{"id":63,"date":"2013-04-08T12:54:02","date_gmt":"2013-04-08T12:54:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.llap.us\/?p=63"},"modified":"2013-05-21T20:48:56","modified_gmt":"2013-05-21T20:48:56","slug":"cherry-blossom-fest-washington-dc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.llap.us\/?p=63","title":{"rendered":"Cherry Blossom Fest, Washington DC"},"content":{"rendered":"

We went for the CBF in DC right on schedule, in fact it was timed perfectly – unfortunately no one told the blossoms, which went into perfect full bloom about 5 days later. We rode the kiosk rental bikes all around the Lincoln Memorial end of the National Mall, and got our first view of the White House from the base of the Washington Monument. In 2012 the Reflecting Pool was completely rebuilt, and it is fantastic. We planned it so we could be around many of the monuments at dusk, which is a beautiful time of day to view them. The new Martin Luther King Memorial is beautiful, and we will have a longer look at it in the future – same can be said for others. We ended our biking with an intense ride down a pitch black trail between Arlington National Cemetery and our hotel – a very exciting mile. Reward: great pizza and wine at Il Radicchio in Rosedale. The next day we went to the Botanical Garden, walked the steps of the Capital Building, and spent some time in the National Art Gallery.<\/p>\n\n\t\t