i know it's gonna be a lovely day

Sigh, DC:

Since we're leaving the east coast soon I'm hurrying to soak up all the perks that spring in the east has to offer. Everyone keeps reminding me that California is really beautiful all the time, but that's the beauty of spring out here! It's not beautiful here all the time, and feeling the renewal of spring here is really an amazing feeling. Especially when it's randomly 80 degrees in March, as has happened a few times this month.

I drove down to DC last Friday with my friend Ashlie and our kids in the hopes that we could get some good blossom-peeping in. I haven't been to the Tidal Basin as a tourist before and usually walked there from our house or work, so I wasn't prepared for the traffic on a beautiful day that also happened to be Good Friday, but I think it was worth the quick trip. We also got to meet up with my dear friend Linnea (who took these beautiful pictures) and her sweet daughter Annika.

So skeptical.

I wish I could bottle up days like this.

four miles for forty weeks

Today we were planning on meeting up with Robbie's grandpa for a little bit at Arlington Cemetery because he had flown out with a group of fellow World War II vets on an Honor Flight, but thanks to the Marine Corps Marathon it took us like an hour to drive there instead of 15 minutes and then we had to park by the Mall and walk over the bridge. Long story short we ended up walking four miles and I was wearing a pair of moccasins which in hindsight wasn't the greatest idea but I guess this is what you do once your due date comes and goes and you start walking everywhere in your fair city to get the party started. But the weather has been nothing short of amazing and the leaves are really starting to look incredible so I really have no reason to complain. Robbie also told me that he always wanted to remember how I looked today and that made me feel really sentimental. I will miss being pregnant.

in my opinionation, the sun is gonna surely shine

Are you ready to be BATHED IN CHERRY BLOSSOMS???

I generally try to avoid a bunch of pictures that are basically the same, but with cherry blossoms, RESISTANCE IS FUTILE. Plus, cherry blossoms are really only around for like five minutes so it's best to enjoy them in large doses while you can.

So, anyone who follows DC's weather very closely (just me? cool) knows that we've had a funky winter. Short spurts of warm, spring-like weather in February, followed by two snowstorms in March and then just chilly and windy for the rest of March. The cherry blossoms were supposed to peak sometime in mid-March but thanks to the aforementioned snowstorms they were delayed a bit. And then delayed some more. And then Easter and spring breaks came and went, and still no cherry blossoms. Then we got a little tease this weekend with some warm weather and you could see hints of pink on the trees around town, but still no sea of pink and white around the Tidal Basin. 

And then, just as the blossoms are wont to do, they just came out of nowhere! And you can pretty much count on two or three pretty good days of blossoms and then one SPECTACULAR day (what the National Parks Service calls the "peak" day), when the blossoms are pinkest, just before they turn white and carpet the ground with petals, so we were really counting on our free Wednesday morning to be The One. And it had to be a good one because Robbie has never seen the cherry blossoms. Never! He's either been out of town or too busy to face the crowds at the Tidal Basin, so I was determined for this year to be his year. Anyway, we played our cards right because the blossoms were still blushing pink and the early morning crowds were at a minimum, and the weather hadn't climbed up to the forecasted 90 (!!!) degrees yet. It was pretty awesome.

Most hardcore observers (cough cough Sarah) like to get up at sunrise to get the money shot and to avoid the crowds (though there are usually tons of photographers with the same idea—there were photogs snapping at least 100 of the same shot while we were there), but since I'm usually studying the backs of my eyelids until 9 am on most days, it was a miracle that we got out of the house by 7 am this year. One day I think I'd like to witness the cherry blossoms bathed in pink early morning light, but this was not my day. Doesn't matter—7 am is still a pretty good time to be there.

After the stop at the Tidal Basin we biked down to Hains Point to enjoy the trees around the bike loop. Definitely a must-see, but beware of huge tour buses and of hardcore cyclists flying around the loop. They don't care if you're there to see the trees in bloom because they're too busy training for the Tour de France or whatever. Also, be careful not to stand too close to the edge as the river is apparently really high right now?

To conclude, los Hamills give the cherry blossom hype two thumbs up—despite the fact that my allergies have been going haywire ever since.

fall is dc's way of apologizing for the summer

We were driving through our neighborhood the other day and Robbie pointed out that Capitol Hill seems to be made for fall. When the trees are green and leafy, you don't really get the full effect of the colors and old brick of the rowhouses, but the brilliant oranges and yellows around the Hill really bring out the beauty of the buildings. He also noted that the creaky old homes with insufficient insulation are perfect for this weather too—it's not quiiiiite cold enough to unsuccessfully attempt to heat up your house with central heating, but it's still comfortable enough that building a fire and cozying up with a blanket will suffice. Yesterday evening we took a little walk and I caught the remaining bursts of color. It's sad how they disappear so quickly (and how you can't really quite capture it in a photo) and every year I'm a little sad to see fall leave us, so I'm glad we got to enjoy it while it lasts. You just can't beat fall on the east coast (spring's a close second, but only because its time here is even more fleeting).

In other news, Robbie's old roommate/BFF Adam is here for a month while he does a rotation at Children's Hospital and we're super excited to have him around. Sorry to his wife, Allison, who is still in Seattle—but we promise we're taking good care of him!

cherry blossom girl

I work around the corner from the Tidal Basin, but the hoards of crowds coming for the Cherry Blossom Festival deterred me from heading down there during peak visiting hours (i.e., early morning, afternoon, and sunset—pretty much all day). So I decided to take advantage of the alone time I've been having this week to head down on my bike and enjoy the cherry blossoms at night, when there are very few people around. I was a little bit sad that Robbie wasn't there to enjoy it (he hasn't seen the cherry blossoms ever, and we've lived here for almost three years!), but it was really nice to just have some time to channel my alonergy and enjoy things at my own pace.

On my way to and from the Tidal Basin, I rode by the Hirshhorn, where they just installed SONG 1 by Doug Aitken. It's this incredible video/music projection that wraps around the already-striking Hirshhorn building. Cars were stopping to watch the show, crowds were forming and people were breaking out into spontaneous slow dances. If you live in the area, you have to check it out before it's taken down in May. 

Sometimes DC wears me out. It's likely because I associate the cool things in DC—like the Mall and museums—with work. But at night, the city transforms a little bit, and I don't feel like I need to rush from one place to the next. There's little to no traffic around the Mall, the weather is mild, there aren't many people on the sidewalks, and the monuments are brilliantly lit up. And then I fall in love all over again.

There is beauty all around

Last week I left work early because of our trip, and as I biked home I got to experience the joys of being outside in gorgeous weather, along with everyone else walking around our neighborhood and marveling at the beauty in our 'hood. Seriously, everyone was cheerful—Capitol police officers were happily chatting up the tourists, moms and dads were biking around with their babies, and even the mailman was whistling as he went from door to door. Our street is usually pretty busy with pedestrian traffic or cars zooming on their way to somewhere, but there was this moment where it was completely quiet, no one was on the street, and there was a pleasant breeze. I stopped riding so I could just enjoy the moment, but it ended just as quickly as it started when some loud construction workers turned the corner and the cars started coming up the street. But it was nice while it lasted.

I feel like I'm always in a hurry to get from point A to point B that I forget to just stop and enjoy my surroundings. We're really lucky to live in a great neighborhood and a cozy house that has really grown on us, and I just need to enjoy it while it lasts.

You know?

Biking: it does a Hanner good

In addition to the physical benefits of biking to and from campus every day, I've been taking note of the other added benefits that do not manifest themselves in obvious ways (such as my lean and chiseled physique [jk]). To wit:

-it's a nice view
-on my route I get to ride through history, which is cool
-it's free!
-it (usually) takes less time than riding the Metro or the bus
-I don't get motion-sick on my bike (like I do on the Metro)
-I get to use my bell to tell jaywalkers to get out of my way
-I get to hear crazy homeless men yelling from their benches at oblivious passersby
-I'm too lazy to go running so this has doubled as my commute AND my daily cardio activity

Probably the highlight of the biking experiment, though, happened this morning when I rode past an SUV at a stoplight on Pennsylvania that was BLASTING "Gonna Make You Sweat." And the driver was a middle aged white man and I totally caught him rocking out. You just don't experience that kind of awesomeness on the Metro.

The view during my bike ride home tonight

It was nice, I guess.

And the rain rain rain came down down down

It's so rainy today! I love waking up in the morning and hearing the rain outside. But then I had to snap out of my coziness and trudge through it to work. Blah. Now the pretty leaves that were on the trees are now stuck to the ground and have been trampled into mushy piles. But they are pretty-colored piles, at least.

Anyway, on Sunday evening after we got back from Petersburg, Robbie and I took advantage of the unseasonably warm weather and took a walk to admire the turning leaves, since they never last as long as I wish they would. It was beginning to get dark as we started so we didn't get too far (and I didn't get too many good pictures), but there are some pretty gorgeous trees up in our neighborhood. Why don't I remember taking any walks last fall? Were the leaves as vibrant? Anyone? I just don't remember.

Our house! (We're on the first floor.)

Red! 

Street!

Pumpkins!

Our favorite door!

Rowhouses!

Dark!

Robbie's parents are coming to visit in a couple of weeks, and then my parents will be out soon after, so I think they're going to just miss the peak leaf colors. I always hope that November will be as colorful as October, but my hoping is always in vain. Sorry, parents.