Warshing Machine D.C.

Ok, it’s time for a break! I decided that 1938 miles wasn’t enough so I figured I would add another 788 miles to that and go view some Cherry Blossoms. (That’s 2,726 miles by the way!) In case you’ve lived in a bubble your entire life, I’m talking about Washington D.C.’s Cherry Blossom Festival. It is a giant festival put on in D.C. celebrating the arrival of spring, or at least that’s what I was celebrating. My brother moved out there last year and I had been meaning to visit him and see his new stomping grounds.



I shipped out Friday afternoon hoping for the best and expecting the worst in terms of weather. I was actually debating canceling my trip since the weather reports were calling for rain all weekend. Thanks to Wendy’s in Washington, PA, I was picking off unwanted pickles instead of taking 79 S. This added an addition $5.25 to my tab and 45 minutes to the trip. But, who’s counting, right? Upon my arrival, my brother and I went out for dinner at a local seafood place called Bonefish. I had a wonderful salmon sandwich and a taste of a few of their microbrews, all of which were excellent. We got home and I was so tired from my drive that I immediately hit the hay.



Saturday I woke up to a pleasant surprise, the sun was out and it was a beautiful day! After I took an online Accounting quiz and ate breakfast, Nick and I loaded up our pups and headed out for a long walk. At first we parked across the Potomac River in Virginia in the hopes of walking across one of the bridges into D.C. so we wouldn’t have to pay for parking. Unfortunately we gave up our efforts one bridge too soon and headed back towards the car. The park itself is located right next to the end of the main runway at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), which offers an awesome view of planes as they take-off and land. So we sat there and watched a few take-off, it’s a pretty impressive experience, and it’s free!



We eventually found a spot on the other side of the river and walked towards the Tidal Basin along the wharf. Some of the food looked delicious, but we had already eaten so we decided to pass it up. I think I’m going to have to try some next time I’m down there.






Once we got to the Tidal Basin two things amazed me; the amount of people there and how impressive the flowering was. It was crazy! There were probably as many people there as there were flowers blooming. We had decided to bring our dogs, and I was amazed at how well Sherman was behaving with the number of people around. He remained calm even when we had people coming up to us and talking about our dogs. I was so proud of him!






After the Tidal Basin we walked to the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam Memorial, and back to the Washington Monument. Then we went to look at the White House and the Capitol building. Needless to say I was done for the day! I’m a big man, and my delicate feet couldn’t handle it. Next time, I’m buying new shoes before I go, that should help out a lot.




Before I left on Sunday we went to explore around in the Great Falls National Park. This is where the Potomac drops a total 76-foot drop in elevation over a distance of less than a mile. A lot of kayakers come here to test the rapids, you can even see some in my pictures. Unfortunately the rocks were pretty treacherous with the fresh rain so I didn’t venture around too much in fear of falling and breaking my camera. But it is an impressive place to visit while you’re in Washington. I will probably go back there the next time I go.





With that I got in my car and headed home as the weekend drew to an end. I get a week break from traveling and then I’m off to Gatlinburg, TN for a weekend getaway. Keep an eye out in the next couple weeks!