Cherry Blossom Festival 2012

Tom and I went to Washington, D.C. today to see the cherry blossoms. I decided a couple of months ago that I'd try to do it this year. After learning when the peak bloom was supposed to be and obsessing about what day to go, then learning that the peak bloom was probably going to happen a week early because of the unseasonably warm winter we've had, I was concerned about how the day would turn out. It turned out well. The weather was nice, even though it was cloudy for most of the day, and I got a lot of decent photographs. I got pictures of various monuments surrounded by cherry blossoms,

pictures of the cherry blossoms themselves,

and other pictures of what we saw.

The one of the reflection of the Washington Monument and wreaths at the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial is my favorite (I got the idea from Donnie).
After we finished walking around, we met Donnie for dinner. We went to the Columbia Firehouse. It was nice. We started off with the cheese sampler, then I had Seared Diver Scallops, Donnie had the Cider Brined Pork Chop, and Tom had the Dry Aged New York Strip. I tried a little of everyone's food, and it was all good. It turned out to be a really pleasant day and it makes me wonder why I don't make the effort to get out and do things more often.