In 1912, the Japanese government delivered 3,000 cherry trees to Washington, D.C., as a show of solidarity between the United States and Japan. The gift from Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo launched what has become one of the most famous festivals in the world: the National Cherry Blossom Festival on the Tidal Basin in D.C. More than 1.5 million visitors descend on D.C. for the three-week festival (in 2019, March 20 through April 14), which includes a kite festival (March 30), parade (April 13), music festival (April 6), the opening day for the Washington Nationals baseball team (April 3), and tours of the trees that line the D.C. waterfront. There are several options for GA pilots who would like to fly in for the festival, including attempting to land with big iron at Baltimore/Washington International Airport (BWI) or Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD), but allow us to recommend Leesburg Executive Airport (JYO), just 35 minutes from the nation’s capital. Leesburg is the second busiest general aviation airport in Virginia and has a 5,500-foot runway. Both Enterprise and Hertz have rental car outlets at JYO and the drive is an easy one on I-66, especially during off-peak hours. Once in the city—go to Alexandria, Virginia, or Georgetown and catch a water taxi or metro in from Rosslyn or Alexandria—the area is an exciting place to be any time of the year, but especially interesting and beautiful in the spring.
