Cherry Blossoms in the Rain | Tidal Basin | Washington, DC

April 05, 2016 • Leave a Comment

When you've lived in the DMV area long enough, you know that the weather can change at a moment's notice - or without any notice at all. You also know that you may check the weather while it's raining only to see that TWC app says that there is 0% chance of rain (insert Mean Girls joke here).

Everyone here loves to see the cherry blossoms, even if we complain about the parking, getting there by metro, and the tourists. And, all of us will complain.

The peak of the cherry blossoms kicks off the tourist season and it breaks us in hard and fast after the slow days of winter. It's madness. But, they're beautiful and somehow we all end up finding our way to the tidal basin at one point or another to wander. It's a time that reminds us why living in DC has its own little magic. It's easy to forget that when your typical day includes walking past the monuments that people come from all over the world to see.

On this particular day, we arrived at the tidal basin, camera in hand, with no real plan. Not surprisingly, every grove was peppered with tourists and locals. We decided to explore and see if we could find a low-traffic nook to post up in for awhile and relax.

Suddenly, we looked up and everyone was gone. It was eerily quiet.

And then we heard the first clap of thunder.

See, everyone else had been looking up at the blossoms and seen the sky rapidly changing, but we were looking for a nice spot on the ground, completely oblivious to the thunderstorm swirling to life overhead. The clouds quickly darkened the sky. Clearly, it was about to pour.

Not really having any other option at this point, we found some shelter and waited to get completely drenched.

The storm hit. Hard. The water in the tidal basin was rapidly rising and overtaking the sidewalks. The rain weighed on the trees and they bent to meet the water just over the edge of the sidewalk.

It got dark - really dark; but as quickly as it came, the storm cleared. We were left alone, mostly dry, among the cherry blossoms.

It made for some really cool images (thank goodness for rain hoods so our gear stayed dry) before, during, and after the storm. Honestly, they are probably the most intriguing photographs we have taken of the cherry blossoms. So, it was weathering through a little rain. :)

Happy Spring!

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