Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Cherry Blossom Festival or Beer Today, Gone Tomorrow


Each year, the National Cherry Blossom Festival commemorates the 1912 gift of 3,000 cherry trees from Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo to the city of Washington, DC. The gift and annual celebration honor the lasting friendship between the United States and Japan and the continued close relationship between the two countries.
I decided to commemorate it by hooking up with my good friend Cristina and check out the festivities.  We were really motivated to walk the Mall from Union station to the Washington Monument.  Unfortunately we were sidetracked by a penchant for an afternoon cocktail.  We found ourselves at Hamilton's amid a rabid group of rugby players celebrating either a monstrous win, or a soul-crushing loss, as determined by the amount of PBR's being passed around.  
Eventually we make it to the end of the mall, but all the Cherry Blossoms were making us thirsty again, so we headed back to Union Station and Capital City Brewing for some of their seasonal Cherry Blossom Wheat Beers, before hitting the tracks back to B'more for a night on  the town.  Click here for the album.