Friday Five: Signs of Spring in DC

It's been such a beautiful week that I decided to head to the Mall on my lunch break to look for some signs of spring in DC. And within minutes I found all the sure indicators that winter is finally over.

1. Construction: Most of the time it's roads and walkways that are being repaired after the harsh winter weather. Well, harsh for DC anyway. But today I stopped to check out the progress on the new National Museum of African American History and Culture.
   
   
2. Bikers: The other day I was reading a Washington Post article about how the city infrastructure can't keep up with the increase of bike commuters. So if you want to see the city on two wheels, please be careful!
   
   
3. Musicians: I will admit, some street musicians are horrific, but this bucket beater happened to be quite good. Over the years I've been lucky enough to catch a few professional musicians practicing in tunnels and Metro stations because of the fantastic acoustics.
   
   
4. Cherry Blossoms: Today marks the peak of the 100th year of these historic blooms, and any DC-area resident will tell you they are the highlight of the season.
   
   
   
   (This picture was taken by a passing tourist.)
   
   
5. Tourists: More than 16 million people visit out nation's capital each year. I happened to find this one sitting around on the Mall today. (It's my mom, in case you were wondering.)