Top 5 Blossom Tips

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A few weeks ago the National Park Service predicted that the peak bloom period for DC's Cherry Blossom trees on the National Mall would be March 22-25. Peak Bloom is defined as the day or days when 70% of the Yoshino Cherry Blossom trees are in full bloom. There are other varietals, but Yoshino is by far the most common.

The March 22 predication was almost spot on. After visiting over the past few days, to me, it does appear that peak bloom will begin either today (March 22), or perhaps tomorrow, then last for 3-5 days before the blooms start to transition and the pedals give way to green leaves for the rest of the summer.

Considering the unique nature of visiting this part of DC at this time of year, here are my Top 10  tips for visiting the blossoms on the Tidal Basin during peak bloom.

Bring a real camera: Most modern smart phones have decent wide angle cameras. They'll pick up the color and essence of the blossoms and capture you there beside them in a quick selfie. But for more artistic shots -- nothing beats utilizing a zoom lens, more pixels, and sharper in-focus shots using your "real" camera, if you have one. Even a decent compact point & shoot will give you a leg up on most smart phone photography. And DSLR and SLRs with interchangeable lenses will do you even better. You can still save the photos to iCloud or Google Photos it you want to process them through your phone for that "punchy," saturated look. All social media sites compress even the best photos, but starting off with a high quality photo will make your posts stand out that much more.

Bring you patience: Everyone is trying to get the same shot and same view as you are. And they'll usually willing to go off the beaten path, stand right in the middle of your shot, and do basically any other annoying thing to get their own shot. Be prepared to wait it out to get the perfect phot or experience that perfect vista.

Eat beforehand: There are limited places to get prepared food down on the Tidal Basin. Whether you find the few permitted food trucks on West Basin Drive or the refreshment stands near the Lincoln Memorial, you'll be in line for 15-20 minutes for food. Eat before you head down to the mall. Alternatively, there are many places to fold out that blanket and picnic; including the ball fields across from the Franklin Roosevelt Memorial at West Potomac Park, and the grassy areas around the George Mason Memorial.

Don't drive too close to the blossoms: West Basin Drive will be closed for much of the National Cherry Blossom Festival (March 18-April 16). In addition, traffic on Ohio Drive will mostly be restricted to eastbound (westbound traffic is diverted to East Potomac Park). This means vehicle traffic near the memorials will be slow and street parking almost impossible to come by. There are a few public lots on East Potomac Park, but remember, there are dozens of other drivers looking for the same spot you are looking for. If you do need or want to drive, consider parking on the National Mall near the Smithsonian Museums. Then walk to 15th Street/Raoul Wallenberg Pl NW and head down to the Jefferson Memorial.

Prepare to walk a few miles: Say you get lucky and find a parking space on Ohio Drive next to the FDR Memorial. Great! Keep that spot as long as you legally can. And be prepared to walk. The Tidal Basin is a 2.1 mile loop all the way around. And if you want to get every blossom shot from every angle, it'll be a slow walk with the crowds. You'll get to enjoy the blossoms that much longer. Lingering encouraged. 

Zero Hunger Mural

Completed earlier this summer, this 12 storey tall mural in downtown DC's eastern end is one in a series to address the issue of global hunger.

Lola Goce is a Spanish artist with works all over the world. Goce completed this mural weeks ago to aid in bringing awareness to the issue of global hunger under the asupices of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP). Zero Hunger is also theme of the WFP intiiative. 

In the DC mural, Goce was inspired by women who provide food to their families & communities, especially women who are food entrepreneurs and farmers. 

The canvas is very unique but utilitarian structure: an air vent shaft for the underground portion of interstate 395 which runs in a tunnel beneath 3rd Street NW.

Additional murals are already or will be painted in Houston, Oakland, Battle Creek MI, New Orleans, and New York. The DC mural is located at the corner of 3rd and H Streets NW. 

Exhibition Spotlight: Afro-Atlantic Histories

Afro-Atlantic Histories is both 1) an historical exhibition about the African diaspora *and* 2) an array of depictions of the African diaspora in art, past and present. Expectedly, it's more the latter, but art can inspire us to learn more, and also inform us in the meantime.

Hosted at the National Gallery of Art (NGA), this exhibition feels extremely worldly, perhaps more than any other recent exhibition there. Originally this show debuted in 2018 at Brazil's Museu de Arte de São Paulo.

This show has over 130 artworks and objects from the 17th century to today. Media from paintings, to metal & wood sculptures, to photographs, to video are all present, and more. The entire show comprises about six galleries, which is substantial for NGA. It is worth a trip.

Afro-Atlantic Histories is open through July 17, 2022.

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Exhibition Spotlight: Block by Block

I *loved* with this tiny exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery on the origin of DC street names. The material only touches on a few streets, but I appreciated the bits of history covered.

At just about 1,000 square feet, it won't take long to see the entirety of the exhibition, but for DC area residents, it is pretty neat learning about the people behind the names of streets we live, work, and play on. For example, the exhibition includes Gales Street NE, a narrow, ginkgo tree lined side street not far from my home neighborhood of Carver Langston. For the first time I learned about its namesake, Joseph Gales, Jr. Gales was a journalist & one time mayor of DC in mid 1800s.

Other historical figures featured are Benjamin Banneker (Banneker Circle SW), Otis Howard (Howard Pl NW), and Clara Barton (Clara Barton Parkway). Block by Block: Naming Washington is located on the second floor on the F Street side of the building. Open though January 2023.

Views From the Monument

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Ever since I first visited the Washington, DC in elementary school, the Washington Monument came to indicate the end of long trip. Riding in a school bus from Richmond, the monument was the first sign of DC as we passed through Pentagon City, Crystal City, and the Virginia suburbs. It’s the first part of DC we could actually see from afar. Then came the Jefferson Memorial, Capitol Building, Lincoln Memorial, and the rest of downtown.

Looking up to the monument is something one can do from almost anywhere in the DC area.

Looking down from it is another story. I recently visited the top of the monument and wanted to share a few photos! But, the fact that I was actually able to ride the elevator up to the top was somewhat a feat in and of itself.

When an 5.8 magnitude earthquake centered 85 miles from DC hit in 2011, the Washington Monument was one of the buildings damaged to the extent that it needed to close to visitors immediately. The repairs, mostly to stones near the top of the memorial, took nearly two and a half years. After reopening in 2014, the lone elevator that takes visitors up and down the 555 tall obelisk failed more than two dozen times over the course of the next two years. Starting in 2016 the monument has been closed intermittently for various reasons, including the pandemic. Here’s a very brief timeline:

August 28, 2011: Closed due to damage from the earthquake
May 12, 2014: Opened to great fanfare after all earthquake repairs are complete.
September 26, 2016: Closed after the elevator failed multiple times since 2014.
September 19, 2019: Opened, with a new elevator, electrical, and mechanical systems. The National Parks Service also debuted a small security screening building at the base of the monument.
March 14, 2020: Closed due to public health implications related to the pandemic.
October 1, 2020: Opened with new pandemic mitigation protocols.
December 18-21, 2020: Closed and reopened due to a covid-19 outbreak related to a private tour inside the monument.
January 11, 2021: Closed indefinitely for the upcoming inauguration and the ongoing pandemic.
July 14, 2021: Opened.
August 16, 2021: Closed after a lightening strike caused the electrical systems to malfunction.
August 28, 2021: Opened and remains so to this day.

Did you get all of that?

Since August 28, 2021 the Washington Monument has been open to visitors with timed entry passes. You can secure a ticket on the Recreation.gov website the day before your visit. At this point, there are no same-day tickets available.

Fun fact: When complete, the Monument became the tallest building in the world passing Cologne Cathedral in Germany by 40 feet. That distinction lasted just five years when it was surpassed (at almost twice the height) by the the Eiffel Tower.

For even more photos from the top (40+) and more fun facts about the Monument, check out the Attucks Adams Patreon. And a hearty thanks to all the Patrons who have supported my work over the past year. You are appreciated!