Cherry Blossom Festival

I've always heard about the beautiful cherry blossoms inWashington D.C. in the spring, but I've never actually seen them.  So, yesterday we took a little family day trip to go see the cherry blossoms.  They were absolutely gorgeous!  Do you know the history of all of those cherry trees?  In 1912, Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo gave a gift of 3,000 cherry trees to the city of Washington D.C.  First Lady Helen Taft and the wife of the Japanese ambassador together planted the first two trees on the North Bank of the Tidal Basin in West Potomac Park in March of 1912.  Today, there are thousands of these beautiful trees blooming around the city.  Most of them are along the banks of the Tidal Basin.  Each year in Washington D.C., there is a two week festival commemorating the gift of these trees and the friendship between the United States and Japan.  You can find more info about the National Cherry Blossom Festival here. 

We enjoyed walking along the Tidal Basin and looking at all of the blossoming trees. 

We thought about trying to rent a paddle boat, but, although it looked like a lot of fun, we didn't want to spend our day standing in line for the boats, so after we finished taking in the beautiful blossoms, we spent the rest of the day exploring the Air & Space Museum, the Natural History Museum, and the American History Museum.  Fun day!