In today’s post, we are celebrating spring in Washington DC with a travel vlog to the National Mall (Washington Memorial) to see the cherry blossoms and take photos! As an expat who has returned to the USA, I am enjoying opportunities to explore new cities and places! What does springtime look like where you currently live?
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Solo Travel Anxiety
If I can be honest, I have been a little nervous to get back into the swing of traveling and exploring. Because of this, I made it my mission to really plan out the things I want to do for the spring and summer seasons so I can’t make excuses for not “wanting to go out”. We’ve talked a lot about solo travel over the last month or so which has hopefully helped get you ready for your next adventure (as much as this topic has encouraged me!)
When it comes to traveling solo, I learn so much about myself along the way. I was definitely anxious about this trip the day before. And of course, I wanted my husband to join me (but he had prior plans). What I realize about traveling is that if you have the desire, don’t wait for anxious feelings to completely go away because that may never happen. You also don’t want to wait for someone to be available to go with you on every adventure because they may not be available or want to spend time in the ways you would like to, and that’s okay!
Take a leap of faith and do something for yourself. With this trip in particular, I decided to take my plans a step further and also have a picnic. I went to my local grocery store and bought a few snacks to take along with me on my trip. This is something I usually do because the extra steps help me save money and I get to stay on track with my eating. If I want to eat out, that is something I plan and budget for.
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Spring in DC!
Let’s talk about the trip. I live in the Virginia area so the commute into the city takes time. The train ride for me took about 30 minutes total and I got off at L’Enfant Plaza. After departing the train station, I got a bit lost. I called myself “following the crowd” instead of paying attention to the navigation on my phone. Once I got it together, it took about 45 minutes to walk to where the Museum of African American History and Culture is.
Luckily, spring weather in DC is beautiful so I did not mind walking. In the same area, you encounter the large Washington Monument. Depending on crowds, you can actually go in any direction to see cherry blossom trees. I felt like the park was full of them. I decided to take a couple of photos along the way to the middle of the park and I definitely got some really great shots!
This was the perfect spring day. So, I decided that I was going to take photos of myself. I won’t lie to you and say the photoshoot went perfectly well. Most of the photos were extremely blurry and I really only got 1-2 halfway decent shots of myself. Luckily for me, the photos of the cherry blossoms make up for the fail.
Shortly after exploring the park and surrounding areas, I decided to find a shady spot to eat my picnic snacks. I didn’t realize this until way later in the afternoon that people were really staring at me. I probably appeared to be a bit odd because I was vlogging, eating, and talking to a camera alone. My feelings about the sideways glances and chuckles were that I didn’t care! I was actually really proud of myself. I was proud that I make a decision to do something so bold in an effort to share a beautiful experience with you! Definitely worth the trip!
When was the last time you ventured out alone and what did you do? Feel free to leave a comment below!
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