Our first Cherry Blossom Festival . . . we wanted to take full advantage of our proximity to D.C. and the National Mall, so Darlene and I invited several friends over for drinks, food and a walking tour of activities around the Mall and Tidal Basin.

Our guests, including Thomas, Kim, Megan, Greg, Gina and Lauren, arrived shortly after noon at our apartment. As we geared up for the fist day of the National Cherry Blossom Festival, we fueled our bodies with cupcakes, Sweetwater and lemonade.

 

A quick walk and Metro ride over and we found ourselves at the Washington Monument, site of the Smithsonian Kite Festival. Although most were children, some adult enthusiasts were also sailing a variety of colorful kites into the sky. Due to poor planning on my part I wasn't able to participate.

And on to the Cherry Blossoms! We walked from the Washington Monument over to the Tidal Basin and the Jefferson Memorial, which was quite a hike but well worth it. Even though it was the first day of the festival many of the trees had begun to bloom and the tidal basin was lined in pink and white Cherry Blossoms.

Sadly, we don't have more pictures, but a few of us made it out afterward for drinks, sushi and more drinks at Cafe Asia in Rosslyn, and Galaxy Hut in Clarendon. Shout out to Thomas and Kim for lasting the entire day and making the long haul from Charlottesville, Va. We'll return the trip soon, I promise!

The end of my regrettably short trip to Atlanta this past week, I flew back to DC on a Delta Air Lines jet quite tired and trying to occupy my mind with anything other than work. For a while I jotted notes in my composition pad. After reaching a comfortable altitude a flight attendant announced that passengers would be served their option of sodas, water, coffee and select hard beverages.

I needed coffee desperately. When I landed in DC the plan was to go straight back to the office, and I was afraid a quick nap would leave me groggy. Seeing the cart had already begun its service, I rushed through my copy of SKY for the drink index toward the back. It was a week ago aboard a US Airways flight that I was asked to cough-up $2 for a bottle of water. Out of principle this is something I refuse to accept.

*Changes tense to more clearly present thought process as recorded in my composition pad.

Okay, it's free - great. I pass on the pretzels and cookies and ask for a cup of coffee. "Cream or sugar?" No thanks, I take my coffee as God intended. The flight attendant pours my drink from a plastic, brown carafe and into a small foam cup. For the moment I feel relieved.

I inspect the cup and its contents carefully. This isn't a coffee cup - a coffee cup would allow you to fill it with a minimum of 8 ounces of liquid. No, this small cup was the kind you'd expect to receive samples of beverages that come in larger quantities, like a smoothie.

I can see tiny bubbles form at the surface, collecting into star-shaped bunches and spinning. I smell the coffee. Nothing. I draw a deep breath through my nose and try again. There's a mild aroma, slightly sweet but otherwise unremarkable.

With one lip pressed against the bottom of the foam cup I sip the mildly warm liquid. I notice immediately that all traces of freshness are gone. It's unclear when this coffee was brewed, or if indeed it was ever brewed or has just always been. I sip again and detect a slight bitterness as it hits my tongue. Its gift to me is that it finishes quickly and quietly with little to no aftertaste.

Within the next half minute the coffee is gone. I go back to listening to my iPod and wait for the landing.