Mind of an orchid

Image courtesy : Uj (for part-1, scroll down)

Many of you in this blog circuit are already familiar with the cherry blossoms thanks to posts by the Altoid and Sujatha. And I am sure some more of you have actually had the opportunity to visit DC during the annual cherry blossom bloom time. Well, if you do not belong to either of these categories then I say pack your bags around end of March/early April next year and make that trip - it's worth it!!
Of course, I'll stay away from giving you details on the history of the cherry blossom or the festival itself, there are plenty of resources on the www to help you with that. However, this post is meant to only inspire the traveller/photographer in you just like we were inspired by other posts I had seen. We planned to walk around the Tidal Basin and see the cherry blossoms on Saturday morning , make that early morning. Altoid had a 6.15 Am deadline for us to be out of the house. When the plan was being hatched I was not so sure especially since both Uj and Li'l A are not early morning people. In retrospect, I am so glad she insisted. Any later, our whole trip would be in jeopardy with massive crowds, lack of parking and the like. So, get up and get out pre-sunrise and you will love it. The early morning spring air (despite the heavy winds), the smell of onion bagel with veggie cream cheese, a half awake yet surprisingly cooperative 5 yr old, the over zealous photographer, and a very giving host who shared our tourist enthusiasm despite having been there a few times already made that walk up the Tidal Basin worth every cherry blossom ! The flowers themselves had a very ethereal feel to them. The contrast of the pale pink/white of the flowers against the dark boughs and branches was very picturesque to say the least . And how did I feel ? Imagine yourself being on the sets of Memoirs of a Geisha - it had the same visual appeal!

more to follow......