Springtime!

It is finally springtime in DC, and I have never been so excited for a change of season in my life. Everyone keeps telling me this was the mildest winter DC has had in years, but as far as I am concerned, it was the coldest of my life. I have been wearing sandals this week (my toes haven't seen the sky in 5 months!), and even going outside without a coat. Joy!
There are incredible flowers everywhere, and trees absolutely covered in blossoms.
This tree is a few blocks from my house, and it looks like it exploded. You can't even see the magnitude of it here - I will post a larger picture later.

We had a picnic in the park by my house today... you can't see, since the flash made it too bright, but we had fresh french bread, hummus, red onions, gouda cheese and (shh!) red wine.

Holy Saturday in DC

Jason and I went on a fantastic, long bike ride Saturday that spanned 3 states (Maryland, DC, and Virginia). It was a beautiful day, even though it absolutely poured for the last half hour of our ride. This is Tyrone (Ty, for short), Jason's new bike on the left, and of course, Matilda on the right. Fletcher's Cove is on the Potomac, and they rent canoes and kayaks... it will be so exciting to go out on the river when the water level goes down a little!
This is the C & O Canal, which runs along the Potomac.
This is like a "Where's Waldo" picture - how many national monuments can you find? You should be able to see the Washington Monument to the left and the Capitol building to the right, in the distance. This is the Virginia portion of our trail.
This is part of the Tidal Basin. The famous cherrry blossoms are just beginning to bloom, as you can see.