National Cherry Blossom Festival 2005
Licensing |
In April 2005, my husband and I spent our first anniversary in Washington D.C. to see the National Cherry Blossom Festival. That year, the sakura trees were in peak bloom, perfectly in time for the festival. We had time to walk around and admire the trees along the street and in the Tidal Basin, visit the National Japanese American World War II Memorial, some of the Smithsonian museums, and do some other site-seeing. The area was so crowded, but we had a great time, enjoyed nice weather, ate some good food, and got to check out some of the Festival activities, including the parade.
Slides in this album |
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Food first...After we arrived in D.C., one of the first things we did after checking in to the hotel was go eat. We found this place called Teaism, an interesting tea restaurant that had really good ginger scones. It was a very interesting place. We ordered our …
teahouse koi |
Sakura tree outside of the Sackler GalleryThere were so many sakura trees blooming everywhere. We walked around taking photos for a while. It's the first time I realized there were so many different varieties of sakura trees. The building in the background is the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery of the Smithsonian.
sakura tree at Sackler Gallery |
close-up of sakura flowersHere's a close-up of some flowers from that tree.
close-up of sakura flowers |
National Japanese American MemorialWe visited the National Japanese American Memorial. This album shows photos from our visit to the memorial.
National Japanese American Memorial sculpture |
Tidal BasinThe most amazing part of the trip was to be able to walk along the Tidal Basin with all of the trees so beautifully in bloom. It was really, really crowded though. We didn't walk all the way around the lake.
Cherry Blossom Trees in Tidal Basin |
sakura flower close-up
sakura flower close-up |
National Cherry Blossom ParadeWe reserved seats in the stands for the Cherry Blossom Festival Parade. After years of growing up watching parades in Los Angeles—Little Tokyo’s Nisei Week Parade, Disneyland parades, and the Pasadena Rose Parade—I was a bit disappointed. I guess I was expecting something a bit more spectacular from a national …
Hello Kitty at the 2005 National Cherry Blossom Parade |
Target DogTarget was a major sponsor of the Festival. For Target's Parade entry, they had a bunch of these little mini Target-themed Smart cars (differently decorated ones). One of them had a Target dog dressed up with what looks like it's supposed to be a happi coat or something. It was cute, …
Target Dog at the 2005 National Cherry Blossom Parade |