IN defense of cherries as Cherry Blossom Time

As a Forensic Nurse one is always talking about Hymens, AKA cherries.  So it is a bit ironic that I went to Washington to talk to our legislators about Sexual Violence and IPV during Cherry Blossom time.

We left very early on Sunday to explore.  I have had the privilege of visiting Washington DC a few times before, my friend Cathy had not.  My only agenda was to see the cherry Blossoms, but I had heard various status reports, "blooming and beautiful" to "not going to happen" because of the flukey weather.  We arrived, found the shuttle to the Hotel, the Sheraton Old Town Alexandria, dropped off our luggage, shuttled back to Reagan National, and then metroed to the Mall.    

There is an omnipresence of the Washington Monument, similar to The Eiffel Tower and it takes my breath way.  We walked around the Monument, I showed Cathy the Trump shunned White House, in the distance.

'We visited the WWII memorial, found the Indiana column and moved on to the Vietnam Memorial  There  a bystander told me about a site to find folks on the wall. Last time I was in DC, I fruitlessly searched for Mom's cousin Howard Vendenacre.  This time with the assistance of  the App, I found his name on the wall!   

Managing a picture was a challenge with the sun and the surface of the "Wall" The nurses memorial always moves me, and this time was no different, we were both on the verge of tears.  

Humans were swarming the Lincoln Memorial, all of the diversity present seemed a fulfillment of Lincoln's work.  From there we walked to the memorial for the Korean Conflict.  Sometimes it seem that one can be  a day late and a dollar short ant this was my moment.  There was a bent elderly man in a wheel chair that family had rolled up in front of the memorial sign to take pictures.  By the time I got my act together and phone out, they were moving, but what a powerful picture.  The men who so bravely served our country are dying off at an alarming rate.  

We veered around to the Tidal Basin to see the Martin Luther King Memorial and not only did we get to see this new memorial, but also there were the Cherry Trees in  FULL BLOOM!  I was not sure which to be most impressed with.  The memorial has quotes from King on a granite wall that faces the basin with a large statue of him "coming" out of  granite.  The Cherry trees, a gift of 3000 trees from Japan in 1912 surround the Tidal Basin and are not only lovely, but also loved.  

Walking the path in an attempt to enjoy was almost a chaotic as driving around the Arc de Triomphe  in Paris!  From there we decided that a trip to the art museum  was in order and it was no chore to agree!  After "culture"we were both worn out but French was on the menu which of course kept me going.  So we headed to Bistro Du Coin for dinner.  IT was a hard choice between the house steak and Steak Tartare, but I was cold and Paris in looming on the horizon so I chose the house steak with béarnaise..  It was delish!