Or will she make the first move, and he'll run away screaming?

Um... don't know if even Raq saw, but I'm pretty sure she SWAKed Mal when they hugged goodbye. My eyes popped out of my hed, so I have no proof of running and screaming post. Give her 12 years... by that point, she'll be a whole different sprog. Probably will wear her GCS babybat t to prom or something.

I gotta get myself back to DC for a visit! It's been about 8 years since I was last there, and I think it's my favorite city in the US

I understand mid-January is an excellent time to visit. IJS.

well, we are in the middle of warm snap.

It isn't a bad time, especially for Northern types. The weather is pretty mild by Northern standards ("cold" means the high didn't reach 40), and you don't have the crowds that run from about mid-March until well after Labor Day.

I'd love to come out there now, but no can do, damnit.

The last time I was out there was for my first online-board F2F, with the first board I got involved with when I first went online. It was at a gorgeous time of year (mid-April), even though it was pretty crowded being around spring/Easter break, so a lot of school kids were around.

The board organizers/authors (Bill Strauss [RIP, sadly] and Neil Howe, from Generations and Fourth Turning) not only had us filming an episode of Book Notes on CSpan about online book discussion groups, but they gave us a tour of memorials with them doing a lecture about the generational aspects of said location. That's when I saw the Korean War Memorial for the first time--very interesting and moving.

After we had our farewell breakfast and most people headed home, I was able to squeeze in a solo trip on the Metro to the American History Museum (the one place I've been to on every trip to DC) and the Holocaust Museum. I wish I had scheduled one more day there, just to get to the museums on my own.

I'm in the midst of deciding when, exactly, to come out to DC myself. I've got the Jetblue passes to get there and I need to book soon or they will expire, and I haven't been to DC in 25 years, so there is a lot there for me to see. Not to mention all the people to visit.

So, is the Cherry Blossom Festival a good time to go or a crazy time to go?

well, we are in the middle of warm snap.

Wait, did I buy real boots for nothing?

So, is the Cherry Blossom Festival a good time to go or a crazy time to go?

Both. Mostly good.

Cool. I will report back when I have booked tickets and make some plans.

I've been to DC at different times of the spring/summer (April, Memorial Day weekend, damn-hot August), and it's busy no matter when, it seems like.

If I could, I'd try and talk my mom into stopping there on our drive down to Florida this upcoming April, but she wants to go to Savannah instead. Ah well, at least I don't have to worry about dragging her to museums she doesn't want to go to, like I did the last time we went there together.

(But how could anyone not like the National Gallery? My mind just boggled that she didn't find it great. I've dragged her to the Met in NYC and the big Monet exhibit at the Art Institute several years ago, but she doesn't really get into it, unfortunately.)