Cherry Blossoms in D.C. and Red Sox Baseball… it must be spring!

Talk about a gift that keeps on giving.

A 1912 gift of friendship from the city of Tokyo brings about half a million visitors to our nation’s capital in late March and early April. That’s when these out-of-towners join with locals to enjoy the cherry blossoms that open and spread like a canopy over Washington, DC. One can only wonder if this season’s arrival will proceed with caution; a wary opening debut in light of the winter snow that blanketed the area throughout the winter. The National Cherry Blossom Festival runs March 27 to April 11 and includes a parade on April 10 (nationalcherryblossomfestival.org, free).

For me, the blossoms mass bloom and the start of baseball (both MLB and Little League) signal the beginning of spring, a season that is often woefully disappointing to New Englanders when cold rains more often than not punctuate a smattering of nice days. I just returned from the Caribbean (having missed the freakishly warm weather we had last weekend here at home) where al fresco dining and swims in the turquoise waters off Jost Van Dyke filled my days. Back home now, I am seasoned enough to know that the calendar may say spring but the sun is typically stingy in these parts.

 Collette Vacations offers tours during the Cherry Blossom season:  Smithonsian Journeys Travel Adventures Spirit of Washington, D.C. learning tour and Heritage of America, a 10-day journey that explores America’s heritage along the eastern United States. While some bemoan the crowds that descend on D.C., their gaze directed at the heavens at trees from Tokyo, oblivious to the traffic around them, I say what better time to visit this bustling city before the bloom fades and the delicate petals litter the Tidal Basin?

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posted by Sublime Muse
Melissa McKee, Public Relations Specialist
Collette Vacations

Tags: 2010, Cherry Blossoms, Current Events, Escorted Tours, Learning Vacations, Washington D.C.

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