Cherry Blossom Coincidence

On Thursday afternoon, I went for my normal run on the mall, expecting to dodge crowds of tourists because the Cherry Blossoms were at their peak.  I ran down to the Lincoln Memorial and ran up the steps, twice.  A volunteer with the National Park Service handed me two buttons commemorating 100 years since Japan gave the first ornamental cherry trees to the United States.  From there, I continued towards the Tidal Basin, where I saw Marine One flying towards the White House.  When I finished my run, I was happy that I had a good run, got to see the cherry blossoms, and that the crowds weren't as bad as I thought they would be.

A little while after my run, I happened to glance at Facebook and one of my cousins posted about his run down at the Tidal Basin and Marine One flying over.  What a crazy coincidence.  We must have been running by the Tidal Basin at nearly the same moment.  I didn't know he was in town and, in fact, we hadn't seen each other for more than 15 years.  Thursday night, we arranged to have lunch Friday afternoon.

Growing up, we saw each other several times a year and, in part because we are close in age, usually spent family gatherings running around together with the other kids our age.  After high school, our paths diverged.  We saw each other once when I was a senior in college and had taken a road trip to Minnesota.  As the years have gone by, we've never managed to be back in Missouri at the same time.  It seems crazy that more than a decade has passed since we've seen each other.  We had a great time catching up Friday and, hopefully, will manage to see each other again before another 15 years go by.

Anyway, I have the cherry blossoms to thank this year for reconnecting with my cousin!

Pictures from my walk Friday morning:

 Cherry trees on the Tidal Basin.

 Cherry Blossoms

 The Washington Monument in the early morning light.

 Tulips near the Washington Monument.

More cherry trees near the Washington Monument.