It’s Parade Day today and the sun is out! So back we go for another look at DC. It’s a good thing that where we get on the Metro train is at the end of the line. This means we are the first ones on and get to sit down. More and more people packed the trains at each stop as we get closer to the festivities.

We walked through the staging which was on the National Mall in front of the Capitol Building and saw some of what will be in the parade.

Cherry Blossom Festival Parade

Cherry Blossom Festival

We enjoyed the parade when we were here last year so this time we thought we would go see the cherry trees while everyone else was at the parade. Our walk took us past the back yard garden of the Smithsonian Castle. Here they had Magnolia trees in full bloom. Amazing!

Smithsonian Castle

The Magnolia blossoms were beginning to fall, but still gorgeous.

Magnolia

All those hundreds of buses we saw yesterday, and all the cars, are GONE! Cool. Many of the streets around the Washington Monument and the Tidal Basin have been closed to traffic. Now some of the streets are filled with food trucks.

Food Trucks

I’m loving this sunshine today! It just makes all the pictures so much better. Sorry if I’m overdoing it here with the pictures, I did get carried away.

There were SO MANY people! Way more than yesterday.

• Free Parking
• Train Fare:  $20