DC Like a Local

I have no doubt that Spring means well, with the first of our tulips starting to poke their heads up and the Post's annual peeps contest is in full swing. But I'm not buying it, Winter will not let us go quietly. Old Man Winter has been relentless this year, putting us on the ropes and working us over systematically as we try to stagger up. So I'm not going to let my guard down, no matter how many more beautiful, 60 degree days we get. That bag of salt and snow shovel are staying on my front porch until someone brings me the head of Winter for my inspection. I'm taking no chances.

My curmudgeonly ranting aside, at some point Spring will push through, and wind-swept piles of snow will be replaced by even larger mounds of tourists. I'm talking, of course, of the Cherry Blossom Festival, which is scheduled for March 27th to April 11th. But wait, there's more! Last week, the Park Service announced their best guess as to the peak bloom date, when 70% of the Yoshino trees will be in bloom. Despite speculation that our heavy snowfall would push the date back, they are estimating peak bloom will fall somewhere between April 3-8, or right about on the average date of April 4. Update you calendars accordingly.

Now, I harrumph over the blossoms every year, and yet I end up going and enjoying myself immensely. They are worth visiting DC for, with the understanding that their is no guarantee, especially for a zen-like experience such as watching the blossoms fall. But if you're looking to make this year your once in a lifetime visit, you might want to hold off a year or two. The best viewing areas, around the Tidal Basin, will be somewhat disrupted by two fairly intense construction projects. The first is the ongoing construction of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, the second is the long overdue repair of the seawall near the Jefferson Memorial. But if you don't mind a couple of cranes in your shot, come on down.

photo uploaded to flickr by cliff1066™
Outside of a Presidential Inauguration, no event reliably brings the crowds to DC like the annual Cherry Blossom Festival. And while it may be hard to think of when we haven't seen the plus side of freezing in days and the remnants of a kick-ass igloo still occupy pride of place on my front lawn, those of you making serious plans from Cherry Blossom time might want to get moving.

If you're looking for a primer on what the hoopla is all about, I'll refer you to last year's discussion. Suffice it to say, the Cherry Blossoms are magnificent and if you don't believe me you can ask the several hundred thousand folks you will be jostling with. It's not too early to begin planning hotels, etc. and we'll be providing updated information about 2010's events as they become clear, as well as advice on how best to enjoy the event.

But for planning purposes, the mayor recently announced the dates of the Cherry Blossom Festival, which will run from March 27th to April 11th of this year. This is not to be confused with the Peak Bloom Date, which is defined as when 70 percent of the Yoshino Cherry Blossoms are open. Like most forecasting, this will require much guess work and when the gurus at the National Park Service look into the entrails of a chicken at midnight and come up with that date, we'll pass it on. For now, just remember the average date is April 4th, with a historical earliest date of March 15th and a latest date of April 18th.

So get your cameras ready, and sharpen your elbows! We have some Blossoming to do.

Alright folks, you've been warned. I'm done talking about it. If you haven't made your Cherry Blossom plans this year, don't come crying to me.

I do want to notify people that the Peak Bloom Date has shifted again, to April 1-4. As I have lost interest in discussing the Cherry Blossom festival, I will not update you if it changes anymore (Hint: just bookmark the Park Service's page). But it should remain somewhat stable. It's hard for those wily cherry blossoms to sneak off as we get closer.

The Festival will officially open this weekend at the Building Museum, with a family day from 10:00 to 3:30 pm on the 28th. It looks like a lot of fun, especially the chance to build your own mini tea house. Sadly, I will be working and unable to attend, but if anyone makes it, be sure to let me know how it went.

The Smithsonian Kite Festival, perhaps my favorite spring event, will also be this Saturday. I hope to be there for at least part of it, hopefully the climatic final battle of the Rokkaku challange. Maybe this year, evil will finally triumph over good! If you wish to, as they say, go fly a kite, the Air and Space Museum has an excellent selection. Naturally, when I visited yesterday, my daughter skipped all of the dragon themed war kites and proud banners and instead picked an insipid unicorn kite, named, of course, Jinx. It's like I'm not even here!

Now if you'll pardon me, I must see if I can't figure out a way to attach razor blades to Jinx the Unicorn kite.

One of Washington, DC's conspicuous gaps, culturally speaking, is the lack of a museum dedicated to kids.

It wasn't always the case; we once had a perfectly serviceable National Children's Museum located on H St Northeast. Unfortunately, the Museum closed; ironically, just as H St started becoming a destination in it's own right, albeit more for its excellent collection of bars and less for visiting families. And please, don't anyone bother to tell me it's reopening in 2013. Not here, it ain't. It'll be in some ridiculous place called "National Harbor", a development that is to urban design what McMansions are to home building and virtually inaccessible without a car.

But I digress. With the abandonment of Washington by the Children's Museum, those of us looking to entertain our kids need a little guidance. As one of our readers, Stacie, asks:

We are visiting DC for 3 days with our children. Wondering about the appropriateness of the museums for that age group (5-10 yrs old). Obviously the Natural History and Air and Space will be great for them...but the others?

Stacie has mentioned two of the kid-friendly museums out there. I'd throw American History, Postal Museum, Portrait Gallery, and the Archives (if the line isn't too long) in to the mix, as well. But my hands down favorite for kids has got to be the National Building Museum. Frankly, National Harbor can keep the Children's Museum; I'll take the Building Museum any day of the week.

The building itself, as befits a museum about buildings, is spectacular. Savvy visitors to my blog will recognize the frieze as you enter. Built as the Pension Bureau following the civil war, its wide open Great Hall is a favorite place for local families to escape the heat (or the cold). Even if you don't look at a single exhibit, the Great Hall is worth stopping in for a comfortable place to relax in a city all too often concerned with propriety and grandeur.

Young kids will enjoy the Building Zone area, with it's ample building toys and play area. Giant legos! But pay close attention to their work. Sometimes my daughter doesn't do it right and I have to "help" her here. How else is the tower going to be six feet tall if I don't assist her! She's generally pretty understanding with me. On weekends, it can get a little crowded and there might be a short wait to enter Building Zone, but the staff normally brings blocks out into the Great Hall. We often have so much fun with that, we never make it into the play room proper. And for us older kids, the giant arch in the Great Hall is my personal white whale. If anyone manages to complete it, please send me a picture with them standing under it to post here. I've come close, but small children are less help than you might think in engineering projects.

If you know when you're going to be in town, a little planning can add quite a bit more to your experience. The Museum rents out "tool kits" to families for five bucks that help explore kids up to 11 explore the building. And besides putting on it's own excellent events, the Museum plays host to a great deal of fascinating outside programs. Later this month the 28th to be precise, Target will be sponsoring the National Cherry Blossom Festival's Family Day and Opening Ceremony here. Lot's of kid friendly activities and Target puts on a good party. I went to their sponsored opening of the Portrait Gallery's courtyard a few years ago and it was a blast.

The exhibits are quite well-done as well. The Museum's permanent exhibit, Washington, Symbol and City, is possibly the best comprehensive discussion of the growth of Washington, DC as a City I've seen. Visitors looking to engage the city beyond the National Mall should come here to start. And I try to make a point to stop in to their rotating exhibits. They can be quite clever, even those I would normally dismiss. Case in point, the current one, Detour, discusses tourist routes in Norway. And it's not at all the snooze-fest I anticipated.

As far as amenities go, there is a small cafe inside but we usually just bring a picnic lunch. The Museum is conveniently located on the Red Line at Judiciary Square and the exit is directly across the street. Be sure to spend a minute at the National Law Enforcement Memorial. It doesn't get much attention, but it is one of the worthier memorials in town. But that'll be the subject of another post...

Now that you've decided to come see the cherry blossoms, perhaps it would be just a bit responsible to come up with some sort of plan to actually see some blossoms.

As Connie from Pennsylvania wrote and asked:

"Would you please "guesstimate" how much time I should budget for wandering and looking at the blossoms along the tidal basin and mall? I am trying to plan out our sightseeing schedule."

Good question, Connie. For those of us that live here, we don't put much thought into it. One day, when we have a chance, we hop down to the Tidal Basin, see the blossoms, and go on about our lives. Having to budget time for the blossoms is somewhat foreign to us and worthy of a bit of consideration.

So, the answer comes down to how much you want to see and how to do it. I've laid out some options for bikes and Segways in a previous post, so I'll skip that and lay out two walking tours:

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For both, they involve taking advantage of the secret passageway between the Holocaust Memorial Museum and the Auditors Building, the big red brick building with a steeple on Independence and 14th (don't worry, it's not important). Neither walk's distance includes the walk to the Metro (.3 milies). If you're driving, the walks don't include the 2 mile walk to the nearest parking. Don't be fooled by the parking spaces on the map; the Park Service closes it during the Cherry Blossom Festival. 

The long walk is two miles and will take you past the Park Service's Tulip Library, the future sight of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, the FDR Memorial, the Jefferson Memorial, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP), and finishes by the Holocaust Memorial Museum. There are some great views here. I'm particularly fond of the view of the Jefferson from FDR and the view of the Tidal Basin from the BEP. You will also go within short walking distances of the World War II, DC WWI, and George Mason Memorials if you are interested in any of those. I would plan on an hour and a half to two hours for this one and some tired legs.

If that doesn't appeal to you, obviously you can take any portion of it. I've mapped out a small sample loop that is about .7 miles. This should just take about 45 minutes. It starts and ends by the Holocaust Museum and will take in the Tulip Library, the Boat Dock, and the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. If you really want to burn out your legs, feel free to rent a paddle boat (or peddle boat, as they insist on calling it). A more inefficient form of tranisit could not be imagined.