DC Cherry Blossom Festival 2011

On Sunday, Kevin and I went to DC for the Cherry Blossom Festival.  Aunt Julie and cousin Meggie volunteered to keep Kerriann at their house (although we were originally planning to take her along!) while we did some exploring.  It's probably a good thing Kerriann wasn't tagging along, because we were stuck in traffic for at least an hour driving in...

then we had a long bus ride from our parking space to the Tidal Basin, followed by at least another hour waiting in line for lunch (aka snacks that were pretty gross)...

and then a .5 mile+ walk back to our car to avoid sitting in traffic again on the bus...

We actually had a great time, despite those slight setbacks.  The cherry blossoms were GORGEOUS, although I wish there had been more pink flowers.  The pink trees were few and far between.

The place was packed since it was the weekend and a decent day weather-wise (I was warm enough in long sleeves and a vest), but we were still able to enjoy the sights.  I didn't take nearly as many photos as I imagined I would, and barely used any camera battery... crazy!  I'm used to freezing days where the battery is sucked from my camera immediately.

Plus there were so many people everywhere that it was almost impossible to get really great shots.  A few people were there with professional photographers for engagement pictures, and I'm curious how those turned out with a million other people in the background with their cameras out as well.

 I like Kevin's stance in the back of this one... hehe...

I was completely beat by the end of the day, and in reality I probably wasn't ready for such a physically strenuous day out, but I'm glad that I toughed it out because I've been wanting to check out the Cherry Blossom Festival for years now and I can finally cross it off my bucket list!

Pretty decent for a dSLR selfie, huh?