Mike's Cherry Blossoms Festival 2005 Photos

On Saturday, April 9th, 2005, I joined thousands of other people and made the journey into DC for the 2005 National Cherry Blossom Festival. It was a great spring day to be outside, and the cherry blossoms were in full bloom. For more information on the Cherry Blossom Festival, visit their website at http://www.nationalcherryblossomfestival.org/.

I rode the Metro and got off at the Smithsonian Metro Station. The first thing I noticed was how many people were enjoying the nice weather on the Mall.

My plans for the day were to walk around the Tidal Basin and stop by the FDR and Jefferson Memorials. I started walking west towards the Washington Monument and the Tidal Basin.

I got my first view of cherry blossoms around the Washington Monument. I also was able to see the Jefferson Memorial through the cherry blossoms on the opposite side of the Tidal Basin. The cherry blossoms were in full bloom.

As I walked towards the Tidal Basin, I found myself at the National Park Service’s Tulip Library. I briefly stopped to view the tulips. Only a few varieties were blooming, but it was still a beautiful site.

I realized that I was close to the National World War II Memorial. (http://www.wwiimemorial.com/). I decided to visit it before walking around the Tidal Basin. The Memorial opened to the public in April 2004, and this was my first chance to see the completed memorial. I wasn’t the only person who took the opportunity to visit the memorial. The memorial is located between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial.

The National World War II Memorial has both Atlantic and Pacific pavilions, they represent the fact that the war was fought across both oceans. The memorial also has a pillar for each of the U. S. states, territories, and the District of Columbia. One side of the memorial has a Freedom Wall with 4,000 gold stars that commemorate the more than 400,000 Americans who gave their lives in the war.

After viewing the National World War II Memorial, I could have continued walking west towards the Lincoln Memorial, but I had visited it last year, and my intentions were to walk around the Tidal Basin. There were thousands of people around the Tidal Basin.

I continued my walk around the Tidal Basin. I stopped at the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial (http://www.nps.gov/fdrm/). This was my first time visiting the memorial. The memorial is located along the western edge of the Tidal Basin. The memorial has several rooms and scenes.

After viewing all of the room of the FDR Memorial, I continued my way around the Tidal Basin towards the Jefferson Memorial.

Before going into the Jefferson Memorial, I stopped at the George Mason Memorial (http://www.nps.gov/gemm/). The George Mason Memorial, located in East Potomac Park behind the Thomas Jefferson Memorial. It commemorates the contributions of George Mason who was the author of the Virginia Declaration of Rights, which served as an inspiration to Thomas Jefferson while writing the Declaration of Independence. The memorial is still fairly new having been dedicated in 2002.

Finally, I arrived at the Thomas Jefferson Memorial (http://www.nps.gov/thje/).