The first spring I lived in DC was memorable. I moved here at the end of the previous summer and slogged my way through the most miserable winter a southerner can imagine. When the return of green happened in spring, I was elated. I took a chance on going to see what seemed like a schlocky touristic festival and wound up spending an incredible day in what I still consider one of the most beautiful events of any season change I've ever witnessed. It's a shame that so many people consider the cherry trees blooming such a low-grade event for outsiders, because no postcard image can really convey the scene. The scale. It's like a puffy light-pink marshmallow cloud descends onto the city and nests there for a week. These trees are an amazing indicator that winter gloom is in its death throes. I highly recommend a picnic-based lunch-and-nap session as the flowers begin to shower down. Fucking killer afternoon. I'll miss that part of DC more than anything else.