A few years ago I decided to view the famed Tidal Basin cherry blossoms
at sunrise. I loved it so much that I've returned every year since to
catch a glimpse of those blossoms in that stunning morning light (and avoid crowds). This
year the whole family joined me! Amelia wasn't too thrilled to be woken
up at 5:30, but Elsa the morning person was excited immediately
(translation: she never stopped talking once she woke up). Everyone perked up when we settled down under the blossoms to have our breakfast picnic of donuts and chocolate milk and wait for the sun to rise. It was fun to see/hear Elsa's amazement when the sun finally popped up. I'm so glad I finally got to enjoy this with the whole family.
While the crowds were definitely at a minimum compared to evenings and weekends, there were SO. MANY. tripods and photographers lining the Tidal Basin. It was a bit treacherous trying to get around them. But you only get a few peak days of blossom perfection out of the entire year and I think we hit it just right. Plus, the weather was gorgeous (thankfully we managed to get home before temperatures climbed to 90 degrees that day).
I love the trees around the FDR Memorial. The kids spent most of their time running around here, being chased by Ben, while I took some photos.
The girls were pretending to be otters.
A bird enjoying the view.
I love the colors around the George Mason Memorial.
The loop around Hains Point is always gorgeous.
And a few iphone photos:
Oliver just couldn't make it to his usual nap time. And neither could I. This sunrise adventure wore us both out and I might have taken a nap as soon as we got home. This baby, more than any of the others, has really been wearing me down. We're getting close though...
2012 sunrise
here.
2011 sunrise
here.
2010 sunrise
here.
