As government shutdown looms, I have an ingenious idea. Require tourists to purchase a permit to use cameras in and around the DC tidal basin during cherry blossom season. The revenue generated by this requirement could certainly fund the Federal Government while Harry Reid and John Boehner square off over $70B in controversial cuts. Even John Boehner, riding his tea-party freshman to “victory” could hardly dismiss with what is arguably the best idea I’ve had in years. Couple this revenue generation with the fact that, for the first time, we’d be able to test people’s ability to say, walk and snap photos without holding up throngs of other excited tourists before issuing their permit and I say you have a win-win situation. Tourists who have to pay to be able to photograph the heralded cherry blossoms be damned.
Bitter diatribes aside, I engaged in something this Spring that I haven’t done since our first year in the DC area, many moons ago – I braved the tidal basin during the Cherry Blossom Festival. With M&G in town over the first weekend of the Festival, including a Monday I had already opted to take off, I could hardly ignore their request to see the pretty pink and white. As Monday morning rolled around, I wondered if I was a lunatic for consenting to this little field trip since, on top of the expected tourist volume, it was cold and gray. But my reservations were for naught.
Driving downtown, we lucked into a great parking spot at the Reagan building. Joining the tourists on the street as we ambled our way past the Washington Monument and toward the tidal basin, we found that the weather, which was already beginning to warm up and the fact that it was Monday, seemed to be keeping the flow of tourists to a managable level. In fact, in just over two hours we were able to navigate our way all the way around the tidal basin, (a two and a half mile trek which during peak tourist volume can take three hours of more), visit the FDR Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, the WWII Memorial and land in Albert Einstein’s lap in front of the National Academy of Sciences. Limited other tourists (although still hundreds everywhere of course) paired with good weather made for a wonderfully pleasant morning enjoying the sites our fair city has always offered, but in which we seldom partake.
Michelle and Gustavo smiling pretty for the camera on the tidal basin
A macro shot of some cherry blossoms, they really are beautiful even if they
insight insanity in the DC metro area every Spring
My favorite FDR quote, set against the backdrop of the Bread Lines at the FDR Memorial - “The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much, it is whether we provide enough to those who have too little.”
Gustavo and I hamming up under a cherry tree
My favorite quote at the WWII Memorial – “Women who stepped up were measured as citizens of the nation, not as women…This was a people’s war and everyone was in it.”
Michelle, Gustavo and I in Einstein’s lap – I was so glad to find something in
DC they’d never been to since they lived here for more than 5 years
Climbing out of Einstein’s lap we were all suddenly starving. Walking back toward the Reagan building on Constitution we debated our lunch choices in the immediate area and settled on Potbelly for sandwiches and delicious shakes. Over our lunch we continued the chatter that had be central to the weekend, the kind the probably boggles the minds of those listening around you, but that is completely natural between good friends. You could also tell just by looking at M&G that they had booked themselves solid with visits and friends for the five days they were in DC and could use some downtime. This lead us to our next move – back to VA, PJ pants and movies. That’s how we spent the rest of the afternoon, snuggled under various blankets and cats watching Burlesque and You Again. Not exactly cerebral, which for the evening we had planned, was perfect.
Sadly Ben hadn’t been able to take the day with us and ended up late at the office. But Melissa joined us later on for at least a few minutes of catching up with M&G too. We closed our night with another nod to the laziness we all shared – pizza for dinner. No need to get fancy or even change out of PJs when your dinner is delivered to the door by a friendly Vocelli driver. That night, we went to bed, knowing we’d have to say goodbye in the morning but content that we’d had a great few days. Thanks for the visit, M&G. Come back soon!
