Hello everyone!
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| Cherry Blossoms on the Tidal Basin |
You might have heard of the National Cherry Blossom Festival that's hosted in Washington, DC each Spring. You may not know that, after July 4th, this festival is the cause for the most tourists to enter our little city. The festival lasts two weeks, but the cherry blossoms only peak for about two days.
We were able to enjoy this beautiful time of year with sunshine and temperatures from mid-60s to high-70s. We were even lucky enough to host Joe's parents, Bob and Jul, when they came out to visit us for the weekend.
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| Sunset on the Potomac |
Bob and Jul arrived Friday afternoon. We went and explored Old Town, Virginia-- a small town right outside of DC with lots of charm! Jul and I went to get my first bridal gown fitting done. Lots of blubbering and giggling ensued. While we were having a real life dress-up session, Joe and Bob went out for drinks. We met up later to go to a wonderful, authentic italian dinner and walk the shore of the Potomac river. I'm a sucker for sunsets on the river.
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| Crawdads and Crabs! |
That's not even the best part. We found the coolest fresh seafood market in town! It's off the beaten track and we sort of stumbled upon it. The markets were literally on the water. There were tons of fish available for sale, both alive and not-so-alive. The crawdads and crabs were scurrying in their pens, while other fish were getting gutted at the next table. No, I didn't have the courage to try any of it. Maybe someday.
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| Picnic Time! |
On Saturday, we went to see the Cherry Blossom trees! The tidal basin was surrounded by crowds of tourists who had come to see the blossoms, too. We took lots of pictures, saw the Jefferson Memorial, the FDR Memorial, the MLK Monument, the Washington Monument, and even had time to have a picnic! Afterwards, we went to our local Eastern Market to check out the springtime haul from local farmers.
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| Bob and Jul got biker swag! |
After church on Sunday, we went for a short bike ride around our neighborhood. We went in search for ice cream with little luck. Maybe it's just me, but if you're in Ohio and can't find an ice cream place within 10 minutes start to get a little cranky. Think about it, though! We have Jeni's in Columbus, The Cone in Cincinnati, The Creamery in Lima, UDF on every corner, not to mention Coldstone, Rita's, and a whole lot more. Out here, we have frozen yogurt, custard, and gelato. Not that I'm saying they're bad-- I'm actually a huge fan of all of those-- but there's something about hand-dipped ice cream that just screams "Spring is here!" We ended up getting ice cream bars from our local corner store. Personally, I like ice cream better out the back of a creepy white truck in your neighborhood
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Family Portrait!
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.It was wonderful to see family here in DC! It was a such a wonderful, fun, and relaxing weekend. We can't wait for the next trip! As everyone already knows, give us a shout if you're ever in town. We'd love to see you! Otherwise, we'll be making frequent trips to Ohio over the next few months in preparation for the wedding in September (eek!!!) so be sure to see us, then!
Love and miss you all,
Blake and Joe
