Anticipation turned into Pure Pleasure

Spring is officially here. The weather feels like Wyoming in June = Perfect. The cherry blossoms in DC are blooming and of course I had to photograph them. While I was shooting I saw so many runners, it was a perfect morning for it. If I hadn't been taking pictures I would have joined them. As it was, I was among probably a hundred other photographers who were up at that early hour. A very small number. The cherry blossoms are huge tourist attraction and bring large crowds (and it was so nice to avoid them). Ahh ... Spring!

carpe diem

Sieze the day!

I did just that, and had one of the best days, to date, this year. Although, there has been some very close rivals. Since I was already in DC, it was a beautiful morning, and I had my equipment with me, I took the opportunity to photograph some of the other monuments & memorials. I just wanted to share a few of my favorites shots from my perfect day... enjoy!

Eastern Market

Just a couple of blocks west of the Capitol is Eastern Market. I have heard much about it in my two years living here, and yet have never been ... until this weekend. It is an open fresh food market, flea market, etc. They have a Market Lunch where they serve famous blueberry pancakes among other things. There was a line (and I heard that there is always a line), but it was worth the wait. I was starving and the pancakes did not disappoint. They were everything I had heard. There is a certain buzz about markets like this, and the more I am in them, the more I like them. There were several photographers and artists selling their fine art ... perhaps one day ...

Kite Festival

I attended the kite festival in DC this year with a couple of friends. The kite flying happens every year with the Cherry Blossom Festival. Most of the kites were home-made. Sometimes it is nice to just enjoy DC as I do not make it downtown very often. The weather is so perfect right now, no humidity. It is hard not to do something outside.

12 Floors

Do you ever just feel lucky? I do. I did this past weekend. Because of the nature of my job I get to interact with so many amazing people. I also get to see some astounding places. A view like this ... pretty stunning. (They charge over $200 a person to get this view on the 4th of July.)
The bottom images are from my Saturday wedding. Top images from my Friday wedding.

All in all ~ a pretty perfect day.

Spring Anticipation

I am anticipating spring ... only a mere two and a half weeks until the peak cherry blossoms will be blooming. (Hard to believe since it snowed on Friday!) This will be my third year seeing the blossoms and I am still amazed every time I see them. They certainly give off an ethereal feeling when you are walking through the trees and everything smells, feels, and looks like spring. I can hardly wait. I will post new pictures once I have them. For now I am reminiscing with 2005 & 2006 blossoms ...

Weekend on the back of a Nickel

Last year Sara & I decided we were going to travel for my birthday and we went to Annapolis. I love Annapolis. It was the most beautiful day too. This year, in keeping with tradition, was spent on another outing ... to Monticello and it was another beautiful day.

Monticello is the home of Thomas Jefferson, it is also the building you see on the back of your nickel. (fyi-nickels are my least favorite coin.) Monticello is the home of Thomas Jefferson who owned over 200 slaves and only freed five of them in his lifetime and two in his will when he died. He is also the author of the Declaration of Independence. His home is situated so nicely on the top of the hill overlooking the valley of trees, all deciduous. Of course, it is only March and the trees have not yet started budding out, so there were a lot of limbs. It was still very pretty, in their own way. I have decided that I need to make the trip back in the fall. I saw a postcard that just enhanced my already amazing vision of the fall colors on those bare trees. It should be amazing.

Your eyes are not deceiving you--we did do a human pyramid. 10 seconds seems to go by a little too fast when you are trying to maneuver to the top of the pyramid. With only one unsuccessful attempt--I did make it up. Hopefully I didn't injure Will too badly in the attempt. The drive down and back and in-between locations was nice and tight. We all fit into one car and if you will notice ~ there are six of us. It is a good thing that we are all friends, and it added to the memories. It was a very fun group and the day was a perfect 65 degrees with a slight breeze, a few clouds here and there and just so nice. I even managed to come back with a slight sunburn.

After Monticello we stopped by UVA (University of Virginia). Which has approximately 18,000 students (undergrad & grad) just in case you were interested. It is a beautiful campus. We walked around a bit and killed some time and then made our way to the Bavarian Chef. Authentic German food, and so amazingly delicious. If you happen to be out that way, I highly recommend it. (Thank you Sara & Debby)