The Solar Decathlon winners were announced today and among 20 deserving universities chosen world wide to compete by the US Department of Energy, University of Maryland won 2nd place beating Cornell, MIT, Duke and other universities! I should have known about this earlier this week so that I could have at least made my way to Washington DC to cheer for MD! Congratulations to the First Prize winners from Germany: Technische Universität Darmstadt. I like made in Germany stuff too! [Read more...]
Cherry Blossoms Enchantment
April 9, 2007 By 4 Comments
The most awaited moment of Spring around the nation’s capital:
“The blooming of the cherry trees around the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C. has come to symbolize the natural beauty of our nation’s capital city. Hundreds of thousands of city residents and visitors from across the nation and around the world come here to witness the spectacle, hoping that the trees will be at the peak of bloom for the Cherry Blossom Festival, Washington, D.C.’s rite of spring. “- NCBF
“The National Cherry Blossom Festival® is an annual two-week, city wide event featuring daily cultural performances, sporting events, arts & crafts demonstrations and other special events. The 2007 Festival will be held March 31 – April 15. The National Cherry Blossom Festival® celebrates the 95th anniversary of the gift of the cherry blossom trees and the enduring friendship between the citizens of the United States and Japan.”
My family and I have marveled at the beauty of the Cherry blossoms twice in the past five years. It’s really worth the trip down to DC. As a local tourist, the best way to get there is to drive to the nearest Metro station and hop on the train. There are several ways to get to the place but we find parking such a hassle around DC(just like in any populated city), so it’s best to put the public transport into good use. The walk to and from the stations is an exercise opportunity so it’s wise to put on good walking/running shoes. We also make it a point to go during the weekdays to avoid the weekend festival crowd. Our main objective is to enjoy being the under the canopy of wonderful pink blossoms, so timing is really crucial to achieve this. We want to be there during the peak time of the blossoms for the brilliance of the color is so spectacular. The last time we went it was towards the end of the bloom and the flowers looked faded and the petals started to fall. It was quite a romantic experience to be showered with the petals as we walked under the beautiful trees but for photography’s sake, we have to go for the most heightened color.
This bride definitely knows how to save on flowers.
It’s free to enjoy the Cherry blossoms in the crisp cool air of Spring. Of course there are souvenir items for sale but it’s our own photos and memories that we take home with us.
The pictures were taken 4/7/2004
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