book while in one of the gardens. It was the perfect way to spend part of the day. 

I headed to Lindsey's house after. I love getting to visit Lindsey, even if it is just for a little while. Due to our crazy schedules we don't get to see each other enough but I got to spend the evening with her and her family and that was an absolute blast. We stayed up late chatting and catching up on our lives. 

The next morning, I spent a little more time with Lindsey and her family. Her mom took me for a walk in the woods by their house. After an enjoyable, relaxing morning it was time to get on the road and head back home.