cherry blossoms!!!

So I ended up just staying in DC for 2 days (1 night), but had all afternoon before I had to catch a flight, so I spent it being a tourist. I was so bummed that Josh and I had to cancel our trip. I'd never been to Washington, DC, so I was looking forward to seeing all of (or as many of) the amazing things that I could on our trip. Since that didn't happen, I decided that I'd try to get as much in in one afternoon...which involved heels and sore feet, but a ton of great experiences! The Purdue event the night before was at the Library of Congress, so it was a good first experience and I got to see the hustle and bustle right at 5:00 on my way to a dinner meeting. And then the alumna that I met with on Tuesday is a curator at the Smithsonian of American History (which is currently closed...bummer!), but in it's backyard (almost literally) is the Washington Monument. So after lunch at a fancy french restaurant, I headed to the Monument, the new WWII Memorial, the Reflection Pond & the Lincoln Memorial. Then I headed down to the Tidal Basin and sat in a nearby park to enjoy the gorgeous and abundant cherry blossoms!! They were literally everywhere, and I could even see them before the plane landed.

They were EVERYthing that I expected and more! I loved it. And best of all, I was there right in time, because they were in full bloom and some had begun to blow off the trees. There was wind expected Tuesday night, so I was told that a great many of them would be nearly bare by the next day or two. Phew!! I made it!

This was a closeup that will now become my desktop picture. I love it.

Tidal Basin pics...

I rounded out my trip with a visit to the White House and a quick trip through and around Georgetown...mainly to get to the shopping that is down there!

I am looking forward to next year when (hopefully) Josh can go with me! All I kept thinking all day long was how much I wished he'd been able to come. I would have loved to have seen Arlington Cemetary & the Arlington House as well as the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Plus, next year maybe we can get a behind-the-scenes look at Dorothy's shoes when the museum opens!