Now that (climatological) Spring has sprung, they’re finally finishing up the reconstruction work on the DC Tidal Basin seawall, which was rebuilt to withstand the high tides better that the 100+ year-old wall. The old wall was constantly being eroded from beneath, because they didn’t know how much the tides ebbing and flowing would affect the rock and soil underneath, This caused it to subside, leaving the cherry trees along the wall exposed to brackish salty water as it flooded higher and higher during each high tide.
Under construction
They had to completely dig out the old wall and support, as well as remove the old cherry trees, which couldn’t really be saved due to age and damage. They finished construction on the wall earlier this year, and finished laying new sod along the new walkways just before the snow fell.
Fresh sod, needs to be watered when first laid down.
Now that the snow has finally completely melted, they’re planting new cherry trees along the seawall. In honor of the 250th anniversary of the US, the government of Japan donated 250 replacement cherry trees, which more than replace the ones we lost. The original trees were a gift from Japan, and there are several different species that will bloom at different times during the spring, and have different types of blossoms. Some of the trees already have blossoms, although I’m not sure what species of tree they are.
Ready for plantingEarly bloomersReady to go!Next, the flags locate
Only a few more weeks, there are already a few tiny buds on the old trees, I’ll be checking back every few days till then!
Okay, maybe not that much of an upheaval, but I thought I would at least try to start doing more of these, at least on a more timely basis!
If you haven’t seen the news for the past month, there was a major snow and ice storm a couple of weeks ago, and DC was hit fairly hard, somewhat by snow but mostly by sleet and ice on top of the snow.
The snow and ice comes
We’ve also been mostly below freezing for two weeks, which hasn’t helped, but this past Wednesday the temperature got up to 50 degrees, so I figured I’d go back downtown and walk around a bit. I did that last week, and got some pictures but it was too cold to do much.
Cold sunshine last week
This week though, it’s been warmer, and I got to places I couldn’t go last week. I managed to park in the Potomac Park parking lot and walked to the Jefferson Memorial on the Tidal Basin. It was a much nicer walk than last week, although the ice and snow were still quite thick, and the Tidal Basin was still mostly frozen over, but the ice was noticeably thinner. Even the Potomac River near the DC Wharf restaurant area was frozen over, with the only boat that I could see possibly stuck in the ice.
Washington and JeffersonIce and snow still aroundJefferson’s backJefferson’s sideNot many touristsThank you for telling usJefferson and WashingtonTidal BasinEven the Potomac River still frozen
We’ll see if I can keep up this blistering pace of updates!
I managed to attend Anime USA for the first time in over 4 years, since they moved away from the Crystal City Hyatt to the Wardman Park Marriott in DC.
I didn’t get to see everything, but I did manage to get some photos, so enjoy!
Old school Batman
Hello scary lady now dressed in black instead of red, with horns…
Maids stand ready to escort guests to their table, and entertain them with fun games while they eat
A very nice thing the actors did, they posed for pictures for the fans, including a group of cosplayers dressed as the characters from “Cowboy Bebop” that the actors provided voices for
The AnimeUSA mascot, original version
Part of the restaurant was dedicated as a “maid cafe” during the day, and a “butler cafe” in the evening
Cosplayers just seem to get younger every year
The highlight of the convention, and the main reason I went, a panel with the voice actors who dubbed the “Cowboy Bebop” anime in English
The convention had many levels of activity
Hello scary lady in the red cape…
Cosplayer on the go
The AnimeUSA traditional torii gate, a staple of the convention every year
From “Captain America: Winter Soldier”
Marvel-ous cosplayers
The main atrium at the hotel was a hot spot for cosplay photography
Wonder Woman
Mr. West, is that you?
Cosplayers and photographers in the main lobby
A cosplayer, photographing another cosplayer
Sharing Halloween candy with the scary lady dressed in black with horns
One of my favorite web cartoonists, in his native habitat
Well, after walking and walking and walking, I made it to the end of the parade route, where I was able to finally cross Constitution Avenue to the side where the matsuri was taking place. Then it was another 4 block or so walk to get to the nearest entrance to the matsuri, where I stopped to rest for a few minutes. I decided to pace myself after looking in on the huge crowds of people milling about (or trying to!) inside the matsuri fence, because there would be no sitting inside! I managed to spend about 4 hours there, got to see some interesting booths, inflicted my Japanese on some poor folks, and basically had fun. I saw a very high-energy J-Pop band called “M’sh”, and watched some friends perform in a cosplay “fashion show”. After that was over I decided it was time to start the long walk back to my car in the Potomac Park, so I headed back to the Tidal Basin, taking a few more photos along the way. I did stop at the Jefferson Memorial to buy a soft drink and take another short rest, but since I was so close to the car I figured it would be better to keep going. Finally I got to my car at about 5 PM, after starting at 8:30, drove home, unloaded my SD card, and promptly went to sleep!
So, one week later I managed to upload some more photos here! As always, click to see the full-size photo!
Enjoy!
[one_third]There were a few people at the matsuri…[/one_third]
[one_third]… just a few…[/one_third]
[one_third_last]… thousand…[/one_third_last]
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[one_third]And you thought DC *traffic* gridlock was bad…[/one_third]
[one_third_last]Dancers performing a traditional Hokkaido fisherman’s dance[/one_third_last]
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[one_third_last]DC Japan Model Railroad Club[/one_third_last]
[one_third]Some cosplay friends at the NHKWorld booth[/one_third]
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[one_third]A couple of Cherry Blossom Queen candidates[/one_third]
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[one_third]I have a bag, it’s a pink bag, others may have other bags, but this one is mine. Any questions?[/one_third]
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[one_third]M’sh![/one_third]
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[one_third]Rock Guitarist Face #1[/one_third]
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[one_third]ValNika vlogs![/one_third]
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[one_third]Chillin’ at the Tidal Basin…[/one_third]
[one_third_last]It was… a little crowded…[/one_third_last]
This past Saturday, as part of the DC Cherry Blossom Festival, they held a kite-flying festival on the grounds of the Washington Monument and on the National Mall. The day was perfect for kite flying, plenty of breezes in the morning, cool but not cold, with just enough puffy clouds in a crystal blue sky to make the kites stand out. I got some great photos of the kites and the flyers (there was as much color on the ground from people’s coats as there was in the sky) of all ages. I also managed to find a couple of early cherry blossoms, on three trees that just couldn’t wait to bloom. Most of the cherry trees along the Tidal Basin have yet to bloom, but they’re in the late stages of budding, so the coming weeks should have an explosion of petals!
Here are some of the photos, I’ll have them all on a photo page soon. Enjoy!
[one_half]桜を見ãŸ! A few lonely little cherry blossoms peeking out of their buds early, getting the jump on their cousins (and getting a couple of early photographers, too!)[/one_half][one_half_last]THERE you are! Another tree with a few handfuls of cherry blossoms[/one_half_last]
One nice thing about living in the DC area, you have a chance to go downtown and see some of the beautiful monuments and other scenery on nice early spring days. Continue reading “Some DC springtime pictures”
Here is another batch of photos taken in Washington DC near the Tidal Basin. The cherry trees aren’t quite in full bloom, which is surprising given how many flowers there are, but there were still quite a few unopened buds. As you can probably tell, the sun was starting to come out of the low clouds, and so some of the photos are much better lit, with deeper shadows and brighter colors. I may have one more page to put up, just in case you all are getting just about “cherry blossomed out”!
Here’s the first batch of cherry blossom photos that I took over the weekend, these were taken around noon on Sunday. It was a cloudy day to start, so some of the pictures may be a bit dark. You can see a larger image if you click on the picture after clicking a thumbnail, or if you want to see a really big picture, you can right-click on the image. I’ll be posting more, later on.
