Spring in Washington D.C., is a time to do away with the winter blues and enjoy the beauty of the Cherry Blossoms that line the Tidal basin.  I reached there very early in the morning, just before sunrise.  All was quiet and peaceful.

There were a throng of photographers waiting patiently for the sunrise.  Everything around us was still.  I am very seldom up at this hour, but i was very glad to be up and around to watch the Cherry trees being bathed in the first lights of the morning.  The sky slowly turned pink and then the blue hues of the sky started getting a little deeper.

The still waters, the soft lights, the various hues you could see in the sky, painted a beautiful picture.

As the sun rose higher in the sky, i could see a hint of the rays being reflected on the buildings behind the line of cherry trees.

Slowly, the lights of the Jefferson memorial turned off just as the sun rays hit it, making it glow in its light.

The row of trees that we were facing, looked glorious when the sun rays finally shone on them.

I could clearly see the reflection of the Cherry Blossom trees in the water now.  With the water being so still and calm, it looked like the trees were floating.  It was absolutely gorgeous to look at.

Pretty soon the geese started flying around and there was some activity in the otherwise still waters.

I had a very good vantage point to see the sun rise or so i thought.  I was actually on the opposite side with my back to the rising sun.  Though i saw the trees getting lit up from the first rays of the sun, I could not actually see the sun rise above the Cherry Blossom trees.  But when i turned around, and the trees looked glorious, full of bloom and shining bright and beautiful in the warmth of the sun rays.

The quiet still of the morning was soon broken by the thousands of tourists that magically appeared.  Or maybe i was too lost in admiring the beauty surrounding me, to realize the place was getting crowded.  I decided to walk around and enjoy the blossoms.

You can see two of the varieties of the Sakura trees or commonly known as the Cherry Blossom trees.  The lighter one is the Yoshino tree and the darker pink one is the Kwazu-Zakura tree.

I decided to go back later in the evening with my family and watch the sun set over the Cherry Blossoms.

The setting sun cast a soft golden glow on the flowers and they looked as amazing as they did earlier in the morning.

Woke up this morning to a wet and rainy day and the first thing i thought about were the Cherry Blossoms and its falling petals.  All i could think was…”Until next year……”