Cherry Blossom Weekend

This post is quite correct except the cherry blossoms had already blossomed. A few weekends ago, Adam, Oliver, and I traveled to Columbia, MD to spend some time with my Aunt Carol (who flew in for the weekend) and family friends Dave & Denise. Dave & Denise has a beautiful house and two young(ish) Irish Wolfhound pups. Their pups are Fearghus (13 months, 150+ lbs) and Carrock (14 weeks, 60+ lbs). They are super-sweet, but we didn't let Oliver and the pups play without supervision. They were okay on walks together, but otherwise, it's too much energy and testosterone.

Here's a beautiful clip comparing my 30-lb Oliver to the 150+(?)-lb Fearghus.

On Saturday, Adam, I, Aunt Carol, and Dave went to DC to see some monuments. We parked, walked to the Lincoln Memorial, and noticed a huge crowd gathered at the base of the monument. As we approached, we noticed people running up to it. Suddenly, through whispers and then glimpses, we saw the reason: President Barack Obama was paying a surprise visit to the Lincoln Memorial!

Obama was just coming down the stairs and leaving, so I darted through the crowd trying to get a picture.

This (secret service?) dude blocked my shot of the President,
and had to tell me to "Step back there, now." Total bummer.

But I kept trying...
In the center you see a large group; move to the right, and there are two figures in black.
The one on the right is Obama! Hail to the Chief!

After Obama left, they let everybody up to the Lincoln Memorial. It was quite the rush.

Adam, Aunt Carol, and Dave in the Lincoln Memorial

Adam, myself, and Mr. Lincoln

Adam and I on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, facing the Mall.

They're re-structuring the Reflecting Pool, so that's what looks so bare.

Then we walked around, visiting the Vietnam, Korean, and WWII memorials, plus the White House. It was a historical day!

Some gorgeous tulips near a French memorial

Aunt Carol, myself, and Adam in front of the White House.
(We were practically following Obama around all morning!)

Vietnam Memorial statue

Korean memorial

The crab apple blossoms were just budding.

After our exciting day, we relaxed at a British-style pub in MD.

Delicious food and bloody good company!

It was a wonderful weekend...sorry it took me so long to post about it!