As long as I've been living here, I've never been to see the cherry blossoms blooming. For some reason, I decided I wanted to go this year. All I've ever heard about the cherry blossom festival is the horror stories of the crowds and the lack of parking. I gritted my teeth and prepared for a horrid ordeal. We went into town at 6am on Saturday, the first day of the cherry blossom festival. I had to get up at 5am and it was one of the few times it was worth it to get up so early. We sailed into town, no traffic in sight. We found parking at the Jefferson Memorial. It was a breeze. The cherry blossoms won't be at full peak until next weekend, but I can live with that. I enjoyed seeing the beautiful trees and all the sights, but this will probably be my first and last visit to see the cherry blossoms in all their glory in DC.