The government has a schedule and now that schedule has been screwed up. The cherry blossoms have come early this year, creating an embarrassing situation where the government is perplexed and apologizing and visitors are trying to remain polite, saying, “it’s OK, it’s OK.”
Every year, the National Parks Service determines the best day for viewing the cherry blossom trees throughout Washington DC. Turns out the prediction is more of a good guess than an actual psychic experience. This year, it was April 4 — but then some warm weather threw off the prediction, which was moved to yesterday, March 31.
A walk along the Tidal Basin this time of year, even if it’s not exactly the moment the blossoms peak, is a fantastic stroll. The 3,750 cherry trees glisten and if there’s a slight breeze, a velvet snow storm of 
petals will wash over you. It almost makes it worth it visiting the Jefferson Memorial — the least visited memorial much to the ire of Thomas Jefferson.
For a little bit of history: According to the Parks Service Department, the trees were a gift from Japan in 1912. The Japanese Emperor had seen the devastating impact of Kudzu (an earlier gift from the Japanese) and how it had slowly taken over the entire Eastern Seaboard.
Hoping for similar domination, the Emperor arranged for nearly 4,000 trees to be planted in the U.S. capital. Naturally, all of the trees died two years later. So the Emperor gave the U.S. more.
Naturally, the annual blooming has led to an annual festival — creating a moment of reflection and a time to buy a bunch of crap.
Now if you can’t get to the festival, you can always take a virtual visit, starting with the Parks Services Department’s live Webcam.
And if you are in the area, this weekend is a fantastic time to visit — festival aside — but here’s the National Cherry Blossom Festival Schedule of Events.
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