The Cherry Blossom Festival begins around this date every year. The cherry tree blossoms are usually in bloom, too. That only makes sense to have the festival during the blossoming of the cherry trees. However, as we expected, the blossoms were only beginning to open. Most weren’t! The buds were in place, but few blossoms would be peaking out of the bud! They needed a couple of days of warmth to complete the opening. (This is known as the Smail Curse.) Theses events give my wife, sister, and I something to laugh about.
The Washington Monument taken, at night, from the WW 2 monument.
This March has failed to produce the needed weather to induce the buds to cycle through into blossoms. The colder, than normal, weather is present all over the northeast. In fact, I heard DC broke a temperature record this past weekend of the last days of March. 
Photo taken from the Lincoln Memorial.
The Washington Monument has been something of interest to me since my childhood. My father, in 1941, went to the nation’s capitol during his class trip. He told me of the monument, and of course, I have seen many photos of the tower. For this reason, seeing this marble, obelisk monument was something I had hoped to do.
The monument’s base during National Kite day.
The monument’s construction began in 1848, but it wasn’t completed until 1885. Lack of funding, and the Civil War, slowed down the building of this towering structure. The intent was to commemorate America’s first president, George Washington. (1732-1799)
The monument’s point reaches 555 feet into the Washington D.C sky. It has proven to be the focal point in the city, for the peak may be viewed from many other areas.
In 2011, an earthquake damaged the Washington Monument. However, repairs have been completed after three years of construction.
One of the most famous paintings of Washington. I took this one at Smithsonian Art Museum.
Larry A. Smail's Blog 
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