As the entire Northeastern U.S. has been having an unnatural warm spell the last few days, I thought I’d share some pictures from the Cherry Blossom Festival in DC in 2010.  I didn’t know until researching how the trees came to the U.S. that this simple project, the planting of cherry blossom trees along the Potomic, was a complicated undertaking.  The original idea of it was proposed by Eliza Ruhamah Scidmore in 1905, but many disagreed and it wasn’t until she proposed it to First Lady Helen Herron Taft that she got the ball rolling.  Although 2000 trees arrived from Japan in 2010, they were found to be infested and burned in what must have been the saddest bonfire ever.  Happily, that was not the end and 1800 trees were planted along the Potomac between 1913 and 1920 and they remain there to this day.

Every year, the cherry blossom trees that line the tidal basin bloom for about two weeks and the area becomes completely packed with people, especially on the weekends.  I wanted to see this for myself and got both beautiful blossoms and horrible crowds during my 2010 trip.  Here are some pictures from my walk around the Tidal Basin – enjoy!

Crowds and cherry blossoms

The Jefferson Memorial

Me and my DC girls

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