Yesterday one of my friends texted me out of the blue to say: “have any desire to see the cherry blossoms at sunrise?” Normally I would laugh at a suggestion like this but for some reason beyond even my understanding I agreed. We made a plan to meet at the Lincoln Memorial at 6:30am (aka before the sun is up), sit on the steps to watch the sun rise over the Capitol and the Washington Monument and then walk over to the Tidal Basin to see the cherry blossoms during peak bloom. Now I am not at all a morning person but WOW was this worth it. I basically just rolled out of bed, put on some pants and a sweatshirt, grabbed some coffee, and called a car.
When I got to the Lincoln Memorial I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was pretty empty–my friend Judy was waiting for me and there was only one other couple sitting on the steps looking out at the reflecting pool. But as we sat there many more people arrived to… exercise. Ew. They were running up and down the stairs, doing squats and situps, and just overall ruining their mornings by working out and not enjoying the gorgeous view. Watching the sun come up and light up the city was such an amazing and surreal experience and (I hate to say it) worth the early morning. Once the sun started to light everything up all the way we headed over to the Tidal Basin.
If you’ve ever been to DC in the spring then you’ve probably attempted to see the cherry blossoms at the Tidal Basin. Usually something goes wrong–there’s a cold snap that kills all the flowers, the peak bloom prediction is off, or the crowds are simply too big to really take it in properly. This was not one of those moments. We got to the Tidal Basin a little after 7am and we were clearly not the only ones who had the idea to beat the crowds. So many people were out jogging, taking pictures, enjoying their coffees, or even having entire picnics around the water. Again, this was entirely worth it. The sun was still rising and it made the blossoms change from white to pink and made the water turn a million different colors. Honestly, my iPhone pictures can’t do it justice but they’re the best I could do.
If I had had the foresight to get actually dressed and ready then I’d also be blessing you with some pictures of me looking pretty in the cherry blossoms, but you’ll have to make do with just the blossoms for now. When we’d taken enough photos and really started to feel that we had woken up stupid early we left to go to breakfast. Bacon, eggs, and coffee from Founding Farmers was the perfect cherry on top of a gorgeous morning (pun fully intended, you’re welcome). All in all, I think being able to see peak bloom at sunrise was totally worth the early morning alarm.
Hopefully you all can get outside in your own cities and find some blooms this week.
xoxo,
J
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