Cherry blossoms are starting to bloom.

Today is the one month anniversary of our arrival to Arlington, VA. Ashley left me. That sounds bad...I'll try again. Ashley went to New York this weekend to start taking classes to get pilates certified. So, I'm here alone.

It was a monumental day for me today. After going through over a month of ultimate (frisbee) withdrawals, I was finally able to join my new team, Snack Pack. We played a team called Creampuff Johnnys at Montgomery Hills Junior High in Silver Spring, MD. It was a little cold, but overall a great day for throwing the disc around. My one-month layoff was pretty evident. It was hard to breathe. My only saving grace was a layout catch in the end zone right before half time to give our team an 8-6 lead. We ended up winning pretty decidedly, 15-8. DC Ultimate...check!

On my drive home, I decided to swing by DuPont Circle in search for this...



Found it. Real World XXIII, DC house...just like on MTV. Sweet. Afterwards, I had a Chipotle burrito and a frisbee nap to keep with Saturday ultimate tradition.

Have you ever heard of the Cherry Blossom Festival? Me neither until I moved here. But everyone's been hyping it up since we got here. Apparently a pretty big deal. Ninety-eight years ago, the Japanese gave 3,000 trees as a gift to the city of Washington D.C.

Today, I was able to go to the Opening Ceremony & Reception at the National Building Museum. It was nice...crowded. Today kicks off the 16-day festival when the Cherry Blossom trees bloom to cover the tidal basin with pink and white. The highlight was this Japanese pianist, Tempei. You should click on that link and then come back and continue reading this blog. Just let it play in the background if you can.


After that I decided to go on a little stroll down to the tidal basin to see what all the fuss was about. I guess this is what all the fuss was about...


It was beautiful and peaceful since most of the crowd had gone home already. We're not even in peak bloom yet. April 1st & 2nd are supposed to be the best days. It's probably too late to plan trips for this year's bloom season, but plan for it in 2011. You'll have a place to stay!

Last night, I was able to attend the Czech Embassy for a night of Czech Music from Prague, Terezin, and New York as part of the Embassy Concert Series. It was a very unique experience. Amazing. It was like I was sitting in a living room listening to world class music being played live. I never knew I could appreciate the violin, cello and piano so much. I also learned the historical relevance of the music they played. The pieces and stories from the Terezin concentration camps were especially moving. After the show, we were able to interact with the artists.

That's Jerome Barry (host), Valeriya Sholokhova (cello), Yuval Waldman (violin) and Tomas Visek (piano).

So the first month's come and gone. Work is going well...keeping me VERY busy. Ashley starts work this week! Yay, we're dual-income again! I feel like there is still so much to see, do and experience here. We've only just started. I miss our friends and family at home...COME VISIT US ALREADY!! Ashley's parents are going to be in town next week. Can't hardly wait.