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Washington DC Cherry Blossom From Last Year

I hope you all are staying home and safe from COVID-19! I have been working from home over the past two weeks and who knows till when. With a newborn in the house and very sleep-deprived (it’s getting better now that I get max 3 hours of nap time each), I haven’t been able to do much photo editing, trip planning, nor updating my blog. As I saw from the news that the cherry blossoms are reaching its peak bloom down in Washington DC, I want to share with you some pictures from last year (however, I do encourage you to skip this year’s event for your and others’ health).

This was our 2nd time drove down to Washington DC for the cherry blossom. The first time was 2017 and we were too early. We had luck last year and the cherry blossom was at peak bloom! We stayed at the InterContinental Hotels Washington D.C. – The Wharf for free thanks to our annual free night certificate from our IHG credit card. It was a short walking distance to Tidal Basin and we were there in the morning at around 8-9 AM; it was already packed with tourists. As you see in the picture below, it was impossible for us to take a photo without people in the background. We waited for a long time too and this was the best we could get!

It was a bit frustrating trying to take a good photo with people constantly passing by. We decided to step away from the pond area and walked inward, surprisingly, we found this area with many cherry trees and almost no one there. Finally, we were able to get some good photos!

Just to show you the difference…..the next morning, we got up very early for the sunrise and it made a huge difference! Only professional photographers were at Tidal Basin and they were much scattered out.

Ah how calm and peaceful it looked compared to the day before?

Also, the colors were so beautiful just before the sunrise when the sky turned to light pink which blended in with the cherry blossom.

We walked till we found a section without other photographers to take photos.

And to enjoy the sunrise!

Not long after the sunrise, photographers were packing up and leave while tourists have not arrived yet so that gave a great window of opportunity for more pictures with more light.

This was taken across from the Tidal Basin.

When we were done with photos, we noticed there was a marathon going on so I took some pictures before we leave.

The cherry blossom is one of the most beautiful flowering events that I have ever seen, someday I hope, I will have a chance to see it in beautiful Japan! With the uncertainty going on, our trip to Greece in June most likely is going to be canceled. With airlines issuing credit for upcoming flights (I am still waiting for June to be included), I hope that I can move the trip to later in the year. How about you, are your travel plans affected? Once this pandemic is over (hopefully soon), where would you like to travel to?

8 thoughts on “Washington DC Cherry Blossom From Last Year

  1. Hey lisa.Looks like you chose a good time to have a baby.The Boston cherry blossoms kind of pale in comparison.I enjoyed the cherry blossoms while climbing the Mutianyu wall in China.Never did the blossom show in Japan

    1. Ah yes, she’s definitely keeping us busy, otherwise, I would be going insane staying home without any trips in the foreseeable future! The only place I find some cherry trees in Boston is at the Arnaldo Arboretum, any better place you recommend? Cherry Blossoms at the Great Wall sounds great!

  2. We had made plans to go to Thailand end Feb sometime in Nov last year..and with the NY came in news of COVID. We almost cancelled out of fear but due to some friends travelling with us, who didnt want to cancel, we made it there. In hindsight I’m so glad we made it. We enjoyed Chiang Mai and Krabi and could have skipped Bangkok completely except for the airport to catch the flight out. The food was absolutely amazing!! just like I expected it to be and much more. Seeing the current situation I think that will be the only trip this year.. so grateful to have done it without any incidents.

    1. Glad you had a great time and healthy! How was the crowd? I heard they had much fewer tourists since China was in lockdown during that time so I guess good timing 🙂 My brother was supposed to go in March but they had to cancel the last minute due to the situation; they don’t want to get quarantined upon arrival. I agree food in Thailand is amazing and inexpensive. I haven’t been to Chiang Mai and Krabi, will need to make a trip back to Thailand!

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