04/01/2010 - The cherry blossom cab ride

I realized about three weeks ago that my travels were going to put me in Washington DC on or about the peak bloom time of the Cherry Blossoms.  Not a bad problem to have - except that I knew my free time would be next to nothing while I was there and seeing Cherry Blossoms really didn't fit into my business itinerary.  So...what's a girl to do??

Offer the seemingly nice cabby a nice tip if he can get me within photographing distance of the cherry blossoms - and get me to the airport on time.  Enter Kenneth - one of the nicest cab drivers I have ever met.  He has been a cab driver in DC since 1968 and has lived in the district his entire life - except for the two years he spent in the army.  Kenneth accepted my challenge - and chatted with me and answered all of my questions about life in "the district" (Kara: "What's the biggest change you've seen in DC over your lifetime?" Kenneth: "Construction of the metro - turned it from a small town into a big city").  I have to say that normally my introverted personality would have NEVER indulged in such chit chat with a stranger - it's just not me.  And, I've had one too many politically obsessed cabbies in my day to generally strike up a conversation but Kenneth was an absolute joy.

As we came up to the Tidal Basin he gave me quite a bit of warning and promised he'd slow down as much as traffic would allow him to do so.  Thanks to Kenneth, I caught this shot - and enjoyed the beauty of our nation's capital during the Cherry Blossom festival!!